U.S. International Trade Commission Starts Investigation on DRAM Devices

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The U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) has announced a new investigation. This investigation is about certain Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM) devices. The investigation started after a complaint was filed. The complaint was filed by Netlist, Inc., a company based in Irvine, California.

The complaint was filed on June 16, 2026. It was filed under section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930. This is a law that deals with unfair trade practices. The complaint says that some companies have violated section 337. They are accused of importing and selling certain DRAM devices. These devices are said to infringe on two U.S. patents.

These patents are U.S. Patent No. 12,646,537 and U.S. Patent No. 12,650,937. The complaint also claims that an industry is being established in the United States that will be affected. Netlist, Inc. wants the USITC to start an investigation. They also want the Commission to issue orders to stop these activities.

The Commission officially began the investigation on July 15, 2026. The investigation will decide if there has been an infringement of the patents. The products in question are dynamic random access memory devices. This includes DDR5 generation DIMM and high bandwidth memory (HBM). It also includes products that have these items, like servers and computing systems.

Several companies are named in the complaint. They include Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., Google LLC, and NVIDIA Corp., among others. These companies are accused of violating section 337. They must respond to the complaint and notice of investigation. They have 20 days to do so from when they receive the notice.

If a company does not respond in time, they might lose their chance to contest the allegations. The investigation will involve hearings and collecting information. The presiding administrative law judge will lead this process.

For more information, the public can visit the official USITC website or contact them. The case illustrates the importance of protecting patent rights in technology. It also shows how the USITC investigates claims of unfair trade.

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