Doris Johnson Hines, an intellectual property lawyer, is about to become the newest administrative law judge at the International Trade Commission, according to a Feb. 23 ITC news release. She will begin work on Feb. 27. She currently is a partner at Finnegan and has "extensive experience in intellectual property litigation in both the public and private sectors leading teams in U.S. district courts, the USITC, and before arbitration panels," the announcement said.
Ben Perkins
Ben Perkins, Assistant Editor, is a reporter with International Trade Today and its sister publications, Trade Law Daily and Export Compliance Daily, where he covers sanctions, court rulings, and other international trade issues. He previously worked as a trade analyst for a Washington D.C. advisory firm. Ben holds a B.A. in English from the University of New Hampshire and an M.A. in International Relations from American University. Ben joined the staff of Warren Communications News in 2022.
The International Trade Commission has ended a Section 337 investigation on imported smart thermostats and load control switches (ITC Inv. No. 337-TA-1277) after finding no violation, according to a notice. The investigation followed a September 2021 complaint by Causam Enterprises, which alleged Alarm.com, Ecobee, EnergyHub, Itron, Resideo and Xylem were manufacturing and importing devices that infringed four of Causam's patents for power consumption reporting devices (see 2109010021).
The Biden administration won't overturn a limited exclusion order blocking the import of Apple Watches that the ITC found infringe on patents owned by AliveCor, a spokesperson in the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative confirmed. AliveCor had said that the USTR told it the administration would not move to block the order during the 60-day presidential review period (see 2302210064). According to AliveCor, this is the first-ever limited exclusion order against Apple to clear presidential review, although the Patent and Trademark Office's Patent Trial and Appeal Board recently ruled the underlying patents were invalid. An Apple spokesperson said the exclusion order will have no practical impact as enforcement is on hold pending AliveCor’s appeal of the PTAB ruling to the Federal Circuit.
Frozen risottos are classified as pre-cooked foods under Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States heading 1904, even though the risottos are only par-cooked and require more cooking by the consumer, CBP said in a recently released headquarters ruling. Though the importer argued for classification as food preparations of HTS heading 2106, CBP said foods may be considered pre-cooked if they require up to 12 minutes of additional cooking time, and the frozen risottos only require cooking for two to seven minutes more, CBP said in HQ H325964.
The International Trade Commission posted Revision 1 to the 2023 Harmonized Tariff Schedule. The update includes a technical correction to the USMCA rules of origin and a minor correction for organic surface-active agents (other than soap). The update also implements the extension through May of exclusions from Section 301 tariffs for 81 medical care products related to COVID-19 (see 2302020065) and implements corrections to descriptions and tariff numbers of two other Section 301 exclusions (see 2302090027). Also, the update removes Western Sahara from country designations and codes in the statistical annexes.
The Biden administration will purportedly not move to block a limited exclusion order from the International Trade Commission on Apple watches, according to AliveCor, the company that brought the underlying Section 337 complaint.
The International Trade Commission is considering a possible Section 337 investigation on imported portable battery jump-starters and components (ITC Docket No. 3669), it said in a Federal Register notice.
The first sale valuation method can be an effective means of minimizing tariff liability but does not come without risks, said James Mulvehill, trade and customs managing director at KPMG, during a Feb. 16 KPMG webinar.
The International Trade Commission found no violation of Section 337 in an investigation on imported radio frequency transmission devices (ITC Inv. No. 337-TA-1278), it said in a notice. The investigation followed an August 2021 complaint filed by Zebra Technologies alleging RF transmission devices used to track cargo and inventory imported by OnAsset Intelligence infringed on two of Zebra's patents and asking the ITC for a limited exclusion order (see 2109010022). The investigation was partially terminated in May 2022 with respect to one of the patents. In October 2022, Administrative Law Judge Clark Cheney initially found no violation, saying Zebra failed to establish infringement. The ITC concurred this month.
The International Trade Commission has received a Section 337 complaint related to imported compact wallets, it said in a Federal Register notice.