Fish & Richardson Obtains Initial Determination Recommending a General Exclusion Order for Skull Shaver in Patent Infringement Dispute

Fish & Richardson obtained an initial determination at the International Trade Commission (ITC) recommending a general exclusion order for client Skull Shaver, LLC, the market leader in uniquely designed and patented handheld electric shavers and personal grooming products. A general exclusion order is a rarely recommended remedy at the ITC with a broad impact on the importation market.

In this initial determination, Skull Shaver's asserted U.S. Patent No. 8,726,528 ("the '528 Patent") and U.S. Design Patent No. D672,504 ("the '504 Patent") protecting its novel electric shavers were found to be infringed, and Skull Shaver was found to satisfy the domestic industry requirement of Section 337. The initial determination went on to find that Skull Shaver is entitled to a general exclusion order, as this remedy is necessary to prevent circumvention of an exclusion order only limited to certain named products, that there has been a pattern of violation of Skull Shaver's patents in the market, and that the sources of infringing products in the market are difficult to identify. Skull Shaver expects the decision to be upheld by the full Commission at the ITC.

"We are pleased to have secured a favorable initial determination from the ITC as we continue to help Skull Shaver protect its important patents against entities that continue to infringe on this unique product," said Betty Chen, principal in Fish's Silicon Valley office.

Earlier in this matter, Fish obtained default judgments against eight of the foreign respondents that were previously part of the Investigation, including Suzhou Kaidiya Garments Trading Co., Ltd.; Yiwu City Qiaoyu Trading Co., Ltd.; Wenzhou Wending Electric Appliance Co., Ltd.; Shenzhen Aiweilai Trading Co., Ltd.; Shenzhen Junmao International Technology Co., Ltd.; Shenzhen Wantong Information Technology Co., Ltd.; Yiwu Xingye Network Technology Co., Ltd.; and Bald Shaver Inc. The default judgments precluded these respondents from appearing in the Investigation and contesting the allegations at issue regarding infringement of Skull Shaver's '528 Patent and '504 Patent.

Fish also obtained a settlement and license agreement on behalf of Skull Shaver with respondent Magicfly LLC. As part of that agreement, Magicfly and its affiliate entities agreed to take a license to the '528 Patent for the past importation and sales of the accused Magicfly products. Magicfly and its affiliate entities also agreed to discontinue sales of the accused products moving forward.

In addition to Chen, the Fish team included Benjamin Elacqua, Jeremy Saks, Thomas Fusco, Tracea Rice, and Rose Sun.

The case is In the Matter of Certain Electric Shavers and Components and Accessories Thereof, Inv. No. 337-TA-1230.