Kyocera Wireless Corp. v. ITC

The United States International Trade Commission (“ITC” or “Commission”) determined that Qualcomm Incorporated (“Qualcomm”) infringed Broadcom Corporation’s (“Broadcom’s”) United States Patent 6,714,983 (“’983 Patent”) with its imports. As a remedy, the ITC issued a limited exclusion order (“LEO”) against the importation of all downstream products containing the accused technology. Aside from Qualcomm, the appellants in this action are Qualcomm’s customers. Some customers are wireless device manufacturers whose products are subject to the LEO. Others are wireless network operators whose networks depend on products subject to the LEO. Despite the broad downstream scope of the LEO, Broadcom named only Qualcomm as a respondent in its ITC complaint. Because the ITC correctly construed the critical disputed claim term in Broadcom’s patent, and because the ITC correctly rejected Qualcomm’s invalidity arguments under 35 U.S.C. §§ 102 and 103, this court affirms the ITC’s finding that the ’983 Patent is not invalid. This court also affirms the ITC’s determination of no direct infringement by Qualcomm. However, because the ITC misapplied the standard for induced infringement, this court vacates and remands on infringement. Finally, because the ITC has no statutory authority to issue an LEO against downstream products of non-respondents, this court vacates and remands the limited exclusion order.

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