IP Talk Episode 31: Exploring Recent Legal Developments in Section 337 with Bryan Conley

Bryan Conley is a shareholder and experienced litigator at Wolf Greenfield who focuses his practice on intellectual property matters at the agency, trial, and appellate levels. He regularly represents high profile technology clients at trial concerning their most challenging patent matters.

One area of intense interest lately has been Section 337 investigations. These investigations into unfair import practices are conducted by the US International Trade Commission and most often involve claims regarding intellectual property rights, including allegations of patent infringement and trademark infringement by imported goods.

In this episode of IP Talk with Wolf Greenfield, Bryan offers a detailed look at Section 337. Here are some of the highlights.

• 00:56 - Bryan provides an overview of Section 337 investigations
• 02:41 - Factors driving the increase in questions related to public interest
• 05:27 - Examples of public interest factors that the Commission considers
• 06:28 - The role of the Administrative Law Judge (ALJ)
• 07:38 - Bryan explains why the ITC is more willing to delegate public interest fact finding to the ALJ when standard essential patents (SEPs) are involved
• 08:52 - Why it’s critical for private parties to create a public interest record and what should be included in that record
• 10:32 - Recent impactful public interest Section 337 cases
• 12:39 - It’s important for respondents to act quickly to highlight the significance of public interest factors after a complaint is filed
• 13:57 - The top four statutory factors that are important when developing a public interest strategy and related arguments
• 15:23 - Bryan describes “tailoring”
• 16:31 - Final suggestions on preparing for and dealing with public interest Section 337 issues