U.S. Probe into Wireless Electronic Devices from Chinese Enterprises

On August 21, the U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) announced starting a large-scale "337 probe" into wireless electronic equipment from Chinese enterprises, with the aim to determine whether they infringe the patents of American companies.

The products under this investigation are consumer electronic devices/components with wireless capabilities, such as electronic tablets, smartphones, e-readers, mobile hotspots, broadband wireless modems, and handheld game consoles.

American complaint alleges violations of section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930 in the import into the U.S. and sale of these products that infringe a patent asserted by the complainants.

The USITC has identified the following as respondents in this probe: Acer Inc. of Taiwan; HTC Corporation of Taiwan; Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. of China; ZTE Corporation of China.