USITC Amends Investigation in Semiconductor Patent Case
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The United States International Trade Commission (USITC) has made an important change in its ongoing investigation into certain foreign-made semiconductor devices and related products.
On March 26, 2025, the USITC began an investigation after a complaint was filed by Longitude Licensing Ltd. and Marlin Semiconductor Ltd., both based in Dublin, Ireland. The complaint said that some companies were breaking the law by importing and selling products in the U.S. that used certain patented technology without permission. The patents involved are U.S. Patent Nos. 7,745,847; 9,093,473; 9,147,747; 9,184,292; and 9,953,880.
The original investigation named several companies as respondents, including Lenovo Group Ltd. (LGL) of Hong Kong S.A.R., China. Other companies named were:
- Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (Taiwan)
- Apple Inc. (California)
- Broadcom Inc. (California)
- Motorola (Wuhan) Mobility Technologies Communication Co. (China)
- Motorola Mobile Communication Technology Ltd. (China)
- OnePlus Technology (Shenzhen) Co. (China)
- Qualcomm Inc. (California)
The Office of Unfair Import Investigations (OUII) also joined the investigation.
On July 1, 2025, Longitude Licensing Ltd. and Marlin Semiconductor Ltd. filed a motion with LGL. They asked to replace LGL with six other Lenovo-related companies in the complaint and to end the investigation for LGL. The new Lenovo companies are:
- Lenovo (Shanghai) Electronics Technology Co., Ltd.
- Lenovo PC International Ltd.
- Lenovo PC HK Ltd.
- Lenovo Information Products (Shenzhen) Co., Ltd.
- Lenovo Beijing Co., Ltd.
- Lenovo (United States) Inc.
The motion was not opposed by the OUII or any of the other respondents.
On July 21, 2025, the administrative law judge agreed to this change. The judge said it was proper to replace LGL with the Lenovo companies and to end the investigation for LGL. The judge found there was good cause for this step. The order said that there were no secret deals between the complainants and LGL, and that making the change would not hurt anyone’s rights or the public interest. It would also save resources for everyone involved.
No party asked for a review of the judge’s decision.
On August 14, 2025, the USITC decided not to review the judge’s order. This means the complaint and the investigation now include the six Lenovo companies, and Lenovo Group Ltd. is no longer part of the investigation.
This decision was made under section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930 and the Commission’s rules.
The statement was made official by Lisa Barton, Secretary to the Commission, on August 14, 2025.
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