HQ 471782 - Lens-Fitted Film Packages; ITC Investigation No. 337-TA-406 - United States International Trade Commision Rulings

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HQ 471782

May 22, 2002

ENF 4-02 RR:IT:IP 471782 PBP

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

Mr. Albert J. DiTomasso
Manager, Brokerage/Compliance
Value City Imports
2025 Corvair Avenue
Columbus, Ohio 43207

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

Dear Mr. DiTomasso:

This is in reply to your letter dated November 27, 2001, 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.

Value City Imports submitted a sample camera identified only as “Flash DISPOSABLE CAMERA” and marked “ISO200/27” without a model number or other markings identifying the manufacturer. We believe that “ISO200/27” merely indicates the type and number of exposures of the camera’s film. The sample camera is preloaded with unexposed film and consists of a light plastic body encased in cardboard or paper labeled as indicated above. The camera has a body consisting of a front cover, a shell to which is assembled all of the components associated with the operation of the camera and its flash unit, and a rear cover. Its front cover is attached to the shell on one side by plastic ears which fit into slots molded into the shell and is secured on the opposite side by screws. The rear cover is fitted to the shell by hinges on one side and a projection which functions as a latch on the other. The rear cover may be opened by releasing the tension on the latch (by depressing or squeezing it) and pulling outward, away from the shell.

In addition, the camera is equipped with a lens, viewfinder, film advance mechanism, and a rewind (crank) assembly which engages with the film cartridge (patrone) allowing exposed film to be rewound back into the cartridge (patrone). The camera operates like a conventional 35-mm camera; when a photograph is taken the film is wound from a film cartridge (patrone) onto a film roll spool. The exposed film must then be rewound into the film canister (patrone) before it may be developed. 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 or 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 submitted for analysis consists of a light plastic body and is pre-loaded with film. The camera body consists of a shell to which is assembled all of the components associated with the operation of the camera, front cover fastened to the shell, and rear cover fitted to the shell by means of hinges on one side and a projection which functions as a latch on the other. The rear cover may be opened by releasing the tension on the latch (by depressing or squeezing it) and pulling outward, away from the shell. Laboratory examination of the sample further established that the camera has a lens, thumb-wheel (advance) for winding exposed film onto a spool, film cartridge (patrone), winding crank which engages with the cartridge, and a rotatable spool onto which exposed film is wound. According to the laboratory report, the winding crank assembly is exposed outside of the plastic camera casing. An unexposed roll of film (housed in a cartridge (patrone) is located opposite the rotatable take-up spool.

The sample camera is encased by a cardboard or paper jacket marked “FLASH DISPOSABLE CAMERA” and printed with operating instructions. This jacket must be removed to access the back of the camera in order to reload the camera with film. However, the sample camera can be reloaded and reused. Hinges on the back of the sample camera allow the article to be opened and reloaded by the consumer. In contrast, the LFFPs defined by the ITC are "disposable, single use cameras" which wind film from an unexposed film roll back into a film cartridge (patrone). 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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