HQ 471488 - Lens-Fitted Film Packages; ITC Investigation No. 337-TA-406 - United States International Trade Commision Rulings

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HQ 471488

May 15, 2002

ENF 4-02 RR:IT:IP 471488 PBP

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

James C. Tuttle, Esq.
Law Offices of James C. Tuttle
82 Wall Street
Suite 1105
New York, NY 10005

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

Dear Mr. Tuttle:

This is in reply to your letter dated August 13, 2001, on behalf of your client, Argus Industries, Inc., in which you requested a ruling as to whether a certain 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 Model No. UW-20F, manufactured by Vastfame Camera Ltd., 22 C-D, MaxShare Centre, 367 King’s Road, North Point, Hong Kong, was submitted for our analysis. With the exception that Model No. UW-20F is encased in a transparent waterproof container which allows operation of the flash mechanism, shutter, and film advance mechanisms from outside of the waterproof case, the camera is identical to the Model #N20FT camera which was the subject of Headquarters Ruling Letter (HQ) 471165 dated May 15, 2002. The sample camera is preloaded with unexposed film and consists of a light plastic body incorporating a flash unit. The camera has a body consisting of a front cover attached to a shell with screws and a rear cover fitted to the shell by hinges on one side and a slide-lock mechanism on the other. The rear cover may be opened by releasing the slide lock mechanism and pulling outward, away from the shell. In addition, the camera is equipped with a lens, a viewfinder, and a film advance mechanism. When a photograph is taken, the film winds from the unexposed film roll into the film cartridge (patrone). 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.

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 cartridge (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.

The sample camera consists of a transparent waterproof container encasing a light plastic camera body pre-loaded with film, and is equipped with a flash mechanism. The camera body consists of a shell, front cover fastened to the shell with screws, and rear cover which is fitted to the shell by means of hinges on one side and a slide lock mechanism on the other. The rear cover may be opened by releasing the slide lock mechanism and pulling outward, away from the shell. Laboratory examination of an identical sample submitted without a waterproof outer container further established that the camera has a lens, viewfinder, thumb-wheel (advance) for winding exposed film into a film cartridge (patrone), and rotatable film roll spool with a winding crank. See Headquarters Ruling Letter (HQ) 471165, dated May 15, 2002. According to the laboratory report, one end of the rotatable spool is exposed outside of the plastic camera casing (body). An unexposed roll of film is wound onto this spool located opposite the film cartridge (patrone).

The camera is encased in a transparent waterproof container which may be opened in order to access the camera. Due to its design, the sample camera can be reloaded and reused by the consumer. Hinges on the back of the camera and an opposing slide lock mechanism allow it to be opened and reloaded without using tools under ordinary light conditions. In contrast, the LFFPs defined by the ITC are "disposable, single use cameras." Consequently, the sample 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 of the type covered by the ITC's exclusion order.

Inasmuch as we have determined that the subject camera is not an LFFP, we do not address the question of whether it incorporates 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 covered by the scope of the ITC's general exclusion order in Inv. No. 337-TA-406. The camera may be entered for consumption into the United States.

Sincerely,

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