Washington – The Computer & Communications Industry Association and several partner trade organizations filed an amicus brief, asking the Supreme Court to intervene in a patent case that could set a precedent regarding misuse of the International Trade Commission’s authority to block Americans’ access to products. The ITC was established to protect US companies from unfair foreign competition, but lately it has been hijacked by some without U.S.-based manufacturing to target U.S. companies. CCIA’s brief asks the Supreme Court to reverse the ITC’s finding that a domestic industry existed in the case of Apple v. International Trade Commission and thereby restore the boundaries of ITC’s jurisdiction as set by Congress.
CCIA’s members are frequently targeted with patent cases at the ITC by entities that do not have manufacturing facilities in the United States or that otherwise have weak patent claims. This has led CCIA to file public interest comments with the ITC, including previous comments in response to public input on a request to block Apple Watches from importation due to a dispute over one of the tens of thousands of patents enabling the product.
The following can be attributed to CCIA President & CEO Matt Schruers:
“This case matters to US innovators and every user of interoperable consumer electronics. The US patent system can enable innovators to bring their ideas to market in the United States, but not when non-producing entities misuse it. Increasingly, foreign actors hijack U.S. processes to block lawful products from reaching consumers. We are asking the Supreme Court to review this case and reaffirm that patent law serves to reward innovators, not opportunists.”
