Other telecom, software and Internet companies also urged the FTC and Justice to do an in-depth investigation of PAEs and take further action to mitigate harmful effects of litigation abuse. The companies also urged the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) to institute proposed reforms to real-party-in-interest (RPI) information collection and disclosure and improve patent examination standards, with several also urging Congress to pass the Saving High-Tech Innovators from Egregious Legal Disputes (SHIELD) Act or similar legislation that institutes a “loser pays” rule, which would require a PAE to pay the legal costs of a company it sues if the PAE loses.
FTC and Justice should urge the courts “to prevent subsequent acquirers of RAND-encumbered patents from extracting the hold-up value of those patents,” Verizon and USTelecom said, referring to reasonable and nondiscriminatory license obligations. The agencies should also urge the courts to take actions that would “reduce the costs of patent litigation in order to foster the public good of private challenges to questionable patents,” Verizon and USTelecom said (http://1.usa.gov/YdWXpk).
The International Trade Administration issued a final rule establishing time limits for specific types of submissions of factual information in antidumping and countervailing duty proceedings. The rule amends definitions in the ITA’s regulations to define the specific types of factual information the agency accepts in AD/CVD proceedings, and establishes time limits for each specific type of actual information. The final rule also changes current time limits for some kinds of factual information.
The Court of International Trade is increasing its fees for filing cases. Effective May 1, the fee for filing challenges to protest denials under 28 USC 1581(a) will increase from $150 to $175, while the fee for filing Trade Adjustment Assistance challenges for workers under 28 USC 1581(d)(1) will rise from $25 to $35. Fees for all other actions, including challenges to International Trade Administration determinations in antidumping and countervailing duty cases, will increase from $350 to $400.
The Court of International Trade denied Cutter & Buck’s challenge to CBP’s valuation of 168 entries of apparel. Cutter & Buck argued that CBP should have deducted international freight charges when arriving at the price actually paid or payable for the purpose of calculating transaction value. The shipments were subject to a late-delivery clause that shifted responsibility for shipping to the seller. Cutter & Buck said the clause also changed the terms of sale from free on board (FOB) to cost, insurance, and freight (CIF), so the cost of shipping was included in the invoice, and deductible, as a result of the late delivery. But the court found that there was no evidence to support Cutter & Buck’s claim that the invoice price included the international freight charges, so they could not be deducted.
International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories for March 25-29 in case they were missed.
Thomas Steel Strip Corporation filed a petition March 27 requesting an antidumping duty investigation of diffusion-annealed, nickel-plated steel flat-rolled products from Japan (A-588-869). According to the petition, Japanese companies are dumping nickel-plated steel in the U.S. at rates from 37.7 to 73.5 percent less than their home market price levels.
Otelco, a wireline provider for several states, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in Delaware Sunday, in order to restructure. The company, which is incorporated in Delaware, has $168.5 million in assets and $310.06 million in total debt, according to documents filed at the Wilmington, Del., bankruptcy court. Otelco operates 11 RLECs throughout Alabama, Maine, Massachusetts, Missouri, Vermont and West Virginia as well as two CLECs providing telecom service in Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts and is “the sole wireline telephone services provider for many of the rural communities it serves,” the documents said.
The Court of International Trade (CIT) is testing a new version of the Case Management/Electronic Case Files (CM/ECF) system to improve mobile access to the court's dockets, said Steve Swindell, case management supervisor at the CIT. "In this version it will be easier to view docket sheets on their mobile device," he said. The CIT also has two pilot programs, one with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and another with CBP, that is testing the transfer of CM/ECF documents via email, he said.
NEW YORK -- Efficiency problems in classification litigation hurts the process as discovery requests and time considerations prevent the filing of some quality cases, said customs lawyers March 22. Several lawyers discussed the issue and possible fixes during a forum on international trade and customs litigation held by the Customs and International Trade Bar Association and Federal Circuit Bar Association. While a small claims court for customs issues has been discussed for decades, its creation remains highly unlikely, they said.
The Court of International Trade dismissed a challenge to CBP’s extensions of the liquidation deadline on entries of citric acid from India and the Dominican Republic. CBP and ICE had been investigating possible transshipment of citric acid from China through India and the Dominican Republic to evade antidumping and countervailing duties. Plaintiffs Chemsol and MC International argued that the investigation was inactive because CBP and ICE had not requested new information from the companies, and so CBP was unjustified in its extensions. But the court said CBP was within its rights to extend the liquidation deadlines, because CBP isn’t restricted to seeking more information only from the investigated companies.