Import Ban Sought on Mazda, Mercedes Cars, Components

Comments are due Sept. 7 in docket 337-3637 at the International Trade Commission on the public interest ramifications of the cease and desist and limited exclusion orders Daedalus Prime seeks in an Aug. 23 complaint alleging Mazda and Mercedes-Benz vehicles and nine of their semiconductor and component suppliers are guilty of Tariff Act Section 337 violations for infringing six Daedalus automotive processor patents, said a notice for Tuesday’s Federal Register. Besides the two automakers and their North American subsidiaries, proposed respondents are Arrow Electronics, Avnet, Digi-Key Electronics, Future Electronics, MediaTek, Mouser Electronics, NXP Semiconductors, Rochester Electronics and Visteon. The categories of accused products are semiconductors and devices, and products containing those semiconductors, including printed circuit boards, automotive parts and the vehicles themselves, said the complaint. The accused semiconductors are used mainly in “automotive electronic systems such as automotive infotainment systems and instrument clusters,” it said. Certain of the accused semiconductors also have other uses, including in the communications, industrial and IoT markets, it said. It’s “unlikely” consumers would experience “any impact” from an import ban or other “requested remedies,” said the complaint. None of the proposed respondents commented Monday on the complaint.