Court considers whether the U.S. International Trade Commission has authority over allegations of induced infringement and infringement of method-of-use claims by importers.

Procedural Background -

Suprema v. ITC is an en banc rehearing of an appeal of the U.S. International Trade Commission’s decision in Investigation No. 337-TA-720. The underlying dispute is based on a complaint filed by Cross Match Technologies, Inc. naming Suprema, Inc. and Mentalix, Inc. as respondents. Suprema manufactured and imported optical scanners for capturing fingerprints. Some of these imported scanners were sold to Mentalix, who then integrated them with separate hardware and software to create a system. The Commission found that Mentalix’s use of this integrated system directly infringed Cross Match’s patented methods. The Commission further found that Suprema induced that infringement through willful blindness to the Cross Match patent and issued an exclusion order preventing the importation of the scanners.

Suprema appealed and the Federal Circuit vacated the Commission’s decision in an opinion that foreclosed the use of induced infringement in future Section 337 investigations. The panel reasoned that “[b]ecause there can be no induced infringementunless there has been an act of direct infringement, [] there are no ‘articles . . . that infringe’ at the time of importation” because direct infringement occurs after importation. The Commission and Cross Match petitioned for rehearing en banc and the Court vacated the panel decision and granted the petition.