"By instituting this investigation, the USITC has not yet made any decision on the merits of the case,” said the ITC in a statement.
“The administrative law judges (ALJ) will make an initial determination as to whether there is a violation of section 337; that initial determination is subject to review by the Commission.”
A final determination will be made at the “earliest practicable time”, added the ITC, and that a finish date will be set within 45 days of starting the investigation.
Complaint
According to the terms of the complaint, seven suppliers of co-enzyme Q10 allegedly infringed “directly and/or indirectly” Kaneka’s US Patent No. 7,910,340. The Japanese company asked ITC to initiate an investigation into the “unauthorized use of the Kaneka Patent”.
The complaint names seven other CoQ10 suppliers, including Zhejiang Medicine Co. Ltd., ZMC-USA, LLC, Xiamen Kingdomway Group Company, Pacific Rainbow International, Inc, Mitsubishi Gas Chemical Company, Inc., Maypro Industries, Inc., and Shenzou Biology & Technology Co., Ltd.
Patent #7,910,340, issued March 22, 2011 and entitled "Process for Producing Coenzyme Q10" describes the production of ubiquinol (CoQ10) from ubiquinone (QH – the reduced form of CoQ10).
To read our earlier coverage of the initial complaint, and response from ZMC-USA, please click here.