.337 Terms Of Study

Section337 of the Tariff Act was born on the Depression days , thebeginning of the 1930s. Also called the "unfair act in importation", thearticle was designed to offer administrative relief for the Americanindustry which was harmed by the unfair competition from the foreigncompetitors in case of the default jurisprudence of the American court.Like other clauses of American trade law, 337Section aims atunconditionally maintaining the state interest. Since its birth, the sectioncarved a zigzag path as the dormant period from the ending of the SecondWorld War to the early 1970s, then a reviving turn in the 1974 Trade Law,finally a strengthening point in the 1988 Omnibus Trade andCompetitiveness Act. From then on the operation of the article welcomedits best days. A brief look into the practice of the law since its in force, we caneasily get to know that 337section mainly applies to the infringement ofIntellectual Property. Particularly in the revision of the 1988 law, this kindof cases were highlighted independently. Some notable revisions such asthe elimination of the evidence of the harm caused by infringer inintellectual property cases made the section a more efficient relief to theintellectual property right holders. Since the economic reform in 1980s, the world witnessed aspectacular prosperity of Chinese economy and a spurt in its internationaltrade. Today, America has grown to be the leading partner of Chineseforeign trade, thus the conflict of trade between the two countries alsogets its stand-out position among various issues involved in their foreignrelations. The ever-increasing technological ingredients in Chinese exports toAmerica has posed an escalating threat to American domesticcompetitors . As a result , more and more Chinese enterprises are allegedto commit 337 section by American competitors who go to great lengthsto protect their interest in market . In 2004 , up to 11 Chinese enterpriseswere subjected to the investigation of 337 sections on the allegations thatthey infringed the American intellectual property right holders . Comes infront of us a severe fact: China is becoming the first victim of the337Section investigation. However, owing to its complicated substantive and proceduralarrangements , the Chinese enterprises charged with the investigationoften fall into a great loss on how to respond to it. What's more , thecostly litigation also hinders their confrontation in the investigation. Butthe submission to the charge can't solve the problem. Based on the rulingof ITC, a general exclusion order can still be granted providing that theappealer of the case can prove his allegations to be true in the absence ofthe infringer in the court. The substantial threat of 337 Section works out a great challenge toChinese enterprises. The paper aims at clarifying the practical andtheoretical problems concerning 337section with the hope that it can be ofhelp to both the enterprises and researching sphere. The highlight ofanalysis is on the conflicting nature of 337 Section in accordance withWTO obligations. The first chapter is preamble which expounds the significance of theessay's perspective , the lines of my thought on the problem and theresearching methods as well. I point out that 337Section , aiming atupholding state interest , has evolved into a measure of tradeprotectionism in the name of protecting American industry againstinfringement of American intellectual property . Therefore, I pour a largepart of ink on the illustration of the conflicting nature of the clause byvirtue of WTO obligations. I apply comprehensive analyzing method,comparing method and legal interpretation method to the piece ofwriting . The second chapter is the introduction of 337Section's investigationmechanism and remedies granted. But I go further than that. After a deepreview of procedure and relief of the article, I summarize that337section ,characterized by its "in rem" nature, has a much moredestructive effect to the alleged if ITC found the allegation evidenced,comparing with the litigation of Am...