On June 21, USPTO Director Kathi Vidal issued a memorandum concerning the PTAB’s practice of determining whether to institute an AIA post-grant proceeding in view of the Fintiv factors. The memorandum is in part a result of...more
7/15/2022
/ America Invents Act ,
Discretionary Functions ,
Inter Partes Review (IPR) Proceeding ,
International Trade Commission (ITC) ,
Investigations ,
Patent Infringement ,
Patent Litigation ,
Patent Trial and Appeal Board ,
Patents ,
Post-Grant Review ,
USPTO
On March 16, 2019, the ITC implemented a temporary change to filing procedures in light of the global COVID-19 pandemic. The accompanying notice stated that the ITC will temporarily waive and amend its rules that require the...more
In a recent summary determination order, ALJ Bullock found that complainants cannot always rely on circumstantial evidence to satisfy the Section 337 importation requirement. Certain Height-Adjustable Desk Platforms and...more
In a recent decision, ALJ Cheney determined that severance of an investigation was necessary for efficient adjudication of the issues raised in the Complaint. Certain Light-Emitting Diode Products, Systems, and Components...more
In a recent Enforcement Initial Determination, ALJ Shaw held that Sony had violated previously issued cease and desist orders (“CDOs”) and determined that the appropriate penalty was a fine of $210,134 – Sony’s net profit...more
10/18/2019
/ Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Cease and Desist Orders ,
Exclusion Orders ,
Initial Determination (ID) ,
International Trade Commission (ITC) ,
Patent Infringement ,
Patents ,
Presidential Review ,
Section 337 ,
Sony ,
Supply Chain
The ITC recently denied a joint motion to terminate an investigation on the basis of settlement after the parties failed to meet the requisite conditions. See In re Certain Child Carriers and Components Thereof, Inv. No....more
In another example of why defaulting at the ITC can be a dangerous strategy, the ITC recently found all eight named respondents in default and concluded a general exclusion order (GEO) was the appropriate remedy. Since the...more
Shortly before the evidentiary hearing, ALJ Lord granted Complainant’s motion in limine and excluded certain testimony in the witness statement of Respondents’ expert as precluded by her ground rules governing expert...more
6/24/2019
/ Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Computer-Related Inventions ,
Discovery ,
Evidentiary Hearings ,
Expert Testimony ,
Expert Witness ,
International Trade Commission (ITC) ,
Patents ,
Prior Art ,
Section 337 ,
Testimony ,
Written Descriptions
On April 2, 2019, the Commission issued an order denying Respondents’ requests to use the Early Disposition Program. Certain Data Transmission Devices, Components Thereof, Associated Software, and Products Containing the...more
On February 14, 2019, the U.S. International Trade Commission (“ITC”) issued an Initial Determination (“ID”) in the matter of Certain Road Construction Machines and Components Thereof, Inv. 337-TA-1088. In the ID, ALJ Lord...more
The ITC recently issued a Seizure and Forfeiture Order in response to an attempted importation of “ink cartridges and components thereof” subject to a General Exclusion Order (“GEO”) issued May 26, 2016. Certain Ink...more
A recent initial determination (“ID”) from the ITC resulted in a general exclusion order for products infringing several patents belonging to Complainant National Products Inc. (“NPI”). Certain Mounting Apparatuses For...more
In In re Certain Magnetic Tape Cartridges and Components Thereof, 337-TA-1058 (ITC October 2, 2018, Order), Administrative Law Judge Cheney ruled that even if a respondent is estopped from raising certain invalidity...more
The ITC recently indicated that 19 U.S.C. 1337(a)(2) does not require that a domestic industry product be sold before a complaint is filed for a domestic industry to exist. See Certain Road Construction Machines and...more
In a recent order, Administrative Law Judge Shaw denied in part the Respondents’ Motion to Supplement their Notice of Prior Art. In re Certain Strontium-Rubidium Radioisotope Infusion Systems, And Components Thereof Including...more
In Diebold Nixdorf, Inc. v. ITC, the Federal Circuit reversed the ITC’s finding of a Section 337 violation based on the ITC’s reliance on unrebutted expert testimony. Diebold, No. 17-2553 (Fed. Cir. Aug. 15, 2018). The case...more
In a recent decision, the Commission overruled the ALJ to clarify, and ultimately expand, the universe of investments that complainants can use to meet the economic prong of the domestic industry (“DI”) requirement. Certain...more
8/6/2018
/ Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Domestic Industry Requirement ,
Initial Determination (ID) ,
International Trade Commission (ITC) ,
Investment ,
Manufacturers ,
Patent Infringement ,
Patents ,
Research and Development ,
Section 337
While patent decisions from the ITC do not have collateral estoppel effects on later district court cases, other ITC decisions may create collateral estoppel. In a case of first impression, a district court recently ruled...more
Late last week, the International Trade Commission (“ITC”) finalized changes to its rules, which changes were first proposed in late 2015. The new rules are expected to be published in the Federal Register in early May 2018...more
5/3/2018
/ Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Expedited Discovery ,
Federal Pilot Programs ,
Federal Register ,
Federal Rules of Civil Procedure ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
International Trade Commission (ITC) ,
New Rules ,
Patents ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Rules of Practice ,
Section 337 ,
Young Lawyers
On February 14, 2018, the Commission affirmed ALJ Pender’s initial determination of non-infringement but based on modified grounds related to the construction of the claim term “single-molecule sequencing.” In re Certain...more
In a recent order, the Commission again declined to institute an Early Disposition Pilot Program (100-day Pilot Program), this time citing the complexity of the issues raised in the request. In the Matter of Certain...more
In previous posts, we have discussed whether the PTAB and the district courts can reach different conclusions on the same issue. In those instances, the Federal Circuit held they can, because the standards applicable at the...more
In two recent orders, the Commission denied respondents’ requests for entry into its Early Disposition Pilot Program (100-day Pilot Program). It has now been over two years since the ITC issued its proposed rulemaking for the...more
ALJ McNamara recently confirmed and tightened her previous order compelling depositions of certain Japanese witnesses in the United States. Certain Digital Cable And Satellite Products, Inv. No. 337-TA-1049, Order No....more
In a recent Order, ALJ McNamara clarified that while diagrams drawn by an expert depicting the interplay and hierarchy of relevant code modules, inputs, and outputs of source code are to be treated as confidential business...more
11/13/2017
/ Addendums ,
Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Confidential Business Information (CBI) ,
Discovery ,
Discovery Disputes ,
Expert Testimony ,
International Trade Commission (ITC) ,
Patent Infringement ,
Patents ,
Software Patents ,
Source Code