Liu Jingkang, the founder of Shadow Stone, issued an article in response to the final verdict of the Section 337 investigation. Liu Jingkang said, "It took more than 10 million US dollars to finally get to where we are today. I would like to thank the company's legal team and external law firms for their two years of struggle. I would like to thank the U.S. ITC Commission and Judge Doris Johnson Hines for conducting a fair and professional trial despite interference from many parties. I would like to thank GoPro for creating the action camera industry."
Liu Jingkang also said, "We have decided that in the future, if our peers use the currently valid technology patents of Shadowstone's Insta360 Ace series action cameras in good faith, Shadowstone will not take the initiative to file a lawsuit. The rapid development of the industry requires manufacturers to stand on each other's shoulders, and we are willing to continue to write the infinite game of imaging with innovation."
Recently, Shadowstone Innovation announced that the final ruling of the U.S. Section 337 investigation has been finalized. The U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) maintained the preliminary ruling and determined that all six charges against GoPro were not established.
Yingshi said in the announcement: "This Section 337 investigation has not had a substantial impact on the company's production and operations. The company will continue to import and sell existing products in the United States without restrictions."
Information shows that the Section 337 investigation originates from Section 337 of the U.S. Tariff Act of 1930. It is a trade remedy procedure for the ITC to examine whether imported products infringe intellectual property rights. Once infringement is determined, the ITC can issue an exclusion order to prohibit infringing products from entering the U.S. market. Due to its fast trial pace and strong sanctions, the Section 337 investigation has long been regarded as one of the main legal barriers for Chinese companies to go overseas.
According to the ITC's final ruling, of the six patent disputes alleged by GoPro, five were ruled not to constitute infringement or the relevant patent rights were invalid; for the remaining one appearance patent, the new design proposed by Shadow Stone was also confirmed by the ITC as not to constitute infringement.