Just one month after the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) issued an important decision in Certain Solid State Storage Drives, Stacked Electronics Components, and Products Containing Same, Inv. No. 337-TA-1097 holding that labor, capital, and employment investments in non-manufacturing activities, such as engineering and research and development, can satisfy Section 337’s domestic industry requirement (see … Continue Reading
Just a few days after denying a motion to terminate in Certain Color Intraoral Scanners and Related Hardware and Software, Inv. No. 337-TA-1091, Order No. 23 (May 18, 2018) that was based on a forum selection clause in a prior agreement between private parties (see our prior post), Administrative Law Judge Cheney granted a motion to … Continue Reading
The U.S. International Trade Commission issued an important opinion on Friday concerning Section 337’s “domestic industry” requirement, holding that investments in non-manufacturing activities, such as engineering and research and development, can be used to satisfy the required “significant investment in U.S. plant and equipment” or “significant employment of U.S. labor or capital.” The Commission’s opinion … Continue Reading
Does a forum selection clause in a pre-existing agreement between opposing parties in a Section 337 investigation provide grounds for terminating the investigation? A recent decision of Administrative Law Judge Cheney in Certain Color Intraoral Scanners and Related Hardware and Software, Inv. No. 337-TA-1091, Order No. 23 (May 18, 2018) concludes that the answer is … Continue Reading
The U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) has published in the Federal Register final revisions to its rules of practice and procedure governing Section 337 investigations, the investigations that the ITC conducts under 19 U.S.C. § 1337 based on private party complaints against imported articles that allegedly violate U.S. intellectual property rights. This completes a process … Continue Reading
Under a pilot program initiated in 2013, the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) may designate an investigation for early disposition if it believes that there is a potentially case-dispositive issue warranting the program’s speedy (100-day) treatment. Since the program’s inception, the ITC has employed it sparingly, with only a handful of investigations garnering entry into … Continue Reading
Just days after affirming an administrative law judge’s decision to dismiss price fixing claims brought under Section 337 against numerous foreign steel companies for failing to plead “antitrust injury” (see our prior post), the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) has issued a notice announcing institution of another investigation involving antitrust claims (Certain Programmable Logic Controllers … Continue Reading
Section 337 of the U.S. trade laws provides the U.S. International Trade Commission with the authority to prevent “unfair practices in import trade.” While the statute is best known for its provisions that allow the ITC to exclude imported goods that infringe U.S. intellectual property rights, the statute also provides more generally for the ITC’s … Continue Reading
The requirement of establishing a “domestic industry” in articles protected by a patent is a unique and important aspect of Section 337 litigation. Without it, the statute’s exclusionary remedies against imports that infringe a patent cannot be invoked. The statute enumerates the types of activities that can satisfy the “economic prong” of the domestic industry … Continue Reading
Under a pilot program initiated in 2013, the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) may designate an investigation for early disposition if it believes that there is a potentially case-dispositive issue warranting the program’s speedy (100-day) treatment. Since the program’s inception, the ITC has employed it sparingly, with only a handful of investigations garnering entry into … Continue Reading
The U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) has denied respondents’ requests for entry into the ITC’s pilot program for early case disposition in a trio of recent orders: in Certain Insulated Beverage Containers, Components, Labels, and Packaging Materials Thereof, Inv. No. 337-TA-1084 (Nov. 17, 2017); and in the companion cases of Certain Color Intraoral Scanners and Related Hardware … Continue Reading
Under a pilot program initiated in 2013, the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) may designate an investigation for early disposition if the ITC believes that there is a potentially case-dispositive issue warranting the program’s speedy (100-day) treatment. Since the program’s inception, however, the ITC has designated only a handful of cases for early disposition. Although … Continue Reading
For the second time in the past few months, the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) has decided to maintain an exclusion order despite final unpatentability findings by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO). The investigation is Certain Foam Footwear, Inv. No. 337-TA-567, which resulted in a general exclusion order in July 2011 based on … Continue Reading
The U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) has determined to maintain the $650,000.00 penalty it imposed for violation of a consent order entered in a Section 337 investigation, notwithstanding that the parties and the Office of Unfair Import Investigations (OUII) supported rescinding the penalty.… Continue Reading
The U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) has decided to review in part an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ)’s finding of violation of Section 337 based on patent infringement in Certain Semiconductor Devices, Semiconductor Device Packages, and Products Containing Same, Inv. No. 337-TA-1010 (Sept. 29, 2017). While review of patent issues is not unusual, the Notice of … Continue Reading
In yet another decision concerning how rulings in parallel, patent challenge proceedings impact Section 337 investigations, the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) has refused to rescind an exclusion order issued against a defaulted party despite a district court’s summary judgment ruling that it did not infringe the patent. The investigation is Certain Beverage Brewing Capsules, … Continue Reading
In an August 4, 2017 Notice, the US International Trade Commission announced that it has determined to review an administrative law judge (ALJ)’s initial determination in the enforcement proceeding in Certain Network Devices, Related Software, and Components Thereof, Inv. No. 337-TA-944 (Enforcement Proceeding). The Commission’s notice could lead to additional rulings by the presiding ALJ (Shaw) … Continue Reading
In a much-anticipated ruling, the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) has declined to issue an exclusion order barring hoverboards from the U.S. market, finding that the popular consumer items did not infringe the claims of the patent asserted against them. The investigation, captioned Certain Motorized Self-Balancing Vehicles, Inv. No. 337-TA-1000, was instituted in May 2016 … Continue Reading
The Federal Circuit has recently ruled on two appeals of Section 337 investigations involving findings of patent invalidity. As we reported in a prior blog, in Certain Beverage Brewing Capsules, Components Thereof, and Products Containing Same, Inv. No. 337-TA-929, the products under investigation were reusable beverage brewing capsules designed to replace the prior art cup-shaped … Continue Reading
In an enforcement proceeding stemming from the ITC’s December 2015 decision in Certain Marine Sonar Imaging Devices, Inv. No. 337-TA-921, ALJ David Shaw has found that the ITC’s cease and desist order was violated by continued infringing sales of imported products and has recommended that respondent Garmin be assessed a civil penalty of $37 million. … Continue Reading
On June 1, 2016, the complainant in Certain Beverage Capsules (Inv. 337-TA-929) filed a complaint with the ITC seeking enforcement of ITC remedial orders issued against a respondent (Eko Brands) that had been defaulted for failing to participate in the original investigation. The presiding administrative law judge (ALJ) has now issued his ruling finding no … Continue Reading
The USITC’s investigation in Certain Carbon and Alloy Steel Products, Inv. No. 337-TA-1002 was instituted to investigate alleged violations of Section 337 by the Chinese steel industry based on claims of trade secret misappropriation, false designation of origin, and (atypically for a 337 proceeding) antitrust violations. While the trade secret misappropriation claims were withdrawn, the … Continue Reading
The USITC’s investigation in Certain Carbon and Alloy Steel Products, Inv. No. 337-TA-1002 was instituted to investigate alleged violations of Section 337 by the Chinese steel industry based on claims of trade secret misappropriation, false designation of origin, and antitrust violations. In November of last year, the presiding administrative law judge (as we previously reported) … Continue Reading
The USITC’s investigation in Certain Carbon and Alloy Steel Products, Inv. No. 337-TA-1002 was instituted to investigate alleged violations of Section 337 by the Chinese steel industry based on claims of trade secret misappropriation, false designation of origin, and (atypically for a 337 proceeding) antitrust violations. While the first two claims are proceeding to trial, the … Continue Reading
