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IP Alert
IP Alert Update: Suprema v. ITC

September 16, 2015

In August 2015, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit sitting en banc overturned a prior panel decision in Suprema, Inc., and Mentalix, Inc. v. International Trade Commission and Cross Match Technologies, Inc. Departing from the conventional view that that the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) only has power over goods that are infringing at the point of importation, the Federal Circuit ruled that the ITC has the authority to prevent the importation of products based on an inducement theory of infringement, even if the imported products are not covered by the patent at the time they are imported into the country. The en banc court’s majority decision overturned the prior panel holding in the case and remanded to the original Federal Circuit panel for further proceedings.

On remand, the original panel again reviewed the challenged findings of infringement. On September 14, 2015, the court held that the ITC’s findings were supported by “substantial evidence,” thus affirming the ITC’s original findings. The court’s nonprecedential opinion can be found here.

The Suprema case is significant for those Fitch Even clients concerned with exclusion orders before the ITC. For more information, please contact Fitch Even partner Christine A. Pompa, the author of this alert.
 

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