In Blow to GE, Trade Commission Rules Mitsubishi Can Continue Importing Wind Turbines

GE is in the midst of two patent infringement suits against Mitsubishi in two different federal district courts in Texas. But GE’s two-year-old case at the U.S. International Trade Commission came to a close on March 3, with the commission’s release of its 45-page public opinion. The ITC overturned an administrative law judge’s finding that Mitsubishi infringed three valid GE patents, leaving Mitsubishi free to continue importing its wind turbines in the U.S. The commission concluded that the judge used an erroneous claim construction. Mitsubishi’s lead counsel, Finnegan partner Thomas Winland, explained that “for Mitsubishi wind turbines, this is a very significant ruling.” The case had political overtones, with several U.S. senators and members of Congress sending letters to the ITC on behalf of either GE or Mitsubishi.