ITC Decides To Review Initial Determination In Certain Flash Memory Controllers (337-TA-619)
On August 24, 2009, the International Trade Commission issued a notice determining to review in part the April 10, 2009 final Initial Determination (“ID”) issued by ALJ Charles E. Bullock in Certain Flash Memory Controllers, Drives, Memory Cards, and Media Players and Products Containing Same (Inv. No. 337-TA-619).
This investigation was instituted on December 12, 2007, based on the complaint of SanDisk Corp. of Milpitas, California. According to the Notice, over 50 respondents were named in the complaint, and approximately half of the named respondents either settled out of the investigation or defaulted.
As indicated in our April 14 post, on April 10, 2009, ALJ Bullock issued his ID, finding no violation of Section 337 had occurred based on the importation, sale for importation, and sale after importation of certain flash memory controllers, drives, memory cards, and media players and products containing same of claims 17, 24, and 30 of SanDisk’s U.S. Patent No. 6,763,424 (the ‘424 patent) or claim 8 of SanDisk’s U.S. Patent No. 7,137,011 (the ‘011 patent). On May 4, 2009, SanDisk and the Commission Investigative Staff filed petitions for review of the ID, the remaining respondents in the investigation filed a collective contingent petition for review of the ID with respect to the ‘424 patent, and respondents Symedi Corporation and Imation, in addition to joining the collective contingent petition for review, filed individual contingent petitions for review. On May 18, 2009, the parties filed responses to the various petitions and contingent petitions for review.
After examining the ID, the petitions for review, and the responses to the petitions for review, the Commission decided to review the final ID in part. In particular, the Commission determined to review: (i) ALJ Bullock’s claim construction of claims 17, 24, and 30 of the ‘424 patent; (ii) infringement of the asserted claims of the ‘424 patent; (iii) validity of the ‘424 patent; and (iv) ALJ Bullock’s decision not to consider the Sinclair PCT publication as evidence of prior art to claim 17 of the ‘424 patent. In addition, the Notice requests briefing on five questions of particular interest to the Commission.
The parties’ briefs to the Commission are due by September 3, 2009, with reply submissions due by September 12, 2009. As set forth in the Notice, on May 28, 2009, the Commission extended the target date for completion of the investigation from August 10 to October 23, 2009.
