US Trade Commission Should Lose Patent Purview, Academic Says

Inspired by the pre-Christmas import ban on Apple Watches, a leading patent-law academic proposed eliminating the US International Trade Commission as a venue to litigate patent disputes.

The ITC already faces legal and lobbying challenges from Apple Inc., the largest US tech company, after banning imports of certain Apple Watches with blood-oxygen measuring tools in response to a patent-infringement action from Masimo Corp. Apple’s efforts aim to blunt the ITC’s ability to issue trade bans in response to legal actions brought by non-practicing entities, or NPEs, that own and assert patents but don’t make products based on the technology. ...