Japon

États-Unis d'Amérique

Moyens de faire respecter les DPI

21. According to recent amendments of Section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930, producers or importers of challenged products of a foreign origin may not necessarily have to defend their products both before the USITC and a federal court in a sense that both the USITC and a federal court procedures never proceed at the same time. Please explain whether the recent amendment of Section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930 has solved the prior problem in which producers or importers of challenged products of foreign origin were forced to defend in double fora.

The amendments to section 337 provided the means to prevent infringement proceedings being brought against imported goods in two forums at the same time. A district court hearing an infringement case is required to stay its proceedings, at the request of a respondent in a section 337 proceeding, in respect of any claim that involves the same issues as those pending before the ITC. Such issues would include questions of patent validity, infringement, and any defences that might be raised in both proceedings. The district court may use its discretionary authority to stay any other claims in the case.