IP Newsflash

A recent initial determination at the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) determined that claims directed to semiconductor chips with no lower bounds for recited gate pitch and width ranges (e.g., “less than or equal to about [X] nanometers”) were not enabled under 35 U.S.C. § 112. Specifically, it found that a person of ordinary skill could not practice the full scope of the claims, in particular at the lower bounds of the recited ranges, without undue experimentation.

In an order from the International Trade Commission (ITC), Administrative Law Judge Lord denied Respondents’ motion for summary determination of no domestic industry because the motion was based on an incorrect interpretation of the term “article” in Section 337(a)(2).

On June 23, 2016, the International Trade Commission (ITC) determined that a Section 337 violation has occurred in Certain Footwear Products (Inv. No. 337-TA-936). As a result, it issued a general exclusion order prohibiting the unlicensed entry of footwear products that infringe two marks directed to the outsole layout of Converse Inc.’s (“Converse”) famous Chuck Taylor shoe (U.S. Trademark Registration Nos. 3,258,103 (the ‘103 trademark) and 1,588,960 (the ‘960 trademark)). The ITC determined that the public interest factors do not preclude issuance of the general exclusion order. The ITC also determined that a bond of 100 percent of the entered value (per pair) of the covered products is required to permit temporary importation during the presidential review period.