[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 189 (Thursday, September 28, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 58287-58288]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-24915]


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INTERNATIONAL TRADE COMMISSION

[Inv. No. 337-TA-383 Advisory Opinion Proceeding]


Certain Hardware Logic Emulation Systems and Components Thereof; 
Notice of Commission Decision Not To Review an Initial Advisory Opinion 
Issued by the Administrative Law Judge

AGENCY: U.S. International Trade Commission.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that the U.S. International Trade 
Commission has determined in the above-captioned advisory opinion 
proceeding (1) not to review the presiding administrative law judge's 
(``ALJ's'') finding that access from the United States of Mentor 
Graphics Corporation's (``Mentor's'') foreign design verification 
centers would not be covered by the Commission's cease and desist 
order, (2) to take no position on the ALJ's alternate determination 
concerning the ``use'' of Mentor's hardware logic emulator in the 
United States if the term ``covered product'' in the cease and desist 
order is interpreted to include infringing hardware and software that 
has not been imported, (3) affirm the ALJ's Order No. 115, and (4) to 
grant the motion of Quickturn Design Systems, Inc. (``Quickturn'') to 
file a reply to the response of the Commission investigative attorney 
(``IA'') to Quickturn's petitions to the Commission.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Timothy P. Monaghan, Office of the 
General Counsel, U.S. International Trade Commission, 500 E Street, 
SW., Washington, DC 20436, telephone 202-205-3152. General information 
concerning the Commission may also be obtained by accessing its 
Internet server (http://www.usitc.gov). Hearing-impaired persons are 
advised that information on this matter can be obtained by contacting 
the Commission's TDD terminal on 202-205-1810.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Inv. No. 337-TA-383 was instituted on March 
8, 1996, based on a complaint by Quickturn. The respondents named in 
the investigation were Mentor and Meta Systems (hereinafter 
collectively ``Mentor''). The products at issue were certain hardware 
logic emulation systems used in the semiconductor industry to debug and 
test electronic circuit designs for semiconductor devices.
    On July 31, 1997, the ALJ issued his final initial determination 
(``ID'') finding that Mentor had violated section 337 of the Tariff Act 
of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1337) by infringing certain claims of U.S. Letters 
Patent 5,329,470, 5,036,473, 5,448,496, and 5,109,353, all owned by 
Quickturn. On October 2, 1997, the Commission determined not to review 
the ALJ's final ID, and on December 3, 1997, issued a limited exclusion 
order prohibiting the importation of respondents' emulators and 
components thereof found to infringe one or more of the patent claims 
in controversy. The Commission also issued a cease and desist order 
prohibiting, inter alia, the electronic importation and transmission of 
infringing hardware emulation software.
    On August 20, 1999 Mentor filed a petition with the Commission 
requesting issuance of an advisory opinion pursuant to Commission rule 
210.79(a) (19 CFR 210.79(a)). Mentor contended that remote access from 
the United States of its hardware logic emulation systems housed in 
``design verification centers'' located outside the United States would 
not infringe Quickturn's patents and, therefore, would not be covered 
by the Commission's limited exclusion order and/or the cease and desist 
order. On November 10, 1999, the Commission instituted an advisory 
opinion proceeding to determine (1) whether Mentor's proposed foreign 
design verification centers would be covered by the cease and desist 
order issued in this investigation, and (2) whether the importation of 
integrated circuits (``ICs'') designed and debugged by IC designers in 
the United States using Mentor's foreign design verification centers 
would be covered by the limited exclusion order issued in this 
investigation. The Commission remanded the advisory opinion proceeding 
to the ALJ for appropriate proceedings and the issuance of an initial 
advisory opinion (``IAO''). The ALJ was given the authority to conduct 
any proceedings he deemed necessary, including taking evidence and 
ordering discovery.
    Quickturn stipulated that ICs designed and debugged by designers in 
the United States using Mentor's design verification centers would not 
be covered by the limited exclusion order issued in the investigation. 
Therefore, only the Commission's cease and desist order remained at 
issue in the IAO proceeding.
    An evidentiary hearing was conducted by the ALJ on June 5 and 6, 
2000. On June 23, 2000, the ALJ issued Order No. 115 finding that 
Quickturn had waived arguments that any Mentor's infringing hardware 
emulation software would be resident in the United States under the 
proposed scheme. On August 7, 2000, the ALJ issued his IAO finding that 
Mentor's proposed access in the United States of Mentor's foreign 
design verification centers would not be covered by the Commission's 
cease and desist order issued in the investigation.
    The ALJ found in the alternative that if the term ``covered 
product'' in the cease and desist order is interpreted to include 
infringing hardware and software that has not been imported into the 
United States, then Mentor's U.S. customers would be ``using'' the 
``covered product'' in violation of the cease and desist order.
    On August 18, 2000, Quickturn filed a petition for review of the 
IAO and a petition for the Commission to review and reverse the ALJ's 
ruling Order No. 115, and Mentor filed a conditional petition for 
review of the IAO. The IA did not petition for review of the IAO. On 
August 25, 2000, Mentor, Quickturn, and the IA filed responses to the 
petitions for review.

[[Page 58288]]

    Having examined the record in this investigation, including the 
briefs and the responses thereto, the Commission determined (1) not to 
review the ALJ's finding in the IAO that access from the United States 
of Mentor's foreign design verification centers would not be covered by 
the Commission's cease and desist order, (2) to take no position on the 
ALJ' s alternative determination in the IAO concerning the ``use'' of 
Mentor's hardware logic emulator in the United States if the term 
``covered product'' in the cease and desist order is interpreted to 
include infringing hardware and software that has not been imported, 
(3) to affirm Order No. 115, and (4) to grant Quickturn's motion to 
file a reply to the response of the IA to Quickturn's petitions to the 
Commission.
    This action is taken under the authority of section 337 of the 
Tariff Act of 1930, 19 U.S.C. 1337, and Commission rule 210.79, 19 CFR 
210.79.

    Issued: September 22, 2000.

    By order of the Commission.
Donna R. Koehnke,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 00-24915 Filed 9-27-00; 8:45 am]
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