The USITC’s headquarters in Washington D.C.
The U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) has initiated a modification proceeding to determine whether Katun and General Plastic’s redesigned toner supply containers, known as “New Katun Containers,” infringe upon patent claims.
Investigation 1259 and 1260 are still ongoing, despite previous conclusions by the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) in favour of Canon. The ITC found a violation of section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930 and issued a general exclusion order (GEO).
However, the defendants, Katun and General Plastic (GPI), have filed a petition requesting the commission to modify the GEO. Their aim is to clarify that the order should not cover their redesigned toner supply containers called “New Katun Containers.”
Katun and General Plastic argue that if the complainants try to extend the claims of the Asserted Patents to cover the New Katun Containers, it will render the patents invalid. They assert that the redesign should have been considered in the original investigation.
Canon responded to the petition on May 5th, opposing the requested modification. They argue that Katun and General Plastic have not provided sufficient evidence to demonstrate why the redesign could not have been addressed in the initial investigation. Canon also states that there is no plausible evidence to show that the New Katun Containers do not infringe the Asserted Patents, thus no modification is necessary.
The Commission has reviewed the petition and determined that it meets the requirements for a modification proceeding under Commission Rule 210.76(a)(1) (19 CFR 210.76(a)(1)). They will now investigate whether Katun and General Plastic’s redesigned New Katun Containers infringe upon one or more patent claims.
As a result, the Commission has decided to initiate a modification proceeding and has referred the petition to the Chief Administrative Law Judge (ALJ).
