The USITC’s headquarters in Washington D.C.
The OEM has removed claims relating to four of the nine patents named in the USITC case, as well as making other changes.
The case, which began in May as a separate complaint to the case in New York that began in January has recently seen a range of “partial termination[s]” regarding four of the nine patents initially named in the complaint in May, as well as the removal of two subsidiary companies originally named, who were found to no longer exist.
The USITC (United States International Trade Commission) received the motion for “partial termination of the investigation” at the start of August, with Canon specifically seeking to terminate the investigation “with respect” to the first claims relating to the following US patents: 8,469,744; 8,565,640 and 8,135,304. The OEM has also asked that claims one to four relating to patent number 8,676,085 be removed.
The OEM’s justification for removing these patents was said to be “based on Canon’s withdrawal of its allegations relating to these claims”, and doing so would also “streamline the investigation, and conserve the resources” of both Canon and the USITC. Additionally, partial termination of cases relating to specific patents are “routinely granted at the complainant’s request”, so the changes, the USITC adds, do not “warrant denial of Canon’s motion” in any way.
Canon itself stated that “there are no agreements, written or oral, express or implied, between the parties concerning the subject matter of this investigation as it relates to Canon’s present motion for partial termination”.
The case also recently saw Ninestar Image-Hong Kong and Seine Image-Hong Kong removed from the list of defendants. This does not mean that Ninestar and Seine have been removed – only that the USITC’s investigation found that both subsidiary companies do not exist as entities, with both removed from the case. Canon is seeking a GEO (General Exclusion Order) in the case, which The Recycler reported on in June.