Certain Pre-Stretched Synthetic Braiding Hair and Packaging Therefor II; Inv. No. 337-TA-1457 (Violation)

The Commission found no violation of section 337 as to all four asserted patents (the '026, '301, '478 and '616 patents) and terminated the investigation. No exclusion order issued. Because no violation was found, the accused pre-stretched synthetic braiding hair products face no exclusion or cease and desist relief. The Commission's construction of 'pre-stretched' as pulled under tension, together with its no-infringement affirmance on the '478 patent, is the main reasoned ruling. Complainant could seek appeal, but the opinion leaves several issues undecided, including priority date, technical prong and economic prong. For the '026, '301 and '616 patents, the Commission reviewed invalidity only as to the Asante Short Braid and Sana Abuja Short Braid and took no position on those two products. It left the remaining anticipation findings unreviewed, so the no-violation result stands. The Commission affirmed the construction of 'pre-stretched' in '478 claim 20 as 'stretched,' meaning pulled under tension, adding supplemental reasoning from the specification, claim differentiation, other claims, extrinsic evidence and the absence of lexicography. It did not review the Final ID's finding of no infringement of the '478 patent under that construction and so affirmed no violation as to that patent. On '478 invalidity, the Commission took no position on the priority date, whether the DI Products are prior art, or the New York Short Braid. It found that under OUII's broader construction, claim 20 would be invalid over the Mini Braid by clear and convincing evidence. The Commission took no position on the technical prong and the economic prong of domestic industry, and did not review the Final ID's findings on representativeness of the domestic industry and accused products.