As 2015 comes to an end, Law360 contacted Finnegan attorney Christine E. Lehman to get her thoughts on what significant developments in IP law flew under the radar in 2015. Lehman said, "A 2015 Federal Circuit decision with little fanfare, DeLorme v. ITC, illustrates the power of U.S. International Trade Commission consent orders for complainants (and risks to respondents). The respondent, DeLorme, ended an ITC case by agreeing to a consent order not to import or sell after importation infringing products until the expiration, invalidation and/or unenforceability of the asserted patent. DeLorme was soon found in violation of the consent order and civil penalties were imposed. But DeLorme then invalidated the relevant claims in a declaratory judgment action in the Eastern District of Virginia. DeLorme appealed the ITC’s civil penalties for violation of a patent that was held invalid. But the Federal Circuit affirmed the civil penalties, holding DeLorme to the letter of the consent order — which was essentially a contract. That contract required compliance of the consent order until a nonreviewable and final decision on invalidity. This decision shows the powerful reach of a consent order, and the risk respondents take by using a consent order to end an ITC case. A respondent cannot challenge patent validity in an enforcement action. And to challenge validity in another forum, even one of the fastest in the country, will be of little help."