Bond is Co-Counsel in Significant Victory for Electrical Device Manufacturer in the U.S. International Trade Commission

March 15, 2009

In a final decision issued March 10th by the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC), Bond, Schoeneck & King, PLLC, along with its co-counsel Goodwin Procter, achieved a major litigation victory for its client Pass & Seymour/Legrand (P&S), a leading supplier of electrical wiring devices. The ITC ruled that multiple China-based manufacturers and their U.S. distributors had infringed P&S patents and ordered those companies and their U.S. distributors to stop importation of infringing ground fault circuit interrupter (GFCI) products into the United States.

GFCI receptacles were invented and developed by P&S in 1971, and are required by building codes in kitchens and bathrooms. GFCI receptacles which are identifiable by "test" and "reset" buttons on their face, have saved thousands of lives, by reducing electrocution in homes and buildings.

P&Ss Complaint was filed in August 2007, the trial held in June 2008. The investigation included six patents and 15 respondents. Following the nine-day trial, the ITC Administrative Law Judge Carl C. Charneski noted numerous violations of P&S's patents.

Bond served as co-counsel and the trial team included George R. McGuire and David Nocilly along with the Goodwin Procter team. Bond lawyers Edward R. Conan, Fred J.M. Price and Adam P. Mastroleo also played major roles in the litigation. To see the P&S news release on the ITC findings, please go to www.passandseymour.com. The decisions are available on the ITC website at www.usitc.gov.