HQ 473471 - Lens-Fitted Film Packages; ITC Investigation No. 337-TA-406 - United States International Trade Commision Rulings

United States International Trade Commision Rulings And Harmonized Tariff Schedule

faqs.org Rulings By Number Rulings By Category Tariff Numbers

faqs.org > Rulings and Tariffs Home > Rulings By Number > 2003 HQ Rulings > HQ 229963 - HQ 548239 > HQ 473471

Previous Ruling Next Ruling
HQ 473471

February 11, 2003

ENF 4-02 RR:IT:IP 473471 PBP

CATEGORY: UNFAIR COMPETITION 19 U.S.C. ' 1337

John M. Peterson, Esq.
Neville Peterson LLP
80 Broad Street – 34th Floor
New York, NY 10004

RE: Lens-Fitted Film Packages; ITC Investigation No. 337-TA-406

Dear Mr. Peterson:

This is in reply to your letter dated November 22, 2002, on behalf of your client, CS Industries, Inc. (CS) of West Bend, Wisconsin, in which you requested a ruling as to whether a certain “Model QL 535 ‘Message’ camera” preloaded with 35-mm film is excluded from entry into the United States.

FACTS:

Pursuant to the above-referenced exclusion order, the ITC determined that there was a violation of 19 U.S.C. §1337 regarding certain lens-fitted film packages (LFFPs), also known as one-time use cameras, single use cameras, and disposable cameras, that infringed claims under one or more of fifteen patents owned by Fuji Photo Film Co., Inc. Certain Lens-Fitted Film Packages, Inv. No. 337-TA-406, General Exclusion Order at 1-2. With the exception of design patents DES. 345,750; DES. 356,101; and DES. 372,722 which claim ornamental designs of single use cameras and are represented by their application drawings, all of the claims of the patents at issue protect “a lens-fitted photographic film package” or “a lens-fitted photographic film unit.” In its Opinion, the ITC described an LFFP as follows:

The products at issue in this investigation are inexpensive, disposable, single use cameras, technically referred to as “lens-fitted film packages” or “LFFPs.” LFFPs are generally constructed of a shell made of a plastic material such as polystyrene. They are equipped with a button-activated shutter, a lens, a viewfinder, a film advance mechanism, and optional flash units and buttons. An outer cardboard cover, containing printed information such as branding and instructions, encases the shell. LFFPs are preloaded with film and a film cartridge. When pictures are taken, the exposed film winds into the film cartridge. After taking pictures, a typical consumer brings the entire LFFP to a film processor to have the film developed and receives back only negatives and prints, not the LFFP shell and its contents.

Certain Lens-Fitted Film Packages, Inv. No. 337-TA-406 (June 2, 1999), Commission Opinion at 2. See also, ID., Final Initial and Recommended Determinations, Additional Findings, no. 1 at 214.

A sample camera identified as the “Model QL 535 ‘Message’ camera,” manufactured in the People’s Republic of China, was submitted for our analysis. The sample is a 35mm camera which is intended to be preloaded with unexposed film and incorporates a flash unit. The camera body is constructed of plastic, and consists of a front cover fitted to a shell or middle casing with screws, and a rear cover fitted to the shell on one side by a hinge and secured by a slide-lock release on the opposite side. All of the components normally associated with the operation of a camera, except for a button used to activate the shutter mechanism and a switch used to charge the flash mechanism, are assembled to the middle casing or shell. There appear to be no projections from the shell that fit into any openings of the front cover. The rear cover may be opened by releasing the slide lock and pulling outward, away from the shell.

The camera is equipped with a lens, viewfinder, film advance mechanism incorporating a thumb-wheel, internal drive with integral rewinding crank (for rewinding exposed film), shutter-operating mechanism, and flash mechanism. The camera is intended to be preloaded with unexposed film that resides in a canister (patrone) identical to those in which photographic film is normally sold at retail. With the exception of a mask or bezel around the lens, it appears that none of the components normally associated with the operation of a camera contacts any inner surface of the front cover. When a photograph is taken, film winds from its canister (patrone) onto a take-up spool. The film must then be rewound from this spool back into its canister (patrone) before it can be removed from the camera and processed. Unexposed film may be loaded into the camera under ordinary light conditions.

Photographs of the sample camera are displayed below.

ISSUE:

The issue presented is whether the sample camera is a lens-fitted film package within the scope of the ITC’s general exclusion order issued pursuant to Inv. No. 337-TA-406, such that it is excluded from entry for consumption into the United States.

LAW AND ANALYSIS:

Section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (19 U.S.C. §1337), prohibits, inter alia, the importation, the sale for importation, or the sale within the United States after importation by the owner, importer, or consignee of articles that infringe a valid and enforceable U.S. patent. 19 U.S.C. §1337(a)(1)(B)(i). The ITC has authority to investigate alleged violations of section 337. If the ITC determines that there has been a violation of section 337, it shall, subject to certain potential exceptions, direct that the articles concerned be excluded from entry into the U.S. and, accordingly, notify the Secretary of the Treasury who shall, through its proper officers, refuse such entry. 19 U.S.C. §1337. See also, 19 C.F.R. §12.39.

In Investigation No. 337-TA-406, the ITC determined that certain LFFPs infringed claims under one or more of fifteen patents owned by Fuji Photo Film Co., Inc. The ITC therefore ordered that LFFPs that infringed any of the aforementioned fifteen patents be excluded from entry for consumption into the U.S., and notified Customs accordingly. General Exclusion Order, Certain Lens-Fitted Film Packages, Inv. No. 337-TA-406 (June 2, 1999), at 2. With the exception of design patents DES. 345,750; DES. 356,101; and DES. 372,722 which claim ornamental designs of single use cameras and are represented by their application drawings, all of the claims of the patents at issue protect “a lens-fitted photographic film package” or “a lens-fitted photographic film unit.”

The general exclusion order covers LFFPs, i.e., relatively inexpensive products also known as disposable cameras, single use cameras, or one-time use cameras. LFFPs are generally constructed of a plastic material such as polystyrene, and are equipped with a button-activated shutter, lens, viewfinder, film advance mechanism, and optional flash units and buttons. The outer shell of the LFFP is usually encased in a cardboard cover or jacket containing printed information such as branding and operating instructions. When an exposure is made, the exposed film winds from a preloaded film roll into a film canister (patrone). Once a roll of film has been exposed, the consumer typically brings the entire LFFP to a film processor to have the film developed and receives only negatives and prints back, but not the LFFP shell and its contents. ID. at 2; see also, Commission Opinion, Certain Lens-Fitted Film Packages, Inv. No. 337-TA-406 (June 2, 1999), at 2.

Based on a visual examination of the sample, it was determined that the camera does not have a construction similar to that protected by the patents at issue in ITC Investigation No. 337-TA-406. The sample camera is designed to be preloaded with film residing in an OEM-type canister and consists of a plastic body incorporating a flash mechanism. The camera body consists of a shell to which is assembled all of the components associated with the operation of the camera (except for a button used to activate the shutter and a switch used to charge the flash mechanism), a front cover fitted to the shell with screws, and a rear cover fitted to the shell by a hinge on one side and a slide lock on the opposite side. The rear cover may be opened by releasing the slide lock and pulling outward, away from the shell.

Visual examination of the sample further establishes that the camera has a lens, viewfinder, film advance mechanism incorporating a thumb-wheel for winding exposed film from a canister onto a take-up spool, internal drive with integral winding crank for rewinding film into its canister, and shutter operating mechanism. A canister of unexposed film is loaded into a film (canister) receiving chamber, located opposite the exposed film receiving spool. When a photograph is taken, the film winds from the canister onto the spool. The exposed film must then be rewound into the canister before it is removed form the camera and processed.

In contrast, LFFPs as defined by the ITC are “ single use cameras, also known as ‘lens-fitted film packages’ or ’LFFPs.’ which are preloaded with film and a film cartridge so that after use, all of the film has been advanced into the film cartridge.” ID at 4. Consequently, the sample camera is a different article than the products identified by the ITC as being at issue in Inv. No. 337-TA-406. It is therefore our position that the sample camera is not an LFFP as defined by the ITC, and is not covered by the ITC's exclusion order. See also, Headquarters Ruling Letter 468842 dated March 27, 2000.

Inasmuch as we have determined that the subject camera is not an LFFP, we do not address the question of whether the sample camera infringes any of the other elements of the claims of the fifteen patents at issue in ITC Investigation No. 337-TA-406.

HOLDING:

In conformity with the foregoing, the sample camera is not within the scope of the ITC's general exclusion order in Inv. No. 337-TA-406. CS Industries, Inc.’s “Model QL 535 ‘Message’ camera” may be entered for consumption into the United States.

Sincerely,

Previous Ruling Next Ruling