The U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) has decided to scrutinize seven IT giants including Samsung, Dell ,HP, Lenovo and Microsoft, following a complaint from Ireland-based company Neodron, which accused the companies of infringing on its patents related to touchscreen technology.

• Amazon,com, Inc., of Seattle, WA;
• Dell Technologies Inc. of Round Rock, TX;
• HP Inc. of Palo Alto, CA;
• Lenovo Group Ltd. of Beijing, China;
• Lenovo (United States) Inc. of Morrisville, NC;
• Microsoft Corporation of Redmond, WA;
• Motorola Mobility LLC of Chicago, IL;
• Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., of Suwon, South Korea; and
• Samsung Electronics America, Inc., of Ridgefield Park, NJ.

USITC Institutes Section 337 Investigation of Certain Touch-Controlled Mobile Devices, Computers, and Components Thereof

The investigation is related to certain touch-controlled mobile devices, computers, and components thereof. It is based on a complaint filed by Neodron Ltd. of Dublin, Ireland, on May 22, 2019. An amended complaint was filed on May 23, 2019. Neodron claims that the seven IT firms illegally sold touch-controlled mobile devices and computers after infringing on its four patents in touchscreen technology. The complainant requests that the USITC issue a limited exclusion order and cease and desist orders.

The USITC will investigate Amazon,com, Inc., Dell Technologies Inc., HP Inc., Lenovo Group Ltd., Lenovo (United States) Inc., Microsoft Corp., Motorola Mobility LLC, Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., and Samsung Electronics America, Inc..

By instituting this investigation (337-TA-1162), the USITC has not yet made any decision on the merits of the case. The USITC’s Chief Administrative Law Judge will assign the case to one of the USITC’s administrative law judges (ALJ), who will schedule and hold an evidentiary hearing.

Samsung Electronics has been embroiled in a series of lawsuits in the United States over intellectual property infringements.

The South Korean giant has been also truggling with the escalating U.S.-China trade war, falling chip prices and local prosecutors' investigation over the alleged fraudulent accounting by the group's drug-making affiliate Samsung BioLogics.

Prior to the launch of the ITC investigation, Samsung was sued for infringing on the semiconductor manufacturing patents of STC.UNM, a nonprofit research organization of the University of New Mexico, in May.

The organization filed the lawsuit with the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas against Samsung and its U.S. subsidiaries, claiming Samsung infringed on its patented method to manufacture semiconductor devices for computer chips, smartphones and mobile devices.

Samsung was also sued by Swatch Group in February for allegedly infringing on the watchmaker's trademark on designs for Samsung's downloadable smartwatch faces.