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EPSON PRESS RELEASE: In a case filed by Epson against 24 aftermarket ink cartridge importers and resellers, the U.S. International Trade Commission issued a Final Determination on Oct. 19 that all the ink cartridges accused by Epson infringe one or more of the company’s patents. As a result, the ITC issued a General Exclusion Order that directs U.S. Customs to bar all imports of infringing cartridges, a Cease and Desist Order that bars the named respondents from selling infringing cartridges, and a bond of $13.60 per cartridge imported during the Presidential Review Period. Epson has established a Web site at http://itc.epson.com to provide importers and resellers with timely information about the ITC decisions and their consequences.
The ITC order results from a complaint filed with the ITC by Epson Portland Inc., Epson America Inc. and Seiko Epson Corp. in February 2006 that accused 24 U.S., German, Korean and Chinese companies of importation and sales of infringing cartridges. Most of the accused companies settled or defaulted in the ITC action prior to trial.
In January 2007, the Hon. Paul J. Luckern, administrative law judge, conducted a trial that was defended by Dataproducts USA LLC, a division of Clover Technologies Group LLC; Ninestar Technology Co. Ltd; Zhuhai Gree Magneto-Electric Co. Ltd. and their affiliated companies.
The judge found that all 750 cartridges at issue infringed one or more of 11 Epson patents that cover innovations in cartridges for Epson desktop printers. The Cease and Desist Orders now prohibit all further sales of infringing cartridges by U.S. affiliates of these companies that defended the action and the companies that defaulted.
Following this Final Determination by the ITC is a 60-day review period during which the President of the United States can limit the remedies ordered by the ITC for policy reasons. A bond of $13.60 per cartridge is required for imports of the accused cartridges during the review period. This bond will be forfeited for all cartridges not returned to U.S. Customs if the ITC orders are not changed by the president.
The Epson companies filed a parallel action in the U.S. District Court in Portland, Ore., against the same 24 companies asserting similar patent claims. In June 2007, the Epson companies filed another District Court lawsuit against a large distributor and three large Internet resellers of cartridges alleging infringement of patents covering innovations in on-carriage cartridges of Epson desktop printers as well as innovations in off-carriage cartridges, such as those used in certain Epson large format printers. These District Court lawsuits seek both monetary damages and injunctive relief.
“We appreciate the ITC recognizing the validity and enforceability of our ink cartridge patents and more importantly for taking the necessary steps to prevent unfair competition,” said Elizabeth Leung, director of Consumer Supplies, Epson America Inc.“We will be working closely with U.S. Customs to ensure the effective enforcement of the ITC orders and will take whatever steps necessary to prevent continuing infringements. Resellers should note that any damages for willful infringement following the ITC decisions could be substantial.”
NINESTAR PRESS RELEASE: Ninestar is disappointed in the decision and order issued by United States International Commission (ITC), The General Exclusion Order will bring very adverse influence to the whole compatible manufacturers throughout the world.
At the same time, we are extraordinarily pleased that Ninestar’s newly developed products do not fall into the scope of Exclusion Order, and Ninestar will continue to provide related products and services for customers in the United States.
The decision of Commission affirms the opinions of Ninestar concerning important patents. Ninestar expects to continue to appeal adverse aspects of the decision to the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in order to strive for the related rights.
Ninestar has requested the PTO to reexamine the invalidity of patents which were registered based on the prior art by Seiko Epson, the PTO has recently agreed to Ninestar's request to reexamine and will fully reexamine the related patents of Seiko Epson.
