A product does not have to be manufactured in the U.S. for the licensee of that product to have access to the International Trade Commission’s import restrictions, said the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in a denial of Nokia’s request for rehearing. A U.S. patent holder’s investment in research and licensing alone satisfies the domestic industry requirement, regardless of whether actual production is performed entirely abroad. In a dissent from the ruling, Judge Pauline Newman disagreed that no domestic production need take place to satisfy the domestic industry prong. Such an interpretation ignores Congressional intent to protect U.S. industry, even in cases where the U.S. industry is comprised of licensees rather than actual patent holders.

The Court of International Trade agreed to a request by the International Trade Administration to expand a remand of the 2009-10 antidumping administrative review of frozen warmwater shrimp from China (A-570-893) to address recent fraud allegations. The final results of the proceeding were originally remanded Nov. 30 for the ITA to better explain its selection of India as the surrogate country to value inputs used by Hilltop International during the review. After receiving a request for changed circumstances review that alleged fraud by Hilltop during the proceeding, the ITA asked CIT to broaden the remand’s scope. The ITA did not disclose the fraud allegations in this case, and Hilltop argued it was required to in order to have the scope expanded. The court, however, found it sufficient that there was no evidence the ITA’s request was made in bad faith.

A British businessman was sentenced to 33 months in prison for attempting to export to Iran a special component of the Hawk Air Defense Missile, said Immigration and Customs Enforcement. In addition to his prison sentence, Christopher Tappin must also pay an $11,357.14 fine. Tappin reversed his original not guilty plea Nov. 1, admitting his guilt to aiding and abetting the illegal export of defense articles, and waiving his right to appeal his conviction or challenge the sentence handed down.

The Court of International Trade denied a rehearing of a case where it affirmed the International Trade Administration’s rescission of an antidumping new shipper review on wooden bedroom furniture from China (A-570-890). In its request for the new shipper review, plaintiff Marvin Furniture (Shanghai) had told the ITA that its first entries of subject merchandise to the U.S. occurred in June 2011. But after the ITA initiated the review, CBP found earlier entries of subject merchandise from Marvin. Given this new information, the ITA rescinded the new shipper review because Marvin’s review request did not meet the statutory requirements. In its request for rehearing, Marvin argued that the affirmance included several semantic errors, but CIT said Marvin’s assertions were a mischaracterization of the opinion.

Allegheny Steel Corp. and North American Stainless appealed the Court of International Trade’s November dismissal of a challenge to the results of a sunset review that resulted in the 2010 revocation of the antidumping duty orders on stainless steel sheet and strip from Italy, Germany, and Mexico. In its injury determination in the sunset review, the International Trade Commission had said that ThyssenKrupp’s U.S. subsidiary had effectively become part of U.S. industry, and had effective control over imports from affiliates in Italy, Germany, and Mexico. CIT upheld that determination.

Judge William Bryson retired from active service on the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit Jan. 6. Bryson has been a member of the court since 1994. He will continue to hear cases as a judge in senior status.

Immigrations and Customs Enforcement deported a man who conspired to illegally ship highly specialized vacuum pump equipment with nuclear applications from the U.S. to Iran, it said. Amirhossein Sairafi was released from federal prison and immediately deported from Chicago via commercial flight, arriving Jan. 4 in Tehran, Iran.

A Florida man pleaded guilty Dec. 27 to scheming to illegally import dinosaur fossils that had been smuggled out of Mongolia and China, said Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Between 2010 and 2012, Eric Prokopi, of Gainesville, Fla., acquired dinosaur fossils from foreign countries and unlawfully transported them to the U.S., misrepresenting the contents of shipments on customs forms, according to the plea, ICE alleged.

The Court of International Trade denied the government’s motion to dismiss, for lack of subject matter jurisdiction, an action brought by Michaels Stores challenging allegedly incorrect antidumping duty assessment instructions sent to CBP by the International Trade Administration. The government argued that Michaels is challenging CBP’s action, so the suit should have been filed under 28 USC 1581(a) customs protest denial jurisdiction. CIT said Michaels was instead challenging the International Trade Administration’s action, considering that the ITA issued the instructions, and said the suit was correctly filed under 28 USC 1581(i) residual jurisdiction as a challenge of the ITA’s administration and enforcement of trade laws.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit declined to hold an en banc review of the court's previous decision against Ancient Coin Collectors Guild (ACCG), which sued CBP over import restrictions. That court in October sided with the Justice Department in a suit filed by the ACCG over the implementation of import restrictions on cultural property from China and Cyprus. The ACCG filed the original suit in the U.S. District Court of Maryland after CBP stopped the 2009 import of coins over violations of the Cultural Property Implementation Act (CPIA). The district court said neither the State Department nor CBP had exceeded their authority.