Commissioner Nancy Nord of the Consumer Product Safety Commission condemned several provisions the part 1110 proposal on product safety certificates last week. In a series of posts on her blog, Conversations with Consumers (here), Nord took issue with the proposed rule’s cost analysis, provisions on certification of banned products and products exempt from testing, and recordkeeping requirements. CPSC Chairman Inez Tenenbaum’s office didn't comment.
Federal-Mogul filed a Section 337 complaint with the International Trade Commission May 9 requesting the agency issue orders barring imports of windshield wipers from Trico that infringe its patents. According to Federal-Mogul, Trico Corporation, Trico Products, and Trico Components S.A. de C.V. (Trico) are infringing on one of its patents related to a separate spoiler for wiper blades that is interchangeable to fit different vehicles. The spoiler prevents lifting of the windshield wipers from airflow when driving at higher speeds, which results in poor wiping performance.
The Commerce Department published notices in the May 14 Federal Register on the following AD/CV duty proceedings (any notices that announce changes to AD/CV duty rates, scope, affected firms, or effective dates will be detailed in another ITT article):
On May 13 the Food and Drug Administration posted new and revised versions of the following Import Alerts on the detention without physical examination of:
During the week of May 7-13, the Food and Drug Administration modified the following existing Import Alerts (not otherwise listed on the FDA's new and revised import alerts page) on the detention without physical examination and/or surveillance of:
On May 13, the Foreign Agricultural Service posted the following GAIN reports:
The Foreign Trade Zones Board issued the following notices for May 14:
Cameron Kerry will take over as Acting Secretary of Commerce June 1, according to an internal letter from current Acting Secretary Rebecca Blank to Commerce Department employees. Blank is to become Chancellor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and her last day at Commerce will be May 31, she said.
The Court of International Trade vacated its August judgment against Nan Ya Plastics’ claim for funds under the Continued Dumping and Subsidy Offset Act (CDSOA, also known as the Byrd Amendment) (see 12071601). The court will now allow Nan Ya to file an amended complaint, in light of the Appeals Court’s July 2012 ruling in PS Chez Sidney v. International Trade Commission (see 12071604).
The Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed the International Trade Commission’s determination that imports of Nintendo’s Wii video game system are not violating Section 337 by infringing on Motiva’s patents. The ITC had found that Motiva was not in the process of establishing a domestic industry. The company’s only activity related to the patents being a lawsuit against Nintendo. The court said the ITC’s determination was supported by the record -- Motiva was not close to developing a product that would utilize the patented technologies, and hadn’t been actively attempting to develop one for years. CAFC also pointed to Motiva’s decision not to ask for a preliminary injunction in its lawsuit, as well as the delay of three years between the launch of the Wii and Motiva’s ITC complaint, to show that Motiva’s owners had only filed the lawsuit for financial gain, not to clear the way for establishing an industry in the U.S.