CDR spoke with Finnegan partners Smith R. Brittingham, IV and Christine E. Lehman for insights on practice, procedures, and developments at the U.S. International Trade Commission. “The ITC is a potentially attractive forum for any IP owner, whether foreign or U.S.-based, as long as the company or licensees have some U.S. activities that can satisfy the ITC’s ‘domestic industry’ standard,” explained Brittingham and Lehman. The Commission differs from U.S. jury trials, as Brittingham notes, “ITC judges focus only on IP disputes, unlike district court judges, who must handle a wide variety of cases.”
Lehman provided commentary on the impact of the ITC on respondents, saying, “Unlike U.S. district court litigation, the ITC needs personal jurisdiction over a non-U.S. company in order to issue and enforce those remedies. The ITC remedies are ‘in rem,’ against the thing, namely the imported goods, not against a particular company.”
