WASHINGTON (July 16, 2014) — The International Trade Commission (ITC) has decided to review in part an administrative law judge's preliminary decision proposing a limited exclusion order against windshield wiper blades made in Mexico by Trico Products Corp.
Federal-Mogul Corp. filed a petition with the ITC in May 2013, claiming that Trico was manufacturing wiper blades in Mexico that infringed on Federal-Mogul's patents, then distributing them in the U.S.
Trico denied the charge in a July 2013 filing.
Charles E. Bullock, ITC administrative law judge, ruled in Federal-Mogul's favor on May 8, 2014. The next day, the ITC issued a request for comments on how a limited exclusion order against Trico would affect U.S. consumers.
The commission issued a notice in the July 15 Federal Register saying it would review some of Mr. Bullock's findings regarding some of the design aspects of the wiper blades in question, as well as his ruling that Trico failed to demonstrate “by clear and convincing evidence” some of its assertions regarding the patents involved.
In the notice, the ITC requested comments specific to the design and patent questions it raised, and also comments on the form of remedy—if any—the commission should order in this case.
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