ITC Will Consider a General Exclusion Order on Aftermarket Vehicle Steps in Section 337 Investigation
The International Trade Commission began a Section 337 investigation on imported automated retractable vehicle steps, and will consider a general exclusion order on the products, the ITC said in a Dec. 1 news release.
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The investigation follows an Oct. 28 complaint by Lund Motion Products, in which the company alleged that Chinese producer Anhui Aggeus Auto-Tech and U.S. importers Rough Country, Southern Truck, Meyer Distributing and Earl Owen manufacture and import products that infringe on four of Lund's patents for the aftermarket vehicle steps (see 2211030004).
Lund said it is the target of unfair undercutting by foreign competitors that have "slavishly copied" Lund's patents and taken advantage of inexpensive foreign manufacturing. A general exclusion order is necessary to prevent circumvention, which Lund says is likely if a more limited exclusion order restricted to products of the named respondents were enforced. Lund points to a "pattern of violation" that makes identifying the source of infringing products difficult. The company says it has taken all commercially reasonable steps to protect its innovation but has continued to face "unlawful and unfair undercutting."