Husch Blackwell successfully prevailed earlier this month at the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) when a five-person panel ruled that the firm’s client Laird Connectivity Inc., and others, did not violate Section 337 of the Tariff Act in relation to imported products alleged to infringe on wireless module patents. This victory follows a string of positive outcomes for Husch Blackwell clients at the ITC.
The ITC instituted the investigation in December 2020 after Netherlands-based Koninklijke Philips NV and subsidiary Philips RS North America LLC claimed 10 respondents were importing or selling infringing wireless modules without paying to license Philips' patents covering ways to comply with 3G Universal Mobile Telecommunications System or UMTS standards and 3G LTE standards. The Commission adopted an Administrative Law Judge’s April 2022 decision, concluding that none of the patents was infringed. In addition, the Commission affirmed the ALJ’s findings that claims of three of the asserted patents are invalid as indefinite and/or lacking written description.
“This is an excellent outcome for Laird Connectivity,” said partner Beau Jackson, who leads Husch Blackwell’s Section 337 ITC practice. “From the onset of the investigation it was evident that our client’s products did not infringe Philips’ intellectual property, and we are pleased the Commission ultimately reached that conclusion.”
In addition to Jackson, the Husch Blackwell team included Rudy Telscher, Daisy Manning, Glennon Fogarty, Brendan Zee-Cheng and Lauren Hitchens.