In class we have discussed the USPTO, but the USITC is equally important. The USITC or United States International Trade Commission, is US-based agency that is supposed to help protect US domestic industry from foreign competition. This includes, and why I chose to write about it, the unauthorized importation of patented goods.
In addition, someone who has a patent can allege patent infringement at the USITC or Federal Court and that there are no restrictions from doing both at once. Since the case of eBay v. MercExchange, about 20% of the investigations with companies who have licensed patents don't use the invention, which is well below the numbers seen in federal district courts. This doesn't stop the fact that the investigations have been on the rise peaking in 2011. Companies that license patents typically make that money when the patented technology is used by other people and royalties come into effect.
Interesting graph--I wonder what caused the dip in the total number of investigations in 2012--maybe the sheer size of the Samsung/Apple lawsuit caused many different law firms to be preoccupied with a whale of a case?
ReplyDeleteGreat read Adam. It is rather intriguing like Christopher pointed out of the dip of investigation in 2012. I think it's also interesting how a patent owner can allege patent infringement at the Federal Court with no restrictions. We should definitely look closely at this situation in the coming months.
ReplyDeletethe dip in 2012 is definitely interesting. it also makes me wonder about how globalization will change the role of the ITC. imagine a US company who infringes upon a foreign company in US. Will the ITC favor the US company because it promotes the local economy?
ReplyDeleteI also noticed the decline in 2012, are there any other possible reasons for the dip other than the ones noted?
ReplyDelete