The U.S. ITC should uphold a finding of no violation of Section 337 in a case brought by O2 Micro International Ltd. over a computer display patent, according to agency staff. Though the bulk of the initial determination should stand, the commission should tweak some of the claim constructions, the ITC’s Office of Unfair Import Investigations said in a recent brief. The patent-in-suit covers certain cold cathode fluorescent lamp inverter circuits used in notebook computer screens and other LCDs. An administrative law judge found that Monolithic Power Systems, Inc. (MPS) and its customer Asus Computer International did not infringe the patent-in-suit. Finnegan partner Smith Brittingham, representing MPS and Asus, said that his clients were “confident that the result reached in the initial determination will ultimately be approved by the commission.”
