On March 16, 2019, the ITC implemented a temporary change to filing procedures in light of the global COVID-19 pandemic. The ITC will temporarily waive and amend its rules that require the filing of paper copies, CD-ROMs, and other physical media in section 337 investigations. All filings, including new complaints, will be done electronically instead.
In a recent summary determination order, ALJ Bullock found that complainants cannot always rely on circumstantial evidence to satisfy the Section 337 importation requirement because, without actual importation records, such evidence may not be sufficient to prove that a respondent actually shipped an infringing product.
In a recent decision, ALJ Cheney determined that severance of an investigation was necessary for efficient adjudication of the issues raised in the Complaint. The rule permitting severance went into effect June 7, 2018 and has not been utilized as much as some initially thought.
In a recent Enforcement Initial Determination, ALJ Shaw held that respondent had violated previously issued cease and desist orders (“CDOs”) and determined that the appropriate penalty was a fine of $210,134 – the net profit from those sales in violation of the CDOs.
The ITC recently denied a joint motion to terminate an investigation on the basis of settlement after ALJ Cheney held that the redactions to the public version of the settlement agreement far exceeded the permissible scope of confidential business information under the rules.