[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 192 (Thursday, October 5, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 46519-46522]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-21426]
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INTERNATIONAL TRADE COMMISSION
[Investigation No. 337-TA-1010]
Certain Semiconductor Devices, Semiconductor Packages, and
Products Containing Same: Commission Determination To Review in Part a
Final Initial Determination Finding in Part a Violation of Section 337;
Schedule for Filing Written Submissions on the Issues Under Review and
on Remedy, the Public Interest, and Bonding; and Denial of a Motion To
Modify the Administrative Protective Order
AGENCY: U.S. International Trade Commission.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that the U.S. International Trade
Commission has determined to review in part the final initial
determination (``final ID'') issued by the presiding administrative law
judge (``ALJ'') on June 30, 2017, finding in part a violation of
section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930, in the above-captioned
investigation. The Commission has also determined to deny the motion
filed on August 1, 2017, to amend the administrative protective order.
The Commission requests certain briefing from the parties on the issues
under review, as indicated in this notice. The Commission also requests
briefing from the parties and interested persons on the issues of
remedy, the public interest, and bonding.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sidney A. Rosenzweig, Esq., Office of
the General Counsel, U.S. International Trade Commission, 500 E Street
SW., Washington, DC 20436, telephone (202) 708-2532. Copies of non-
confidential documents filed in connection with this investigation are
or will be available for inspection during official business hours
(8:45 a.m. to 5:15 p.m.) in the Office of the Secretary, U.S.
International Trade Commission, 500 E Street SW., Washington, DC 20436,
telephone (202) 205-2000. General information concerning the Commission
may also be obtained by accessing its Internet server at https://www.usitc.gov. The public record for this investigation may be viewed
on the Commission's electronic docket (EDIS) at https://edis.usitc.gov.
Hearing-impaired persons are advised that information on this matter
can be obtained by contacting the Commission's TDD terminal on (202)
205-1810.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Commission instituted this investigation
on June 24, 2016, based on a complaint filed on behalf of Tessera
Technologies, Inc.; Tessera, Inc.; and Invensas Corporation, all of San
Jose, California (collectively, ``Tessera''). 81 FR 41344 (Jun. 24,
2016). The complaint alleged violations of section 337 of the Tariff
Act of 1930, as amended, 19 U.S.C. 1337, by reason of infringement of
certain claims of U.S. Patent No. 6,856,007 (``the '007 patent''); U.S.
Patent No. 6,849,946 (``the '946 patent''); and U.S. Patent No.
6,133,136 (``the '136 patent''). The complaint further alleged that a
domestic industry exists. The Commission's notice of investigation
named 24 respondents. Those respondents are Broadcom Limited of
Singapore and Broadcom Corporation of Irvine, California (collectively,
``Broadcom''), and 22 manufacturers and importers of products
containing Broadcom's semiconductor devices: Avago Technologies Limited
of Singapore, and Avago Technologies U.S. Inc. of San Jose, California
(collectively, ``Avago''); Arista Networks, Inc. of Santa Clara,
California; ARRIS International plc, ARRIS Group, Inc., ARRIS
Solutions, Inc., ARRIS Enterprises, and Pace Ltd., all of Suwanee,
Georgia, as well as Pace Americas LLC and Pace USA LLC, both of Boca
Raton, Florida, and ARRIS Technology, Inc. of Horsham, Pennsylvania
(collectively, ``ARRIS''); ASUSTek Computer, Inc. of Taipei, Taiwan,
and ASUS Computer International of Fremont, California (collectively,
``ASUS''); Comcast Cable Communications, LLC, Comcast Cable
Communications Management, LLC, and Comcast Business Communications,
LLC, each of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (collectively, ``Comcast'');
HTC Corporation of Taoyuan, Taiwan and HTC America Inc. of Bellevue,
Washington (collectively, ``HTC''); NETGEAR, Inc. of San Jose,
California; Technicolor S.A. of Issy-Les-Moulineaux, France, as well as
Technicolor USA, Inc. and Technicolor Connected Home USA LLC, both of
Indianapolis, Indiana (collectively, ``Technicolor''). The Office of
Unfair Import Investigations is not participating in the investigation.
On June 30, 2017, the presiding administrative law judge issued the
final ID. The final ID finds a violation of section 337 as to claims
16, 17, 20, and 22 of the '946 patent. ID at 262. The final ID finds
that for claims 1, 2, 11, 12, 16, 24-26, and 34 of the '136 patent, the
claims are infringed and not invalid, but that the existence of a
domestic industry was not shown. Id. at 262-63. For the '007 patent,
the final ID finds that infringement was shown only as to
[[Page 46520]]
claim 18, but that for all of the asserted claims (claims 13, 16, and
18), the claims are invalid, and a domestic industry was not shown. Id.
at 263.
On July 17, 2017, Tessera and the respondents each filed a petition
for Commission review of the ID. On July 25, 2017, each responded to
the other's petition. In addition, Tessera, Broadcom, Comcast, Arista,
ARRIS, ASUS, HTC, Netgear, and Technicolor each filed statements on the
public interest. A number of public interest submissions were submitted
by the public. In particular, the Commission received submissions from:
Rep. Susan Brooks (R-IN); Rep. Tony Cardenas (D-CA); Rep. Darrell Issa
(R-CA); Rep. Doug Lamborn (R-CO); Rep. Edward Royce (R-CA); Rep. Mimi
Walters (R-CA); Rep. Rod Woodall (R-GA); Under Armour, Inc.; Sprint
Spectrum LLC; Cable Television Laboratories, Inc.; Public Knowledge and
the Open Technology Institute at New America; the Multimedia over Coax
Alliance; the WiFi Alliance; and the Innovation Alliance.
On August 1, 2017, the respondents moved to modify the
administrative protective order (``APO'') issued in this investigation
(Order No. 1 as modified by Order Nos. 38 and 42). The Commission has
determined to deny that motion, and to deny the respondents' motion to
file a reply. As the Commission recently reiterated, a supplier of
confidential business information ``may consent to the disclosure of
their confidential business information to persons other than those
qualified under the protective order to receive confidential business
information.'' Certain Digital Video Receivers & Hardware & Software
Components Thereof, Inv. No. 337-TA-1001, Comm'n Order at 2 (June 30,
2017); accord Certain Doxorubicin & Preparations Containing Same, Inv.
No. 337-TA-300, Comm'n Mem. Op., 1991 WL 788724, at * 6 (June 3, 1991).
However, neither the supplier of information (here, International
Business Machines Corporation), nor a party (here, the respondents) may
seek to amend the APO to allow only carefully circumscribed usage of
information in certain specified European patent proceedings. To modify
the APO in this manner would require the Commission to police the use
of information outside the scope of Commission proceedings, which would
be unduly burdensome for the Commission and unfair to other tribunals
whose proceedings may be governed by different laws and rules.
Having reviewed the record of the investigation, including the
ALJ's orders and the final ID, as well as the parties' petitions and
responses thereto, the Commission has determined to review the final ID
in part.
As to the '007 patent, the Commission has determined as follows.
The Commission has determined to review, and on review, to take no
position on the economic prong of the domestic industry requirement,
and infringement of claim 18. The Commission has determined not to
review the remainder of the ID as to the '007 patent, including the
ID's findings concerning anticipation by, or obviousness over, the
prior art.
As to the '946 patent and '136 patent, the Commission has
determined not to review the ID's findings concerning the level of
skill in the art. The Commission has determined to review all other
issues for the '946 patent and the '136 patent.
In connection with the Commission's review, the Commission will
rely upon the issues and arguments presented in the parties' petitions
and responses thereto. The Commission notes that ``[a]ny issue not
raised in a petition for review will be deemed to have been abandoned
by the petitioning party and may be disregarded by the Commission in
reviewing the initial determination.'' 19 CFR 210.43(b)(2).
The parties are asked to provide additional briefing on the
following issues, with reference to the applicable law and the existing
evidentiary record. For each argument presented, the parties'
submissions should set forth whether and/or how that argument was
presented and preserved in the proceedings before the ALJ, in
conformity with the ALJ's Ground Rules (Order No. 2), with citations to
the record.
a. For the '946 patent, with regard to the construction of
``trench(es)'':
i. Please explain the meaning of the claim term ``trench(es)'' to
persons skilled in the art in view of the intrinsic evidence of the
`946 patent. In the context of the '946 patent, does the claim term
``trench(es)'' describe a specific shape-related property, such as
elongated? Please discuss the relevance, if any, of Lexington Luminance
LLC v. Amazon.com Inc., 601 Fed. App'x 963, 970-71 (Fed. Cir. 2015),
and any other cases believed to be relevant to understanding the
meaning of ``trench(es)'' to a skilled artisan for the '946 patent.
ii. Please explain the relevance, if any, of the definition of
``trench'' in the Applied Materials Glossary as a ``groove etched in a
wafer to be used as part of a device structure.'' Applied Materials
Glossary, http://www.appliedmaterials.com/resources/glossary (last
visited Sept. 26, 2017). Is this meaning consistent with the '946
patent claims, specification, and prosecution history as understood by
skilled artisans?
iii. If the Commission were to construe ``trench'' as ``a long,
narrow ditch,'' or as a ``groove etched in a wafer to be used as part
of a device structure,'' please explain whether any accused products or
domestic industry products (and if so, specifically identify which)
literally infringe or practice the asserted claims, and why. Under
those same constructions, please explain whether any accused products
or domestic industry products (and if so, specifically identify which),
infringe or practice the asserted claims under the doctrine of
equivalents, and why.
b. With regard to the ALJ's decision to allow Tessera to rely upon
GDS files to demonstrate infringement of the '946 patent, please
explain how, if at all, the respondents were prejudiced by that
decision. Please identify the evidence or arguments proffered in
proceedings before the ALJ or in their petition for Commission review
by the respondents in support of that alleged prejudice.
c. For the '946 patent, in connection with the IBM PowerPC 750,
please explain:
i. The relevance, if any, of the die markings on the chips examined
in the ICE report (RX-668) and the SI Report (RX-0499C).
ii. Whether the IBM PowerPC 750 anticipates the asserted dependent
claims under the ID's construction of ``trench.''
d. With regard to the exhaustion issue for the '946 patent:
i. Please explain whether the accused features (including dummy
trenches and dummy conductors) were part of a design supplied by
Broadcom to [CBI REDACTED] or were added by [CBI REDACTED] itself, and
the resulting implications for the Commission's analysis of [CBI
REDACTED] in ] 14 of JX-501C. If the accused features (including dummy
trenches and dummy conductors) were part of a design supplied by
Broadcom to [CBI REDACTED], please also explain whether such features
were inserted into the design with [CBI REDACTED] in ] 14 of JX-501C.
ii. Please discuss the relevant law of exhaustion and first sale as
it applies to the relationship between a fabless semiconductor company
(Broadcom) and a fabricator [CBI REDACTED] who manufactures the fabless
company's own chips. Please address the specific provisions of the
pertinent agreement, and the relationship between those provisions and
the law of exhaustion
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and first sale. Please also discuss the relevance, if any, the Federal
Circuit decision in Medicines Company v. Hospira, Inc., 827 F.3d 1363,
1373-74 (Fed. Cir. 2016) (en banc) concerning commercial sales, and any
related cases. Please address the specific provisions of the pertinent
agreement or agreements alleged to give rise to exhaustion, and the
relationship between those provisions and the law of exhaustion and
first sale.
e. With regard to infringement of the '136 patent, please explain
whether Broadcom or its fabricators produced documentary evidence that
demonstrates the cross-sectional structure of the accused interconnect
structures in all of the accused products, including the locations of
the layer of copper, barrier layer, layer of AlCu, and pad-limiting
layer of claim 1 and the layer of copper, layer of isolation, barrier
layer, layer of AlCu, and pad limiting layer of claim 11. To the extent
that such evidence does not exist in this field of technology, please
explain. To the extent that it does exist and was not produced, please
explain. To the extent that it does exist and is part of the record of
this investigation, please explain its pertinence, if any, to the ID's
findings concerning infringement.
f. For the '136 patent, please explain whether each of the asserted
claims is obvious over Crostini claim 1, under the relevant law for
double patenting, if the Commission finds that ``the claimed structure
solder 38 is formed directly atop the AI contact'' statement
constitutes clear prosecution disavowal.
g. With regard to the exhaustion issue for the '136 patent:
i. Please explain whether, on or before May 23, 2016 (the date the
complaint was filed in the instant Commission investigation), the party
alleged to be licensed to the '136 patent was an [CBI REDACTED] as
defined in section 5 of CX-943C (TSRA1010-00004931).
ii. Please discuss the relevant law of exhaustion and first sale as
it applies to the relationship between a fabless semiconductor company
(Broadcom) and a company [CBI REDACTED] who provides outsourced
semiconductor assembly and testing for the fabless company's own chips.
Please also discuss the relevance, if any, the Federal Circuit decision
in Medicines Company v. Hospira, Inc., 827 F.3d 1363, 1373-74 (Fed.
Cir. 2016) (en banc) concerning commercial sales, and any related
cases. Please address the specific provisions of the pertinent
agreement or agreements alleged to give rise to exhaustion, and the
relationship between those provisions and the law of exhaustion and
first sale.
In connection with the final disposition of this investigation, the
Commission may (1) issue an order that could result in the exclusion of
the subject articles from entry into the United States, and/or (2)
issue one or more cease and desist orders that could result in the
respondent(s) being required to cease and desist from engaging in
unfair acts in the importation and sale of such articles. Accordingly,
the Commission is interested in receiving written submissions that
address the form of remedy, if any, that should be ordered. If a party
seeks exclusion of an article from entry into the United States for
purposes other than entry for consumption, the party should so indicate
and provide information establishing that activities involving other
types of entry either are adversely affecting it or likely to do so.
For background, see Certain Devices for Connecting Computers via
Telephone Lines, Inv. No. 337-TA-360, USITC Pub. No. 2843, Comm'n Op.
(December 1994).
If the Commission contemplates some form of remedy, it must
consider the effects of that remedy upon the public interest. The
factors the Commission will consider include the effect that an
exclusion order and/or cease and desist orders would have on (1) the
public health and welfare, (2) competitive conditions in the U.S.
economy, (3) U.S. production of articles that are like or directly
competitive with those that are subject to investigation, and (4) U.S.
consumers. The Commission is therefore interested in receiving written
submissions that address the aforementioned public interest factors in
the context of this investigation. Public interest submissions should
be mindful of the ALJ's statement that the ``parties have made no
effort in their briefing to classify the 2,800 accused products in a
way that would rationalize different treatment for different categories
of products.'' ID at 258. The Commission wishes to develop the record,
as to, inter alia, the following issues:
(1) Which specific products of the respondents most directly
implicate the Commission's public interest factors? See 19 U.S.C.
1337(d)(1), (f)(1) (``the public health and welfare, competitive
conditions in the United States economy, the production of like or
directly competitive articles in the United States, and United States
consumers'').
(2) How are the Commission's public interest factors implicated on
a patent-claim-by-patent-claim basis for the asserted claims of the
'946 patent and the '136 patent?
(3) How, if at all, may public interest concerns be accommodated by
the tailoring of any remedial orders, including delaying the
implementation of any Commission remedial orders as to specific
products for a specific period of time?
Any person asserting that the public interest should be
accommodated by tailoring any Commission remedial order as to a subset
of the accused products (e.g., to delay implementation of a Commission
remedial order as to specific accused products) shall append to its
submission one or more declarations in support of those facts in
compliance with 28 U.S.C. 1746. Each declaration shall be made on
personal knowledge, and shall show affirmatively that the declarant is
competent to testify to the matters stated therein. Sworn or certified
copies of all papers or parts thereof referred to in a declaration
shall be attached thereto or served therewith.
If the Commission orders some form of remedy, the U.S. Trade
Representative, as delegated by the President, has 60 days to approve
or disapprove the Commission's action. See Presidential Memorandum of
July 21, 2005, 70 FR 43251 (July 26, 2005). During this period, the
subject articles would be entitled to enter the United States under
bond, in an amount determined by the Commission. The Commission is
therefore interested in receiving submissions concerning the amount of
the bond that should be imposed if a remedy is ordered.
Written Submissions: The parties to the investigation are requested
to file written submissions on the issues under review. Parties to the
investigation, interested government agencies, and any other interested
parties are encouraged to file written submissions on the issues of
remedy, the public interest, and bonding. Such submissions should
address the recommended determination by the ALJ on remedy and bonding.
The parties' submissions on the issues under review should not
exceed 60 pages per side. Reply submissions on the issues under review
should not exceed 40 pages per side. The respondents may allocate the
page limits for the issues under review amongst themselves as they see
fit. The page limits above are exclusive to exhibits, but parties are
not to circumvent the page limits by incorporating material by
reference from the exhibits or from the record.
The parties' opening and reply submissions on the issues of remedy,
the public interest and bonding are to be
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filed separately from the submissions on the issues under review and
are not governed by the page limitations recited above. The
complainants' opening submission on the issues of remedy, the public
interest and bonding is to include proposed remedial orders for the
Commission's consideration; the date that the asserted patents expire;
the HTSUS numbers under which the accused products are imported; and
the names of known importers of the products at issue in this
investigation.
Written submissions by the parties and the public must be filed no
later than close of business on Friday, October 13, 2017. Reply
submissions by the parties and the public must be filed no later than
the close of business on Monday, October 23, 2017. No further
submissions will be permitted unless otherwise ordered by the
Commission.
Persons filing written submissions must file the original document
electronically on or before the deadlines stated above and submit 8
true paper copies to the Office of the Secretary by noon the next day
pursuant to section 210.4(f) of the Commission's Rules of Practice and
Procedure (19 CFR 210.4(f)). Submissions should refer to the
investigation number (``Inv. No. 337-TA-1010'') in a prominent place on
the cover page and/or the first page. (See Handbook for Electronic
Filing Procedures, https://www.usitc.gov/secretary/fed_reg_notices/rules/handbook_on_electronic_filing.pdf). Persons with questions
regarding filing should contact the Secretary (202-205-2000).
Any person desiring to submit a document to the Commission in
confidence must request confidential treatment. All such requests
should be directed to the Secretary to the Commission and must include
a full statement of the reasons why the Commission should grant such
treatment. See 19 CFR 201.6. Documents for which confidential treatment
by the Commission is properly sought will be treated accordingly. All
information, including confidential business information and documents
for which confidential treatment is properly sought, submitted to the
Commission for purposes of this Investigation may be disclosed to and
used: (i) By the Commission, its employees and Offices, and contract
personnel (a) for developing or maintaining the records of this or a
related proceeding, or (b) in internal investigations, audits, reviews,
and evaluations relating to the programs, personnel, and operations of
the Commission including under 5 U.S.C. Appendix 3; or (ii) by U.S.
government employees and contract personnel, solely for cybersecurity
purposes. All nonconfidential written submissions will be available for
public inspection at the Office of the Secretary and on EDIS.
The authority for the Commission's determination is contained in
section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (19 U.S.C. 1337), and
in part 210 of the Commission's Rules of Practice and Procedure (19 CFR
part 210).
By order of the Commission.
Issued: September 29, 2017.
Lisa R. Barton,
Secretary to the Commission.
[FR Doc. 2017-21426 Filed 10-4-17; 8:45 am]
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