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U.S. CUSTOMS DENIES ENTRY OF IMPORTED INKS FROM ASIA
The International Trade Commission (ITC) has been on something of a roll this year, issuing exclusion orders barring the importation into the United States of certain inkjet and toner cartridge designs. This does not always deter the determined importer. A company called E Top LLC recently tried to import some inkjet products barred under the general exclusion order (GEO) that HP was granted in investigation 337-TA-691. The GEO covers HP 02 series ink tanks, as well as HP 10, 11, 12, 13, 28, and 88 ink tanks, so it can be assumed that E Top LLC sought to import compatible versions of one or more of these tanks or certain components for compatibles.
On August 2, the ITC issued a seizure and forfeiture order, declaring that any inkjet supplies and components imported by E Top LLC or its affiliates in violation of the GEO issued in this investigation are to be seized and forfeited. The order says that U.S. Bureau of Customs and Border Protection (CBP) discovered that E Top LLC attempted to import products in violation of the GEO and that CBP denied entry. CBP also provided E Top LLC with written notice of the GEO and warned the importer that if it made further attempt to import the articles into the United States, the products would be seized and forfeited.
E Top LLC is located in Hillsboro, OR, and is a limited liability company formed in January of this year. Other than that, we know nothing about the firm. There is a Hong Kong-based integrated circuit distributor called E-Top International, but the similarity in names may be coincidental, and we cannot say that the two entities are affiliated in any way.
This is the second seizure and forfeiture order we have seen related to this particular GEO. We saw a similar order in March related to products imported by Nano Ink Spot, also known as Nano Digital (see “U.S. Customs to Seize Infringing Epson and HP Inkjet Cartridges”).
When Ninestar was accused of importing products in violation of Epson’s GEO for ink tanks used in desktop products, the ITC ordered the firm to pay $11.1 million in fines, a decision that Ninestar is appealing (see “Ninestar’s Appeal Opens, Epson Asks ITC to Broaden Exclusion Order”). While it is unclear what will ultimately happen with this appeal, there is little question that violating the ITC’s exclusion orders can prove costly.
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