U.S. International Trade Commission Case Vacated Due to Patent Expiration
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The U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) has vacated its final decision in the investigation of certain hydrodermabrasion systems. This decision comes after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit found the investigation moot because the patent expired.
The investigation started on July 17, 2024, after a complaint from HydraFacial LLC. The company claimed that Cartessa Aesthetics, LLC and Eunsung Global Corp were violating patent laws. These companies were importing and selling hydrodermabrasion systems that allegedly infringed on HydraFacial’s patent, known as the ‘287 patent.
The ITC ended the investigation for Eunsung on January 21, 2025, because of a consent order. Later, on March 23, 2026, the ITC found Cartessa guilty of violating the patent laws. However, any enforcement was paused because the ‘287 patent expired on March 29, 2026, during a review period.
Cartessa appealed the decision, stating the case was moot due to the patent expiration. The Federal Circuit agreed. On July 23, 2026, the court vacated ITC’s final decision and ordered the investigation dismissed.
The ITC confirmed the termination of the investigation, stating the case was moot because of the patent expiration. The final decision by the ITC was vacated following the Federal Circuit’s order. The vote to terminate the investigation took place on October 3, 2026.
This case was conducted under section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930. The situation shows how a patent expiration can cause an ongoing legal case to become irrelevant.
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