"For Section 337 investigations before the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC), 2025 was a year of contrasts. As one example, the Federal Circuit's long-awaited decision in Lashify, Inc. v. ITC reduced the burden for satisfying Section 337's domestic industry requirement, under which ITC complainants must show adequate U.S. investments in practicing or exploiting the asserted intellectual property rights. But this lower threshold did not immediately result in increased Section 337 complaint filings."
"But while ITC developments in 2025 provided contrasting outcomes, they are best seen as leading indicators of an active 2026. A relaxed domestic industry requirement, a recent uptick in complaint filings, Trump Administration support for Section 337 enforcement, and complainants' strong track record of success, all suggest that 2026 could be busy for Section 337 litigants and confirm that the ITC remains an attractive forum for enforcing IP rights."
"2025's most significant developments in Section 337 practice concerned the domestic industry requirement. The most dramatic of these developments was the Federal Circuit's rejection of nearly 40 years of precedent in Lashify, which followed the Supreme Court's decision in Loper Bright v. Raimondo to overturn Chevron deference. In Lashify, the Federal Circuit ended the ITC's longstanding practice of treating investments in sales, marketing and distribution as insufficient to satisfy the domestic industry requirement."
2025 showed contrasting outcomes for Section 337 investigations, highlighted by a Federal Circuit decision that relaxed the domestic industry requirement. The Lashify decision allowed investments in sales, marketing, and distribution to count toward domestic industry, rejecting decades of ITC precedent and following the Supreme Court's rejection of Chevron deference. Despite the lowered threshold, complaint filings remained subdued for much of 2025 due to uncertainty in U.S. trade policy and federal operations. Recent upticks in filings, strong complainant success rates, and administration support point toward increased Section 337 activity and continued attractiveness of the ITC as an enforcement forum in 2026.
Read at IPWatchdog.com | Patents & Intellectual Property Law
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