Taiwan Semiconductor Requests Unfair Import Investigation of Semiconductor Devices

On August 18, 2004, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, Ltd., TSMC North America, and WaferTech L.L.V. filed a "Section 337" unfair import complaint at the U.S. International Trade Commission.

The complaint requests that an unfair import investigation be instituted involving "Certain Semiconductor Devices and Products Containing Same." The proposed respondents are: Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (Cayman Islands), CHINA; Semiconductor Manufacturing International (Shanghai) Corporation, CHINA; SMIC Beijing, CHINA; and SMIC Americas, Fremont, California. The complaint has been designated as confidential and assigned Docket No. 337-2393 for indexing in the Commission's database.

The Commission now has 30-35 days from the filing date of the complaint in which to decide whether to institute the investigation. Upon institution, the proposed respondent will be served with the Complaint via postal mail and an Administrative Law Judge will schedule discovery, conduct a trial, and issue a written "Initial Determination," usually within about 10 months. Due to the expedited nature of these proceedings, and availability of general exclusion orders affecting non-parties, it is important to notify any potential importers of similar products as soon as possible.

Click here for more information on the importance of monitoring these ITC investigations, such as by subscribing to the free "I/P Updates" news service at http://www.ip-updates.com/. And click here for a free audio-visual Internet presentation on "Unfair Import Investigations at the U.S. International Trade Commission."

For the latest details on a particular Section 337 investigation, or to arrange a free, in-person presentation on these (and/or other) intellectual property topics, contact Bill Heinze (Bill.Heinze@tkhr.com), at Thomas, Kayden, Horstemeyer & Risley in Atlanta, Georgia.