An administrative law judge (ALJ) with the United States International Trade Commission (ITC) issued an initial determination regarding her investigation of 3Shape’s alleged infringement of Align Technology’s patents on April 26, 2019.
While the ALJ determined that 19 of the 20 patent claims Align asserted are valid, she did not find that 3Shape infringed these patents based on her construction of the relevant claim terms and, as a result, declined to find a violation of Section 337.
Section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended, makes unfair methods of competition and unfair acts involving the importation and sale of certain articles in the United States unlawful.
However, the ALJ did find that an order excluding the accused 3Shape products from import into the United States is appropriate should the full ITC find a violation occurred. Accordingly, Align said that it will seek review of the initial determination by the full commission.
“While we are disappointed that the ALJ declined to find a Section 337 violation, we are pleased that the initial determination confirms the validity of the vast majority of the claims we asserted against 3Shape,” said Roger George, Align senior vice president and general counsel.
“The ALJ’s ruling is not final, and we will seek appropriate review. We remain committed to protecting our ongoing investment in technologies and products that help our customers and their patients and to preventing the unauthorized use of our intellectual property,” George said.
The initial determination is now subject to review by the ITC commissioners. Align says it intends to petition for review of the findings it believes are incorrect. 3Shape also may petition for review of the initial determination. The ITC then will decide whether to review any portion of the initial determination.
At present, Align has three ITC cases and six Federal District Court patent infringement cases pending against 3Shape. One ITC case is set for hearing in October 2019, and two District Court cases are set for trials in the first half of next year.
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