In a newly issued statement, the U.S. International Trade Commission once again made it clear that standard-essential patents may be asserted at the ITC and will be treated no differently than other patents asserted in a Section 337 investigation. Issues of standard essentiality will be addressed – under commission's statutory obligation to assess an exclusion order's impact on the public interest – only after it has been determined that a violation of the statute has occurred. Such issues, therefore, are not appropriate for resolution through the ITC's Early Disposition Pilot Program.

Read more on the team's insights into the SEPs at the ITC issue in this Law 360 article (republished with permission).

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.