19
Feb
By Eric Schweibenz
On February 16, 2010, the International Trade Commission issued a notice of Issuance Of A Limited Exclusion Order and Cease and Desist Order; Termination of the Investigation in Certain Cast Steel Railway Wheels, Certain Processes For Manufacturing Or Relating To Same And Certain Products Containing Same (Inv. No. 337-TA-655).

By way of background, the Complainant in this investigation is Amsted Industries Inc.  The Respondents are Tianrui Group Co. Ltd, Tianrui Group Foundry Co. Ltd., Standard Car Truck Company, Inc., and Barber Tianrui Railway Supply.  On October 16, 2009, ALJ Charneski issued an Initial Determination (“ID”) finding that a violation of Section 337 had occurred in the importation into the U.S., the sale for importation, and the sale within the U.S. after importation of certain cast steel railway wheels or products containing the same by reason of trade secret misappropriation.  See our October 19, 2009 and December 4, 2009 posts for more details.  On December 17, 2009, the Commission issued a notice determining not to review the ID.  See our December 18, 2009 post for more details.

In its limited exclusion order, the Commission determined that “the appropriate form of relief is a limited exclusion order prohibiting the entry of unlicensed cast steel railway wheels or products containing same manufactured using the ABC Trade Secrets, by or on behalf of Respondents, or their affiliated companies, parents, subsidiaries, licensees, contractors, or other related business entities, or successors or assigns.”  Additionally, the Commission determined that “the appropriate form of relief includes cease and desist orders” against each of the Respondents, “preventing them from importing, selling, marketing, advertising, distributing, offering for sale, transferring (except for exportation), or soliciting U.S. agents or distributors for cast steel railway wheels and products containing the same, in violation of section 337.”  The exclusion of the above-identified products will be “for a period of ten (10) years from the effective date of this order, except under license of the owner of the ABC Trade Secrets asserted in this investigation, or as provided by law.”

The Commission further determined that the public interest factors enumerated in 19 U.S.C. §§ 1337(d) and (f) did not preclude issuance of the limited exclusion order or cease and desist orders.

Lastly, regarding the need for the appropriate amount of bond during the 60-day Presidential review period, the Commission determined that “bond shall be in the amount of 5% of the entered value of cast steel railway wheels and products containing same that are subject to this Order.”