ITC Section 337 Proceedings

Kirkland & Ellis LLP has one of the most successful ITC practices in the market. - The Legal 500 United States, 2019

For more than 30 years, our attorneys have applied Kirkland’s trial-ready philosophy to representation of complainants and respondents before the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC), an alternative forum for owners of U.S. intellectual property rights to seek to block infringing products from entering the U.S. market. Section 337 authorizes the ITC to hear complaints brought by owners of U.S. patents, trademarks, copyrights and trade secrets against alleged infringing imports, and, because of its speed, expertise and powerful remedies, it is common for large-scale, complex, and global IP disputes to start at the ITC, or at least include an ITC component.

Our nationally recognized IP trial attorneys have the knowledge, experience and resources necessary to successfully litigate at the ITC, and they understand the particular procedural rules and specific challenges that must be addressed for a party to be successful before this fast moving, forward-looking agency. Our team has handled many unique issues covering a variety of products and technologies before the ITC, and has obtained several significant, precedent setting rulings on behalf of our clients, including obtaining the first temporary exclusion order, litigating the largest Section 337 case ever reported and participating in the only two hearings before the full Commission in the last decade.

We have a deep bench of lawyers with experience taking ITC cases across a broad range of technologies to final determination, as well as managing appeals and the enforcement of exclusion orders with U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Furthermore, our attorneys have significant experience representing clients in parallel proceedings involving the ITC, U.S. district courts, and the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB).