ITC Judge ‘Not Inclined’ to Sever Nokia-Lenovo Section 337 Probe Into 2 Inquiries

Administrative Law Judge Dee Lord with the International Trade Commission is “not inclined” to sever into two probes the ITC's Tariff Act Section 337 investigation into allegations that Lenovo computers, tablets and parts infringe five Nokia patents, she told a Sept. 3 telephonic conference, per a transcript (login required) posted Monday in docket 337-TA-1208. Lee ordered the parties Aug. 14 to show cause why the “disparate” issues between four H.264 patents and the remaining invention didn’t warrant severance (see 2008160004). Nokia and ITC staff argued in their Aug. 26 replies there was substantial overlap between the bodies of intellectual property (see 2008270001), and Lord agreed, according to the transcript. “On balance, it seemed to me that we ought to keep everything in one place,” she said.