[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 91 (Wednesday, May 11, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 29307-29308]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-11018]


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INTERNATIONAL TRADE COMMISSION

[Investigation No. 337-TA-994]


Certain Portable Electronic Devices and Components Thereof 
Institution of Investigation

AGENCY: U.S. International Trade Commission.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that a complaint was filed with the 
U.S. International Trade Commission on March 24, 2016, under section 
337 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended, 19 U.S.C. 1337, on behalf of 
Creative Technology Ltd. of Singapore and Creative Labs, Inc. of 
Milpitas, California. A supplement was filed on April 13, 2016. The 
complaint, as supplemented, alleges violations of section 337 based 
upon the importation into the United States, the sale for importation, 
and the sale within the United States after importation of certain 
portable electronic devices and components thereof by reason of 
infringement of certain claims of U.S. Patent No. 6,928,433 (``the '433 
patent''). The complaint further alleges that an industry in the United 
States exists as required by subsection (a)(2) of section 337.
    The complainants request that the Commission institute an 
investigation and, after the investigation, issue a limited exclusion 
order and cease and desist orders.

ADDRESSES: The complaint, as supplemented, except for any confidential 
information contained therein, is available for inspection during 
official business hours (8:45 a.m. to 5:15 p.m.) in the Office of the 
Secretary, U.S. International Trade Commission, 500 E Street SW., Room 
112, Washington, DC 20436, telephone (202) 205-2000. Hearing impaired 
individuals are advised that information on this matter can be obtained 
by contacting the Commission's TDD terminal on (202) 205-1810. Persons 
with mobility impairments who will need special assistance in gaining 
access to the Commission should contact the Office of the Secretary at 
(202) 205-2000. General information concerning the Commission may also 
be obtained by accessing its internet server at http://www.usitc.gov. 
The public record for this investigation may be viewed on the 
Commission's electronic docket (EDIS) at http://edis.usitc.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: The Office of Unfair Import 
Investigations, U.S. International Trade Commission, telephone (202) 
205-2560.
    Authority: The authority for institution of this investigation is 
contained in section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended, and in 
section 210.10 of the Commission's Rules of Practice and Procedure, 19 
CFR 210.10 (2015).
    Scope of Investigation: Having considered the complaint, the U.S. 
International Trade Commission, on May 5, 2016, ordered that--
    (1) Pursuant to subsection (b) of section 337 of the Tariff Act of 
1930, as amended, an investigation be instituted to determine whether 
there is a violation of subsection (a)(1)(B) of section 337 in the 
importation into the United States, the sale for importation, or the 
sale within the United States after importation of certain portable 
electronic devices and components thereof by reason of infringement of 
one or more of claims 2, 3, 5, 7, and 17-28 of the '433 patent, and 
whether an industry in the United States exists as required by 
subsection (a)(2) of section 337;
    (2) Pursuant to Commission Rule 210.50(b)(1), 19 CFR 210.50(b)(1), 
the presiding Administrative Law Judge shall take evidence or other 
information and hear arguments from the parties or other interested 
persons with respect to the public interest in this investigation, as 
appropriate, and provide the Commission with findings of fact and a 
recommended determination on this issue, which shall be limited to the 
statutory public interest factors set forth in 19 U.S.C. 1337(d)(1), 
(f)(1), (g)(1);
    (3) Notwithstanding any Commission Rules that would otherwise 
apply, the presiding Administrative Law Judge shall hold an early 
evidentiary hearing, find facts, and issue an early decision, as to 
whether the asserted claims of the '433 patent recite patent-eligible 
subject matter under 35 U.S.C. 101. Any such decision shall be in the 
form of an initial determination (ID). Petitions for review of such an 
ID shall be due five calendar days after service of the ID; any replies 
shall be due three business days after service of a petition. The ID 
will become the Commission's final determination 30 days after the date 
of service of the ID unless the Commission determines to review the ID. 
Any such review will be conducted in accordance with Commission Rules 
210.43, 210.44, and 210.45, 19 CFR 210.43, 210.44, and 210.45. The 
Commission expects the issuance of an early ID relating to Section 101 
within 100 days of institution, except that the presiding ALJ may grant 
a limited extension of the ID for good cause shown. The issuance of an 
early ID finding that the asserted claims of the '433 patent do not 
recite patent-eligible subject matter under 35 U.S.C. 101 shall stay 
the investigation unless the Commission orders otherwise; any other 
decision shall not stay the investigation or delay the issuance of a 
final ID covering the other issues of the investigation.
    (4) For the purpose of the investigation so instituted, the 
following are hereby named as parties upon which this notice of 
investigation shall be served:
    (a) The complainants are:

Creative Technology Ltd.

[[Page 29308]]

31 International Business Park
#03-01 Creative Resource
Singapore 609921
Creative Labs, Inc.
1901 McCarthy Boulevard
Milpitas, CA 95035

    (b) The respondents are the following entities alleged to be in 
violation of section 337, and are the parties upon which the complaint 
is to be served:
ZTE Corporation
ZTE Plaza
No. 55 Hi-Tech Road South Hi-Tech Industrial Park
Shenzen 518057
Guangdong, China

ZTE (USA) Inc.
2425 N. Central Expressway #323
Richardson, TX 75080

Sony Corporation
1-7-1 Konan, Minato-ku,
Tokyo 108-0075, Japan

Sony Mobile Communications, Inc.
W-building 1-8-15 Konan 1-chome
Minato-ku
Tokyo 108-0075, Japan

Sony Mobile Communications AB
(Mailing Address)
S[ouml]lvegatan 51,
223 62 Lund, Sweden

Sony Mobile Communications (USA), Inc.
3333 Piedmont Road NE #600
Atlanta, GA 30305

Samsung Electonics Co., Ltd.
1320-10, Seocho 2-dong Seocho-gu
Seoul, Republic of Korea

Samsung Electronics America, Inc.
85 Challenger Road
Ridgefield Park, NJ 07660

LG Electronics, Inc.
LG Twin Towers, 20 Yeouido-dong,
Yeongdeungpo-gu
Seoul 150-721, Republic of Korea

LG Electronics U.S.A., Inc.
1000 Sylvan Avenue
Englewood Cliffs, NJ 07632

LG Electronics Mobilecomm U.S.A., Inc.
10101 Old Grove Road
San Diego, CA 92131

Lenovo Group Ltd.
Shangdi Information Industry Base
No. 6 Chuang Ye Road, Haidan District
100085, Beijing, China

Lenovo (United States) Inc.
1009 Think Place
Morrisville, NC 27650

Motorola Mobility LLC
222 W. Merchandise Mart Plaza, Suite 1800
Chicago, IL 60654

HTC Corporation
23 Xinghua Road
Taoyuan 330, Taiwan

HTC America, Inc.
13920 SE Eastgate Way, Suite #200
Bellevue, WA 98005

Blackberry Ltd.
2200 University Avenue E
Waterloo, Ontario
Canada N2K 0A7

Blackberry Corporation
5000 Riverside Drive, Suite 100E
Irving, TX 75039

    (c) The Office of Unfair Import Investigations, U.S. International 
Trade Commission, 500 E Street SW., Suite 401, Washington, DC 20436; 
and
    (5) For the investigation so instituted, the Chief Administrative 
Law Judge, U.S. International Trade Commission, shall designate the 
presiding Administrative Law Judge.
    Responses to the complaint and the notice of investigation must be 
submitted by the named respondents in accordance with section 210.13 of 
the Commission's Rules of Practice and Procedure, 19 CFR 210.13. 
Pursuant to 19 CFR 201.16(e) and 210.13(a), such responses will be 
considered by the Commission if received not later than 20 days after 
the date of service by the Commission of the complaint and the notice 
of investigation. Extensions of time for submitting responses to the 
complaint and the notice of investigation will not be granted unless 
good cause therefor is shown.
    Failure of a respondent to file a timely response to each 
allegation in the complaint and in this notice may be deemed to 
constitute a waiver of the right to appear and contest the allegations 
of the complaint and this notice, and to authorize the administrative 
law judge and the Commission, without further notice to the respondent, 
to find the facts to be as alleged in the complaint and this notice and 
to enter an initial determination and a final determination containing 
such findings, and may result in the issuance of an exclusion order or 
a cease and desist order or both directed against the respondent.

    By order of the Commission.
    Issued: May 5, 2016.
Lisa R. Barton,
Secretary to the Commission.
[FR Doc. 2016-11018 Filed 5-10-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 7020-02-P