On April 5, 2004, Tyco Healthcare Retail Group and Paragon Trade Brands filed a "Section 337" complaint at the U.S. International Trade Commission requesting an unfair import investigation involving "Absorbent Garments" from Mexico.

The proposed respondents named in the complaint are Grupo ABS Internacional, S.A. de C.V., N.L. Mexico, Absormex S.A. de C.V., N.L. Mexico, Absormex USA, Inc., Laredo, Texas. The complaint has been assigned Docket No. 337-2366 for indexing in the Commission's database at https://edis.usitc.gov/hvwebex//. Although the complaint has, so far, been designated as confidential, the subject matter of the investigation is very likely to involve intellectual property rights.

This matter appears to be unrelated to the lawsuit announced on April 5, 2004 by Tyco Healthcare Group that was filed in the United States Court for the Eastern District of Virginia against Daniels Corporation, Daniels Sharpsmart, Inc., and American Waste Industries, Inc. In that suit Tyco Healthcare asserts that Daniels’ Sharpsmart reusable sharps disposal containers infringe two patents: Patent number 5,947,285 titled "Medical Waste Disposal Container," and Patent number 4,779,728 titled "Sharps Disposal Container." The new ITC matter also appears to be unrelated to Tyco's Nellcor subsidiary's recent patent infringement loss to Masimo involving signal processing for pulse oximetry technologies.

The Commission now has 30-35 days 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, it is important to notify any interested parties as soon as possible. More information about Section 337 investigations is available from the APLF at http://www.aplf.org/events/roundtables/2002-06-20.shtml.

To discuss this topic further, please contact the authors, Minh Nguyen (Minh.Nguyen@tkhr.com) and Bill Heinze (Bill.Heinze@tkhr.com), at Thomas, Kayden, Horstemeyer & Risley in Atlanta. Or, better yet, stop by and introduce yourself at their firm's reception during the INTA Annual Meeting at the Hyatt Regency Atlanta on May 3 and 4, at 2:00-5:00 PM.

The information contained in this email is provided for informational purposes only and does not represent legal advice. Neither the APLF nor the author intends to create an attorney client relationship by providing this information to you through this message.

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