Enforcing Your Future
ITC Section 337 Investigations
International Trade Commission (ITC)
Exclusion Orders
The International Trade Commission (ITC) can issue what are called exclusion orders, which force U.S. Customs to prevent import of products which infringe U.S. patents.An exclusion order is a type of order that the USITC is authorized to issue as a remedy in an investigation under section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. § 1337) when it determines that a violation of section 337 has occurred, such as patent infringment. Such orders bar the named product or products from entry into the United States. There are two types of exclusion orders under the statute: (1) a limited exclusion order that bars the importation of products by specific respondents determined by the Commission to be violating section 337; and (2) a general exclusion order that bars the importation of all violative products, regardless of source, where it is necessary to prevent circumvention of an exclusion order limited to violative products of named persons or when there is a pattern of violation and it is difficult to ascertain the source of the violative products. The USITC’s exclusion orders are enforced by U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
The U.S. International Trade Commission in Washington, D.C.
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Litigation
Costs
Litigation costs of ITC attorneys are up 68% in ten years.
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Default
Judgments
The number of ITC cases being won by default is up 11% in ten years.
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Reduced
Filings
The number of investigations instituted before the ITC is down 20% in ten years.
Investigations Against Chinese Importers
Most Section 337 instituted by the ITC are instituted against Chinese importers profitting from a particular product. Many of these cases were wrongfully filed but are not disputed by the Chinese importers for fear of the U.S. legal system. In effect, many fo the cases involve bullying of Chinese parties. We handle defense of these cases and can help you determine if you are a victime of a wrongful investigation.
Exclusion Orders
We can help our clients obtain, or prevent another party from obtaining, an exclusion order, which is a court order from the ITC forcing U.S. Customs to stop imports of a specific product at the border from entering the borders of the United States.
Defense
Although defense costs are always an issue in these cases, many of these cases are won essentially by default because the defendants (i.e., repondents) do not fight the cases, encouraging plaintiffs (i.e., complainants) to file unjustified cases and seek unjustified institutition of ITC investigations.
Costs
We run a tight ship and keep our costs low. Our patent litigators typically charge less than other larger firms.
Sustainability
A defendant to an ITC investigation must budget to survive the investigation. We help all clients create a litigation plan.
Building the future
Our Team
S. Rinehart
Registered Patent Attorney
T. Miller
Registered Patent Attorney
J. Swallow
Attorney at Law
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