11
Oct
By Eric Schweibenz
On September 26, 2013, ALJ E. James Gildea issued the public version of Order No. 41 (dated September 11, 2013) in Certain Wireless Communications Equipment and Articles Therein (Inv. No. 337-TA-866).

According to the Order, Complainants Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. and Samsung Telecommunications America, LLC (collectively, “Samsung”) filed a motion for summary determination that Samsung satisfied the economic prong of the domestic industry requirement based on activities related to Samsung’s base station business.  Samsung’s motion was unopposed.  Samsung asserted that it had made a significant investment in plant and equipment, a significant investment in labor and capital, and a substantial investment in engineering and research and development activities.  Samsung relied on its significant investments in rent, construction, infrastructure improvements, and equipment to show a significant investment in plant and equipment.  To show a significant investment in labor and capital, Samsung relied on its investments in salaries and benefits for employees, the use of third-party contractors, and the use of other contractors associated with the Asserted Base Station Patents.  Finally, Samsung relied on its investments in labor, overhead, and operating costs for LTE activities related to base stations practicing at least one claim of the Asserted Base Station Patents to demonstrate a substantial investment in engineering and research and development activities.

ALJ Gildea found that the undisputed facts were sufficient to support a finding of significant investment in plant and equipment, significant employment of labor and capital, and substantial investment in research and engineering related to the Asserted Base Station Patents.  ALJ Gildea noted that establishing an economic domestic industry does not depend on a minimum monetary expenditure, or a showing that large quantities of representative products were involved in order to show an investment is substantial.  Instead, to support a finding of substantial investment, a complainant needs only to show that its efforts were sufficiently focused and concentrated.  While ALJ Gildea granted the motion for summary determination with respect to an economic domestic industry, he made no finding regarding whether the domestic industry products practiced any claims of the asserted patents.