A Request for Sanctions Before the ITC Is Not Appealable to the Federal Circuit

REALTEK SEMICONDUCTOR CORPORATION v. ITC

Before Reyna, Bryson, and Stoll. Appeal from the United States International Trade Commission.

Summary: The Federal Circuit lacks jurisdiction to hear appeals of non-final determinations from the United States International Trade Commission.

In 2019, Future Link and MediaTek entered into a licensing agreement in which MediaTek agreed to pay Future Link a lump sum if Future Link filed a lawsuit against Realtek.  Future Link then filed an ITC complaint accusing Realtek of infringing several patents. Early in the litigation, Future Link settled with a third party, resolving the dispute underlying the ITC investigation.  Future Link informed Realtek of that settlement and Realtek filed a motion for sanctions.  While the Administrative Law Judge (“ALJ”) expressed “alarm” at the licensing agreement between Future Link and MediaTek, the ALJ concluded that sanctions were not warranted because the licensing agreement played no role in Future Link’s decision to file its complaint. Shortly thereafter, Future Link withdrew its complaint against Realtek and moved to terminate the investigation. After the Commission terminated the investigation, Realtek petitioned the Commission for review of the ALJ’s order denying sanctions. The Commission declined to review the ALJ’s order. Realtek appealed the Commission’s refusal to review the order for sanctions and sought an order requiring Future Link to pay a fine to the Commission.

The Federal Circuit held that it lacked jurisdiction to hear Realtek’s appeal. Under 28 U.S.C. § 1295(a)(6), the Federal Circuit has exclusive jurisdiction to review the final determinations of the ITC. According to the Federal Circuit, a “final determination,” consistent with 19 U.S.C. § 1337(c), must be “a final administrative decision on the merits, excluding or refusing to exclude articles from entry.”  Because Realtek’s requested sanctions would have had no effect on the entry of any articles, the Federal Circuit held that it was not a final determination on the merits within its jurisdiction.

Editor: Sean Murray