Perkins Coie's deep experience and history of success are why it has been nationally recognized as a leader in ITC Section 337 litigation for both complainants and respondents.

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Perkins Coie's deep experience and history of success are why it has been nationally recognized as a leader in ITC Section 337 litigation for both complainants and respondents.

The U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) can stop the importation of goods that infringe on U.S. intellectual property (IP) rights. With its expedited procedural schedule and specialized procedures, the ITC resolves disputes quickly and issues remedial orders enforced at U.S. ports of entry by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents.

Perkins Coie is nationally recognized as one of the most active law firms at the ITC. At the same time, the firm is ranked among the best performing firms for complainants and respondents, including a #1 ranking for its representation of respondents and a #3 ranking for the best performing law firm overall between 2016  2022, and a #1 ranking for its representation of complainants at the ITC between 2014  2019. We achieve this consistency in outstanding results for our clients by offering an experienced, nationally recognized team of attorneys who are repeat players at the ITC. Perkins Coie has a deep bench of attorneys from every technical discipline, including Ph.D.s, professional engineers, and former industry professionals who draw on their technology experience and combine it with extensive knowledge of patent law, litigation, and the ITC’s unique rules and procedures.

The U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) can stop the importation of goods that infringe on U.S. intellectual property (IP) rights. With its expedited procedural schedule and specialized procedures, the ITC resolves disputes quickly and issues remedial orders enforced at U.S. ports of entry by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents.

Perkins Coie is nationally recognized as one of the most active law firms at the ITC. At the same time, the firm is ranked among the best performing firms for complainants and respondents, including a #1 ranking for its representation of respondents and a #3 ranking for the best performing law firm overall between 2016  2022, and a #1 ranking for its representation of complainants at the ITC between 2014  2019. We achieve this consistency in outstanding results for our clients by offering an experienced, nationally recognized team of attorneys who are repeat players at the ITC. Perkins Coie has a deep bench of attorneys from every technical discipline, including Ph.D.s, professional engineers, and former industry professionals who draw on their technology experience and combine it with extensive knowledge of patent law, litigation, and the ITC’s unique rules and procedures.

Ranked first in “Best Performing Law Firm for Respondents” and third in “Best Performing ITC Law Firm Overall” in the 2022 ITC Intelligence Report by Patexia, Inc.

The Perkins Coie ITC team includes:

  • Three litigators who are identified in Chambers USA for their accomplishments in Section 337 investigations. 
  • A litigator who is nationally ranked as second-best performing ITC attorney between 2014-2019, out of more than 7,500 ITC practitioners who worked on investigations in that time period.
  • Another trial attorney with experience in over 30 ITC investigations, who was nationally recognized for the unique litigation tactics employed to prevail in a major ITC action.

Perkins Coie has been involved in several landmark investigations at the ITC, such as when our attorneys (1) litigated the first “100-day” investigation instituted by the ITC; (2) represented two parties in the ITC’s largest investigation that resulted in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit’s landmark Kyocera decision, which changed the law concerning downstream products; (3) defended the respondents in an ITC litigation that marked the start of the so-called smartphone wars; and (4) obtained a rare delay in the effective date of an ITC remedial order.

The ITC Offers Fast and Powerful Remedies

The ITC is an increasingly popular venue for intellectual property rights enforcement. Under 19 U.S.C. § 1337 (Section 337), the ITC conducts investigations and provides relief for intellectual property rights holders by barring the importation or sale after importation of goods that infringe upon a utility patent, design patent, trademark, or copyright, or goods that are made using misappropriated trade secrets.

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Section 337 authorizes the ITC to investigate a wide variety of unfair methods of competition and unfair acts in the importation of goods. At the conclusion of a Section 337 investigation, the ITC can issue an exclusion order barring goods from being imported into the United States and prohibiting sales of existing inventories of imported goods in the United States, requiring their destruction or removal from the country.

An exclusion order is a unique and powerful remedy that poses a daunting problem for foreign manufacturers, who risk losing access to the U.S. market, and for domestic importers and sellers, who risk a disruption of their supply of goods found to infringe. Moreover, the ITC can issue a general exclusion order barring all products from any source. As such, Section 337 investigations are often “bet-the-company” litigations for respondents.

Section 337 investigations are fast paced, with evidentiary hearings (trials) occurring seven to nine months after an investigation is instituted, as detailed in our exemplary timeline of a Section 337 investigation. Developments in patent law over the last several years have made litigation in U.S. district courts less attractive for patent owners, and it renewed interest in the ITC as the venue of choice in the United States for asserting IP rights.

The exclusion order remedy is enforced by agents of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) at U.S. ports of entry. Violations of an exclusion order are addressed by the ITC in an enforcement proceeding. Requests to import goods that design-around the intellectual property in an exclusion order are addressed by the CBP under 19 C.F.R. § 177 (often referred to as Rule 177 proceedings), or by the ITC in an advisory opinion proceeding that can last from a few weeks to several months.

Navigating Complainants and Respondents Through ITC Investigations

Perkins Coie attorneys have represented complainants and respondents in Section 337 investigations, including large and small companies, and U.S. and foreign litigants. As explained above, the collective experience of our team spans dozens of investigations, allowing us to provide clients with guidance on the intricacies of ITC law and procedure, from filing of the complaint through appeals to the Federal Circuit, and in proceedings before CBP. Our team includes practitioners in Washington D.C., and our other offices across the United States and in Asia.

ITC Practice Accolades

Perkins Coie has received numerous accolades for its ITC practice. The firm was recognized as a leader in ITC Section 337 litigation in Patexia, Inc.’s 2023 ITC Intelligence Report, a comprehensive report of ITC data and analysis of law firms and ITC attorneys over the last five years. 

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Perkins Coie received numerous top rankings for its ITC Section 337 practice out of 367 law firms that have been involved in Section 337 investigations in the last five years:

  • #1 Best Performing ITC Law Firm for Representing Respondents, for the second consecutive year.
  • #6 Best Performing ITC Law Firm Overall (#4 when ITC local counsel firms excluded).
  • #4 Most Active ITC Law Firm for Representing Respondents.
  • #7 Most Active ITC Law Firm Overall.

Leveraging Award-Winning IP and Appellate Practice Experience

Our Section 337 team is part of our Intellectual Property practice consisting of over 275 attorneys—130 with degrees in electrical engineering (EE) or computer science (CS), including 15 Ph.D.s, as well as 30 with degrees in life science fields, including 12 Ph.D.s. We have the experience and resources to handle Section 337 investigations in a wide range of technical fields, including semiconductors, electronics, networking equipment, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, bioengineering, and chemical sciences. 

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Our team also leverages the firm’s core competencies in a variety of areas, including patent litigation, inter partes review patent validity challenges before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB), Federal Circuit appeals, district court litigations, and others.

❱❱  150+ REGISTERED USPTO PRACTITIONERS
   
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120+ EXPERIENCED PATENT LITIGATORS

   
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130+ ADVANCED DEGREES IN EE/CS RELATED TECHNOLOGIES INCLUDING 15 PH.D.S

   
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30+ ADVANCED DEGREES IN LIFE SCIENCES INCLUDING 12 PH.D.S

 

Recognition of these complementary appellate, litigation, and patent invalidity challenge practices include the following: 

  • Named a finalist by The American Lawyer in their Intellectual Property “Litigation Department of the Year,” 2021 and 2019.

  • Named by Law360 as an Intellectual Property "Practice Group of the Year" in 2019.

  • Named in The National Law Journal’s 2021 Appellate Hot List, an annual list of law firms that have won key matters before the U.S. Supreme Court and federal courts of appeals.

  • Ranked ninth most active law firm in the country for inter partes reviews over the last five years, in Patexia’s 2021 IPR Intelligence Report.

  • Named “Law Firm of the Year – Patent Law” by U.S. News Best Lawyers®, 2020, 2018, 2014, 2013—more times than any other firm.

  • Law360 named Perkins Coie as one of the “Firms That Dominated the Federal Circuit” three years in a row, ranking number one for win percentage (85%) and third in total victories in 2018.

  • Ranked nationally for Post-Grant Proceedings by Managing Intellectual Property as one of the top five law firms representing PTAB petitioners in 2018.

  • Ranked sixth in "Top Law Firms Representing Patent Owners" before USPTO PTAB in 2016.

  • Ranked seventh in “Most Active Firms for Petitioners” before USPTO PTAB in 2019 Lex Machina Patent Litigation Report.

  • Ranked fourth most active national law firm for patent litigation defense cases in the past decade and in the top ten most active firms for post-grant proceedings since the PTAB’s inception.

  • Named by Law360 as one of the “Firms That Dominated the Federal Circuit” in 2017 and 2016.

  • Named by Law360 as an appellate "Practice Group of the Year" in 2018.

  • Ranked third by Lex Machina nationally, in 2016 and 2017, among “Firms That Landed The Most Patent Defense Suits Last Year.”

  • Ranked second among national law firms handling the most patent defense cases in 2020 by Lex Machina’s Patent Litigation Report.

  • Ranked fifth by Lex Machina nationally in “Most Active Defendants Law Firms in 2018.”

  • Ranked by Docket Navigator as one of the top ten law firms handling post-grant proceedings in 2018.

  • Ranked as the leading patent litigation firm for technology cases in 2022 by Docket Navigator.

  • Recognized in multiple years by Docket Navigator among the top 10 law firms representing parties in IPR, Covered Business Method Patent (CBM) and Post Grant Review (PGR) proceedings before the USPTO PTAB.

Recommended for Chinese Complainants and Respondents

In 2021, the Ministry of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China (MOFCOM) once again selected Perkins Coie as one of a handful of U.S. firms recommended to provide legal consultation in relation to Section 337 investigations and related legal issues. Perkins Coie has Mandarin-speaking lawyers and business professionals, and our offices in China are available to provide on-the-ground support for Chinese litigants, including patent analysis and e-discovery services.

Practical Representation Focused on Client Business Objectives

Intellectual property rights holders considering relief under Section 337, and companies accused of violating Section 337, need knowledgeable counsel to navigate the complex issues, short time frames, and high stakes associated with these investigations. Our team of veteran litigators work to achieve our clients’ business objectives in a cost-effective manner.

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Perkins Coie and Two Partners Recognized as Leaders in 2022 ITC Intelligence Report

Perkins Coie is pleased to announce that the firm and two partners were recognized as leaders in International Trade Commission (ITC) Section 337 litigation in Patexia, Inc.’s 2022 ITC Intelligence Report, a comprehensive report of ITC data and analysis of law firms and ITC attorneys over the last six years.

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Perkins Coie and Two Partners Recognized as Leaders in 2020 ITC Intelligence Report

Perkins Coie is pleased to announce that the firm and two partners were recognized as leaders in International Trade Commission (ITC) Section 337 litigation in Patexia, Inc.’s 2020 ITC Intelligence Report, a comprehensive report of ITC data and analysis of law firms and ITC lawyers over the last five years.

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