International Trade Commission Rules in Support of Unilin
On May 15, 2020, Administrative Law Judge (“ALJ”) Shaw released the ITC’s “Initial Determination” in the investigation brought by Unilin’s IP company, Mohawk Industries, and IVC US on March 25, 2019, against 45 companies alleged to infringe Unilin’s patents in its rigid and foamed core locking patent portfolio.
In a 269-page opinion, ALJ Shaw found all 48 asserted claims of Unilin’s patents US 9,200,460, US 10,233,655 and US 10,208,490 infringed and recommended a General Exclusion Order against all products that infringe such patent claims. A General Exclusion Order is an extraordinary measure which can only be ordered by the International Trade Commission by which all products of all worldwide manufacturers will not be allowed entry into the United States if they infringe the asserted Unilin claims and are not authorized by Unilin to be imported into the United States.