Federal Circuit lifts sex toy importation ban
The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has reversed a ruling imposed by the International Trade Commission (ITC) which placed a ban on the importation of vibrators used as sex toys.
In a ruling issued yesterday (May 11), the federal circuit said that the ITC was wrong to stop the importation of vibrators produced by Swedish company Lelo, despite the fact that they were found to have infringed a patent owned by Canada-based Standard Innovation.
Standard Innovation filed a complaint at the ITC in 2012 where it claimed that its patent, US number 7,931,605, which is used in its We-Vibe sex toy, was infringed by rival products imported into the US by Lelo.
Lelo claimed that the patent was invalid on the grounds of obviousness.
But in 2013 the ITC said the patent was valid and that it had been infringed. The ITC imposed a ban on the importation of several Lelo-produced sex toys that were found to have infringed the ‘605 patent.
Under section 337 investigations, a party can stop patent infringing products from being imported into the US if the company is shown to have made “significant investment” in the US.
Lelo appealed against the ITC’s decision at the federal circuit.
In its judgment, the federal circuit said Standard Innovation’s investment was not sufficient because its products were manufactured in China.
Despite Standard Innovation arguing that it obtained components for its devices from US manufacturers, the federal circuit described the investment as “modest” and “insignificant”.
“In this case, the US suppliers are neither contractors nor subcontractors. They are retailers and the components are off-the-shelf. There is no evidence of any investment made in capital or labour as a result of the purchased components,” the court ruled.
A spokesperson for Standard Innovation told WIPR: "The federal circuit did not question any aspect of the ICT's finding that Standard Innovation's patents are valid and infringed by Lelo's products.
"Standard Innovation is currently evaluating its legal options with respect to the ITC proceeding," the spokesperson added.
Lelo did not respond to a request for comment at the time of publication.
