A new Interim Final Rule (New Rule) issued by the US Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), which amended the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) (15 CFR Parts 730-774) by expanding the direct product rule as applied to certain organizations on the entity list took effect on May 15, 2020. The New Rule, … Continue Reading
This blog post is being published for The Trade Practitioner as part of a content partnership with our Brexit Legal blog. Please contact Matthew Kirk with any questions. In the last week of February 2020 – amid some chest-beating ferocity on both sides – the EU and UK published their respective negotiating mandates for the … Continue Reading
In response to ongoing human rights violations, BIS announced that it would add 28 Chinese governmental and commercial organizations to the Entity List for engaging in or enabling activities contrary to the foreign policy interests of the US. This action targets those entities implicated in human rights violations and abuses in China’s campaign targeting Uighurs and other predominantly Muslim ethnic minorities … Continue Reading
On Friday, June 29, the US International Trade Commission (USITC) issued an opinion (in Certain Solid State Storage Drives, Stacked Electronics Components, and Products Containing Same, Inv. No. 337-TA-1097), which expresses the Commission’s view on an important aspect of Section 337’s “domestic industry” requirement. USITC stipulates that investments in non-manufacturing activities, such as engineering and … Continue Reading
On May 8, 2018, the US International Trade Commission (ITC) completed the process that began in 2015 to change the rules governing its practice and procedures with respect to 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 … Continue Reading
Section 337 of the US trade laws gives the US International Trade Commission (USITC) authority to prevent “unfair practices in import trade.” In addition to the statute’s provisions that allow the USITC to exclude imported goods that infringe US intellectual property (IP) rights, it also provides for the USITC’s ability to remedy other “unfair methods … 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. Judge Shaw recently released an order denying the complainant’s request for summary judgment on the economic prong of the domestic industry requirement in Certain Road Milling Machines and Components Thereof, Inv. No. 337-TA-1067 … Continue Reading
On January 17, 2018, the US International Trade Commission’s (USITC) Notice of Institution designated Certain IOT Devices and Components Thereof (IOT, The Internet of Things)—Web Applications Displayed On A Browser, Inv. No. 337-TA-1094 for early disposition. This is just the sixth such designation the USITC has made since the program was implemented and comes after four … Continue Reading
The US International Trade Commission (USITC) denied requests to enter Certain Insulated Beverage Containers, Components, Labels, and Packaging Materials Thereof, Inv. No. 337-TA-1084 (Nov. 17, 2017); and the companion cases of Certain Color Intraoral Scanners and Related Hardware and Software, Inv. No. 337-TA-1090 and 337-TA-1091 (Dec. 14, 2017) into the USITC’s pilot program for early case disposition. Our sister publication, the Global IP & … Continue Reading
The US International Trade Commission (USITC) recently denied a respondents’ request to enter Certain Shaving Cartridges, Components Thereof and Products Containing Same, Inv. No. 337-TA-1079, Order (Oct. 25, 2017) into the early disposition pilot program. Our sister publication, the Global IP & Technology Law Blog, looks into the decision here.… Continue Reading
According to a US International Trade Commission (USITC) notice published on August 4, 2017, the USITC has determined to remand an initial enforcement decision issued by an administrative law judge (ALJ) in the enforcement proceeding in Certain Network Devices, Related Software, and Components Thereof, Inv. No. 337-TA-944. The decision by USITC could instigate additional rulings … Continue Reading
Hoverboard had its first claim to fame as a fictional levitation transport device in Back to the Future. In the real world today, the hoverboard has become a popular consumer product that was recently involved in a highly watched US International Trade Commission (USITC) Section 337 investigation. In short, the US claimants initially alleged that 28 … Continue Reading
Following on our prior blog post on Certain Beverage Brewing Capsules, Components Thereof, and Products Containing Same, Inv. No. 337-TA-929, the Federal Circuit has recently ruled on an appeal of that case as well as one in Certain Wireless Headsets, 337-TA-943, both involving findings of patent invalidity. Continue reading on our sister blog, Global IP … Continue Reading
On May 18, 2017, US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer formally notified the US Congress of President Donald Trump’s intent to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). In letters transmitted to senior Congressional leaders, Ambassador Lighthizer pledged that the administration will consult closely with Congress to ensure its negotiating positions are consistent with the … Continue Reading
The US International Trade Commission’s (USITC) 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.… Continue Reading
In an opinion made public just prior to the Labor Day weekend, the ITC has granted the complainant’s request to modify its order excluding marine sonar imaging devices to cover components that are intended to be included in a fully-assembled (also referred to as fully “kitted”) infringing product after importation. Certain Marine Sonar Imaging Devices, … Continue Reading
In the first-ever hearing on a patent issue under the United States International Trade Commission’s (USITC) Pilot Program for early case disposition, ALJ Shaw has found (Inv. No. 337-TA-994) that the asserted claims of the sole patent-in-suit fail to recite patent-eligible subject matter under 35 U.S.C. § 101. As we reported in a previous blog post, the USITC, … Continue Reading
In May, the United States International Trade Commission (USITC) instituted its investigation of Certain Carbon and Alloy Steel Products, Inv. No. 337-TA-1002, based on alleged violations of Section 337 by the Chinese steel industry, including antitrust, false designation of origin, and trade secret claims. As we reported in a previous blog, however, ALJ Lord determined, … Continue Reading
ALJ Lord made the determination to suspend the USITC’s Section 337 investigations in Certain Carbon and Alloy Steel Products, Inv. No. 337-TA-1002, on the grounds that the investigation “comes at least ‘in part’ within the purview of the antidumping and countervailing laws . . . [and] therefore requires that the Commission notify the Secretary of Commerce” … Continue Reading
US International Trade Commission administrative law judge Dee Lord has granted another Section 101 summary determination motion (the ALJ’s third such decision since March 1, 2016), this time in Certain Automated Teller Machines, ATM Products, Components Thereof, and Products Containing Same, Inv. No. 337-TA-972, Initial Determination, Order 21 (June 28, 2016). The patent at issue … Continue Reading
In what appears to be something of a trend in favor of summary dispositions, the International Trade Commission (ITC) has affirmed summary determination rulings of patent invalidity in two, separate investigations: Certain Wireless Headsets, Inv. No. 337-TA-943 and Certain Automated Teller Machines and Point of Sale Devices and Associated Software Thereof, Inv. No. 337-TA-958. The … Continue Reading
In yet another significant development at the ITC on Section 101 issues, the Commission has ordered an early hearing in a newly-instituted Section 337 investigation as to whether the asserted claims of the sole patent-in-suit recite patent-eligible subject matter under 35 U.S.C. § 101. The case—Certain Portable Electronic Devices and Components Thereof, Inv. No. 337-TA-994—involves, according to … Continue Reading
As an update to our April 13, 2016 blog post, US International Trade Commission administrative law judge (ALJ) Dee Lord has granted summary determination that the asserted claims of two of Jawbone’s remaining patents in its Section 337 action against Fitbit are directed to ineligible subject matter under 35 U.S.C. § 101. Certain Activity Tracking Devices, … Continue Reading
In a recent notice to review an ALJ’s determination finding a violation of Section 337, the ITC has requested briefing on whether a laches defense is available in Section 337 investigations in view of the Federal Circuit’s recent decision in SCA Hygiene Prods v. First Quality Baby Prods., 807 F.3d 1311 (Fed. Cir. 2015) (en … Continue Reading
