ITC Ends Investigation on Disposable Vaporizers After Complainant Withdraws
The International Trade Commission has ended a Section 337 investigation on imported disposable vaporizer devices (ITC Inv. No. 337-TA-1381), it said in a Federal Register notice to be published April 14. R.J. Reynolds, along with RAI Strategic Holdings, initially alleged in 2024 that 42 respondents (mostly in the U.S. and China) imported disposable vaporizer devices that infringe their patents (see 2407220025).
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
If your job depends on informed compliance, you need International Trade Today. Delivered every business day and available any time online, only International Trade Today helps you stay current on the increasingly complex international trade regulatory environment.
In January 2025, R.J. Reynolds filed a motion to withdraw the complaint. The respondents supported the withdrawal but asked the administrative law judge to "reconsider the ITC’s law concerning terminations with prejudice or recommend that the Commission do so." They requested "in the alternative" that any termination be subject to certain conditions “that may help to alleviate the extreme financial burdens” they have faced and “may face again.” The judge issued a ruling on March 7 "terminating the investigation without prejudice," after finding that "termination with prejudice is not permitted under Section 337(b)(1)."
The ITC then determined not to review the final initial determination but ruled that "during the investigation of any refiled complaint, the facts and circumstances may make it appropriate for the presiding ALJ or the Commission to adopt some or all of the record of the original investigation," preventing the respondents from having to "duplicate procedures and filings that occurred in the original investigation."