Comments are due to the International Trade Commission by Dec. 13 concerning a potential Section 337 investigation on imported environmental monitors, according to a notice released Dec. 2. The notice follows a Nov. 29 complaint by Johnson Controls Technology and Johnson Controls, Inc., alleging that Price Industries imports environmental monitors that infringe on two Johnson Controls patents. The patents concern apparatuses for sensor monitoring with side-viewable illumination, which allows for wider viewing angles for alerts and changes being monitored. The complaint asked the ITC for a permanent limited exclusion and a cease and desist order against Price Industries.
The Port of Hidalgo, Texas, lacked the authority to reliquidate entries of mangoes from Mexico, CBP headquarters said in a Sept. 30 ruling, made public on Nov. 29. The ruling was in response to a protest filed on behalf of importer RB Logistics, which imported the mangoes in 2013, claiming preferential treatment under NAFTA. The port liquidated the entries, without change, in January 2014 but then reliquidated the entries with an increase in duties owed in February 2017.
Returned and remanufactured engine parts should be appraised under the fallback method using the sales price of the remanufactured good, with a deduction for the average cost of repair, CBP said in a ruling dated Sept. 29 and released recently.
Comments are due to the International Trade Commission by Dec. 8 on a potential Section 337 investigation on imported cabinet X-ray and optical camera systems, according to a notice released Nov. 29 (ITC Docket No. 3656). The notice and request for comment follows a Nov. 23 complaint by KUB Technologies, Inc. (Kubtec), which alleged that four Chinese and one U.S. company imported cabinet X-ray systems that infringed on a Kubtec patent concerning rapid-result x-ray images. Kubtec has asked the ITC for a limited exclusion order prohibiting entry into the U.S. of all cabinet X-ray and optical camera systems imported by the named respondents: CompAI Healthcare (Shenzhen) Co., Ltd.; CompAI Healthcare (Suzhou) Co., Ltd.; Kangpai Medical Technology (Changchun) Co., Ltd.; Kangpai (Beijing) Medical Equipment Co., Ltd.; and Dilon Technologies, Inc. Kubtec also asked for cease and desist orders.
The International Trade Commission has opened a Section 337 investigation on imported video processing devices, according to a notice released Nov. 28 (ITC Inv. No. 337-TA-1343). The investigation follows an Oct. 24 complaint by DivX, which alleged that Amazon and Vizio import streaming media devices such as the Amazon Fire and Vizio's D-, M-, P- and V-series of smart televisions infringe on five of DivX's patents. The patents cover improvements to computer systems for streaming media, compressed video content and adaptive bitrate streaming. DivX has asked the ITC for permanent limited exclusion and cease and desist orders.
Imported Penrose drains are properly classified as tubes of vulcanized rubber under heading 4009 and not hygienic or pharmaceutical articles of vulcanized rubber under heading 4014, according to a CBP ruling dated Oct. 6 and released recently. The drains at issue are soft tubes made of vulcanized latex rubber varying in size from ¼ inch to 1 inch in diameter. Each drain is sterilized and sold individually to animal hospitals for use in surgical procedures, to allow fluids to drain out of the animal during the healing process.
Seventeen styles of fabrics are not excluded from 10% Section 301 duties because they do not qualify as microfibers or microdeniers, CBP said in a Sept. 8 ruling, recently released publicly.
CBP issued an internal guidance Nov. 7 on verifying bond amounts for Temporary Importation Under Bond (TIB) entries and requesting additional security under a Single Transaction Bond (STB) when a continuous bond is on file but is not sufficient to cover TIB requirements, the agency said in a Nov. 14 CSMS message.
In the Nov. 9 Customs Bulletin (Vol. 56, No. 44), CBP published a proposal to revoke rulings on wireless headphone sets.
International Trade Today is providing readers with the top stories from last week in case they were missed. All articles can be found by searching on the titles or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.