US ITC to Investigate Object Video Charges

Published Jul 28, 2011 00:00 AM
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On July 27th, the US International Trade Commission (USITC) announced it would institute an investigation based on Object Video's complaint against Bosch, Samsung and Sony. The previous month, Object Video filed a compliant asking the ITC to investigate. For background, read our analysis of that action and the 80+ page complaint ObjectVideo filed [link no longer available].

Confirmation of the investigation's commencement is not surprising. Most complaints filed are investigated by the ITC. However, as the USITC noted in the announcement of the Object Video investigation, the USITC has "not yet made any decision on the merits of the case."

Legal experts estimate the average time to complete an investigation is 1 to 1.5 years, meaning that the case should be resolved sometime in 2012.

Meanwhile, a similiar case in US District Court continues. An initial pretrial conference in Eastern District of Virginia is scheduled for August 30, 2011. However, Object Video and most legal experts view the USITC investigation as a faster way to reach a decision, underlined by the 4 months it will take from filing in District Court to having an initial pretrial conference.