The so-called Article 337 means that before any product design is exported to the United States and infringes on American intellectual property rights, the owners of American patents and trademarks submit an "application" according to Article 337 of the US Customs Law 1930 to protect their rights, such as patents, trademarks, copyrights and trade secrets.
In the United States, if they infringe intellectual property rights, there are three main ways to solve it: first, the owner of intellectual property rights has signed a license agreement, which gives the US district court the right to sue for infringement; Third, the obligee asked the United Nations to investigate according to Article 337 of the United States Tariff Act of the United States International Trade Commission (ITC). ITC investigation is time-consuming and low-cost, and once it is identified as infringement, those with serious circumstances may issue a "comprehensive exclusion order", which can exclude similar infringing products from being imported into the United States, which is very beneficial to the owner's intellectual property protection, and may cause a fatal blow to enterprises exported from China to the United States.
China is becoming the manufacturing center of the world, and China enterprises have the ability to conduct research and development. More and more high-tech products from China are exported to the United States, and the franchise relationship is closer. Due to the increasing threat from its competitors, there will definitely be more and more cases involving 337 investigation.
With the continuous growth of quantity and variety, there are more and more problems in exporting to the United States and protecting the intellectual property rights of China enterprises in the United States. In the past three years, the US International Trade Commission initiated 337 investigations, including 15 cases involving 47 companies in China. In May this year, the batteries produced by eight enterprises in China encountered Section 337 and were investigated by the US International Trade Commission. How to deal with enterprises and products in China? "The United States International Trade Commission conducted an investigation into Section 337.
According to the expert's suggestion, we must pay attention to the following four aspects:
Introduction: If you don't want to be targeted by Article 337, you must pay attention to two points: avoid infringing patent rights and establish your own intellectual property protection.
Patent search should be carried out first to determine whether it is possible to participate in an American patented product, which involves the patent of manufacturing products or methods. If there is infringement, it may replace the general method to avoid infringement. You can also get the permission of the patentee, or the importer can reach an agreement that the American importer will bear the tort liability. In the United States, you must protect your trademark and not infringe it. Work needs to be very careful, because in the United States, colors, combinations of colors, sounds and even smells can be the subject of trademark protection.
Raiders 2: When the owner of a patent trademark in the United States may issue a "warning letter to stop infringement" and ask all parties to stop infringement, they can recommend patents from all parties. China enterprises have obtained patent licenses for infringement.
After receiving this letter, the parties concerned should immediately consult the US Patent Office for confirmation and work out a treatment plan as soon as possible. If the relevant parties do not reply to this letter, the patent owner in the United States has immediately submitted this patent infringement to the court or ITC for investigation.
Introduction: Section 337 is a means to protect American enterprises and prevent competitors from entering the American market.
In the "337" case, if the enterprise does not respond to the lawsuit, it means a loss, which means that the company will lose money in the American export market for a long time. This may be more terrible than anti-dumping-increasing tariffs, because anti-dumping is time-limited; 337 investigation, export products may be permanently excluded from the US market. If an American administrative law judge submits a bill, according to the procedures of the International Trade Commission, the enterprises involved in China have only six days to raise objections. Therefore, it is necessary to seriously consider whether to give a reply in time.
Never ignore the investigation, and don't expect the same infringement to give other companies a risk defense. You should immediately contact a lawyer who is familiar with this business and take the initiative to face the challenges of Americans.
Brief introduction: When choosing a law firm, you should pay attention to the following aspects: you must be familiar with the professional knowledge of trademark and patent agencies of the United States International Trade Commission, American law firms, companies located in Washington, DC, or their branches in Washington, DC;
I hope my answer is helpful to you.