The U.S. International Trade Commission: An Overview, Best Practices, and Recent Trends
The International Trade Commission (ITC) is a powerful forum in U.S. litigation that provides powerful remedies and speedy decisions not available in any other forum. Rather than provide monetary damages, the ITC can issue exclusion orders prohibiting importation and sale of all infringing products into the United States. While the ITC is used most frequently for patent infringement disputes, companies often overlook its value for a wide range of IP and Lanham Act allegations.
We are offering a two-part session on the ITC. In the first segment, Jeannine Sano, Brian Johnson, and Eric Krause will provide an overview of the ITC, including court procedures and why one might choose this forum to resolve disputes. In the second, joining Ms. Sano, Mr. Johnson, and Mr. Krause, we are pleased to welcome our distinguished speakers Douglas Peterson from CalAmp and Matthew Bathon from Samsung. This panel will focus on perspective of in-house counsel to explore uses of the ITC and address what companies must do if they are named as a respondent.
Please join us! This is a free online event.
* Our online webinar is held via Zoom.
Date
Thursday, March 7, 2024 from 4:00 pm – 5:30 pm (Pacific Time)
*Friday, March 8, 2024 from 9:00 am – 10:30 am (Japan Time)
Schedule
4:00-4:05 pm (PST): Opening
4:05-4:40 pm: Presentations by Jeannine Sano, Brian Johnson, and Eric Krause
4:40-5:25 pm: Panel Discussion by Jeannine Sano, Brian Johnson, Eric Krause, Matt Bathon, and Doug Peterson
5:25-5:30 pm: Q&A
5:30-6:00 pm: Virtual Networking*
*Optional. You are welcome to remain online to have discussions with other participants.
Speakers:
Douglas Peterson, General Counsel, CalAmp
Matthew Bathon, Principal Legal Counsel, Samsung Electronics
Brian Johnson, Partner, Axinn, Veltrop & Harkrider LLP
Jeannine Sano, Partner, Axinn, Veltrop & Harkrider LLP
Eric Krause, Partner, Axinn, Veltrop & Harkrider LLP
Profile of Speakers:
Douglas Peterson
General Counsel, CalAmp
Douglas Peterson is General Counsel of CalAmp and oversees the legal department including Intellectual Property and Litigation. Before moving to an in-house counsel role, Doug was in private practice focusing on Intellectual Property, including patent prosecution and patent litigation. He previously represented clients and currently advises company stakeholders on matters relating to Section 337 investigations at the ITC. Doug received a degree in Bioengineering and began practicing law in 2001.
Matthew Bathon
Principal Legal Counsel, Samsung Electronics
Matthew Bathon is Principal Legal Counsel for Samsung Electronics, where he oversees IP litigation at the US International Trade Commission and in district courts across the country. He regularly speaks with stakeholders on topics relevant to IP litigation, in particular Section 337 investigations at the ITC. Matthew has a degree in electrical engineering and was previously a Senior Investigative Attorney in the Office of Unfair Import Investigations (OUII) at the ITC. Prior to joining Samsung, Matthew spent many years in private practice litigating patent cases.
Brian Johnson
Partner, Axinn, Veltrop & Harkrider LLP
Brian Johnson is a first chair IP litigation partner at Axinn Veltrop with a background in computer engineering. He has had the privilege of representing many of the largest telecommunications companies in the world on high-stakes, competitor disputes. Brian has appeared in dozens of International Trade Commission investigations where he regularly counsels clients with litigation strategy, including the interplay of multijurisdictional disputes and advocacy with U.S. Customs.
Jeannine Sano
Partner, Axinn, Veltrop & Harkrider LLP
Jeannine Sano is an established lead trial lawyer with 30 years of intellectual property litigation experience handling jury and bench trials in California, Texas, Florida, Delaware, and Illinois, among other federal district courts, as well as ITC and PTAB trials, and appeals at the Federal Circuit, California Court of Appeals, and the U.S. Supreme Court. She has tried patent and trade secret cases involving a range of technology fields, such as mobile communications, video processing, graphics, memory, display, semiconductor manufacturing, and medical devices, and is frequently invited to be an instructor at NITA (National Institute of Trial Advocacy).
Eric Krause, Partner
Axinn, Veltrop & Harkrider LLP
Eric Krause has served as lead attorney in numerous ITC and PTAB proceedings and handled district court litigation in popular forums across the country. He brings his electrical and computer engineering background to bear when trying patent and trade secret cases in numerous technologies ranging from cloud services and software to semiconductor fabrication and IoT. Eric has also seconded at a Japanese semiconductor manufacturer, advising on patent litigation, prosecution, and licensing matters.
