International Trade Commission – A Sledgehammer for Fighting Knockoffs

Contributors: Josh Pond

January 12, 2022

[Article PDF]

As e-commerce sales grew during the pandemic, so did the importing of knockoff products

With the ability to block unfair imports, the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) offers a powerful tool for protecting the intellectual property of American companies—and more companies are making use of that tool, particularly against a tidal wave of knockoff products.

Under Section 337 of the U.S. Tariff Act of 1930, the ITC can prevent IP-infringing goods from coming into the country. In FY 2021, it took on 82 such cases, compared to 53 the year before.

Some of this rise is associated with the increasingly interconnected nature of global markets and simmering international trade tensions. However, a more immediate driver is the intersection of e-commerce and COVID-19. E-commerce sales have been growing for some time, but when the pandemic hit the U.S., e-commerce sales shot up 32 percent, growing from $596 billion in 2019 to$792 billion in 2020. This has created a boom in the importing of knockoff products, as online channels offer bad actors a direct and often unscrutinized pipeline to end consumers.

Read the complete article in the Litigation Forecast 2022. 

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Index: Litigation Forecast 2022

• The Intersection of Technology, Litigation, and IP – “When the Disruptors Get Disrupted” — Warrington Parker
• BioPharma – “The Calm Between the CRISPR Storms” — Anne Elise Herold Li
• Copyright/Software – “Fair Use: When Clarification Isn’t Necessarily Clear” — Gabriel M. Ramsey
• International Trade Commission – “A Sledgehammer for Fighting Knockoffs” — Joshua Pond
• PTAB Litigation – “The Changing Rules of the Road” — Vincent J. Galluzzo
• Patent Cases – “An Open Door for MOT Patent Litigation” — Laura A. Lydigsen
• Trade Secrets – “Expect Claims to Keep Rising” — Astor Heaven
• Trademark – “Conflicting Decisions Raise Uncertainty” — Andrew J. Avsec

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Litigation Forecast Archive:
2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017

Regulatory Forecast Archive: 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017

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