On June 7, 2022, the ITC issued a Notice of Investigation in Certain Electronic Devices and Semiconductor Devices With Timing-Aware Dummy Fill and Components Thereof (Inv. No. 337-TA-1319).
By way of background, this investigation is based on an April 22, 2022 complaint filed by Bell Semiconductor, LLC of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania ("Bell Semic") alleging violations of Section 337 by 22 respondents—including NVIDIA, Advanced Micro Devices, Acer, Bose, Marvell, Kioxia, Qualcomm, and Lenovo—in the unlawful importation/sale of certain integrated circuits and products containing such integrated circuits that incorporate Bell Semic's proprietary "dummy" fill technology and infringe U.S. Patent No. 7,007,259. See our April 30, 2022 post for more details regarding the complaint.
According to the Notice, the Office of Unfair Import Investigations will participate as a party in the investigation. Further, Chief ALJ Clark S. Cheney issued a notice indicating that ALJ MaryJoan McNamara will preside in the investigation.
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