Canon Moves Closer to Victory on Patent Infringement Complaint

On April 17, the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) issued a notice in response to Canon’s patent infringement complaint. In January 2012, Canon alleged that 34 remanufacturers and resellers infringed its patents (5,903,803 and 6,128,454) for its “twisted prism” gears which have been used in most HP and Canon all-in-one toner cartridges.

On March 1, Administrative Law Judge David P. Shaw issued an initial determination defining a violation of Section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930, and recommended a general exclusion order (GEO) as remedy.

In its April 17 notice, the ITC advised it would not review Judge Shaw’s initial determination, because no party petitioned for it. It might issue a limited exclusion order and/or cease-and-desist orders as the remedy. Prior to doing so, it is asking for written submissions addressing the form of remedy it should order by the close of business on May 1. Acting in the public interest, the ITC is mostly concerned with how any remedy it may order will affect the public. The target date for the ITC to issue a final determination is June 28.