Reversing an earlier panel decision, the en banc Federal Circuit confirmed that the ITC has the authority to issue exclusion orders against imported products that ultimately are used to infringe method claims, even if those claims are not infringed until after the product has been imported into the U.S. In the matter of Suprema, Inc. v. ITC, the Federal Circuit held that “the Commission’s interpretation that the phrase ‘articles that infringe’ covers goods that were used by an importer to directly infringe post-importation as a result of the seller’s inducement is reasonable.” This decision clarifies and confirms the ITC’s ability to issue exclusion orders for infringement of method claims, a point that had been suddenly thrown into grave doubt by the earlier, now-vacated panel decision.
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