[Reading, MA – August 23, 2019] Fraen Corporation announced today that the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) issued a General Exclusion Order on August 21, 2019, in Inv. No. 337-TA-1107, to address widespread infringement of Fraen’s LED lighting patents. The order empowers US Customs and Border Protection to seize products imported into the United States that infringe Fraen’s US Patent Nos. 9,411,083 and 9,772,499, regardless of the source of the products.
General exclusion orders, the ITC’s most sweeping remedy, are issued only a few times per year because they require a heightened showing of possible circumvention of ITC orders by importers or difficulty in identifying the source of the imported goods. In this case, the Commission found that Fraen had presented compelling evidence of a large and growing number of foreign companies making infringing light fixtures and importing them into the United States. “We are pleased that the ITC has determined that these LED lighting fixtures infringed Fraen’s patents and that a general exclusion order was needed to staunch the tsunami of infringing products flowing into the US,” said Fraen General Counsel Anthony Bolzan. “Fraen has been a pioneer in LED lighting optics design for over 15 years, and it is critical for continued innovation that our novel and industry-leading technologies are protected.”
Fraen’s color-mixing optical designs at issue in the ITC investigation have been used in LED entertainment lights throughout the world, including NFL Super Bowl Halftime shows, the Eurovision Song Contest, Coachella, and concert tours for Ariana Grande, Halsey and the Zac Brown Band, among many others. Fraen’s patented designs also won LEDs Magazine’s prestigious Sapphire Award for innovation in 2017, one of three Sapphire Awards won by Fraen.
Fraen filed the complaint that led to this ITC investigation on March 6, 2018, against ten US and Chinese manufacturers and importers of LED lighting fixtures, all of whom then either licensed the patents or defaulted in the case. Fraen’s successful legal representation before the ITC was provided by Tuhin Ganguly and William Belanger of Pepper Hamilton LLP.
About Fraen Corporation
Fraen Corporation is a Massachusetts-based manufacturing company founded in 1942. Fraen designs and manufactures components and assemblies for the LED lighting, automotive, medical and defense industries for customers throughout the world, and has been issued over 40 patents in the US and other territories.