[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 168 (Thursday, September 2, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 49345-49346]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-18929]


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INTERNATIONAL TRADE COMMISSION

[Investigation No. 337-TA-1277]


Certain Smart Thermostats, Load Control Switches, and Components 
Thereof; Notice of Institution of Investigation

AGENCY: U.S. International Trade Commission.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that a complaint was filed with the 
U.S. International Trade Commission on July 28, 2021, under section 337 
of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended, on behalf of Causam Enterprises, 
Inc. of Raleigh, North Carolina. A supplement to the complaint was 
filed on August 16, 2021. The complaint alleges violations of section 
337 based upon the importation into the United States, the sale for 
importation, and the sale within the United States after importation of 
certain smart thermostats, load control switches, and components 
thereof by reason of infringement of one or more claims of U.S. Patent 
No. 8,805,552 (``the '5,552 patent''), U.S. Patent No. 9,678,522 (``the 
'8,522 patent''), U.S. Patent No. 10,394,268 (``the '268 patent''), and 
U.S. Patent No. 10,396,592 (``the '592 patent''). The complaint further 
alleges that an industry in the United States exists as required by the 
applicable Federal Statute. The complainant requests that the 
Commission institute an investigation and, after the investigation, 
issue a limited exclusion order and cease and desist orders.

ADDRESSES: The complaint, except for any confidential information 
contained therein, may be viewed on the Commission's electronic docket 
(EDIS) at https://edis.usitc.gov. For help accessing EDIS, please email 
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#1550515c46265d7079655560667c61763b727a63"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="d590919c86e69db0b9a595a0a6bca1b6fbb2baa3">[email protected]</span></a>. Hearing impaired individuals are advised that 
information on this matter can be obtained by contacting the 
Commission's TDD terminal on (202) 205-1810. Persons with mobility 
impairments who will need special assistance in gaining access to the 
Commission should contact the Office of the Secretary at (202) 205-
2000. General information concerning the Commission may also be 
obtained by accessing its internet server at https://www.usitc.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Katherine Hiner, Office of Docket 
Services, U.S. International Trade Commission, telephone (202) 205-
1802.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Authority: The authority for institution of this investigation is 
contained in section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended, 19 
U.S.C. 1337, and in section 210.10 of the Commission's Rules of 
Practice and Procedure, 19 CFR 210.10 (2020).
    Scope of Investigation: Having considered the amended complaint, 
the U.S. International Trade Commission, on August 26, 2021, ordered 
that --
    (1) Pursuant to subsection (b) of section 337 of the Tariff Act of 
1930, as amended, an investigation be instituted to determine whether 
there is a violation of subsection (a)(1)(B) of section 337 in the 
importation into the United States, the sale for importation, or the 
sale within the United States after importation of certain products 
identified in paragraph (2) by reason of infringement of one or more of 
claims 1-9, 16, 19-21, 23-28, and 30 of the '5,552 patent, claims 1-8, 
10, 13-17, 19-23, and 25-29 of the '8,522 patent, claims 1-11, 13-16, 
and 18-19 of the '268 patent, and claims 1-2, 8-9, 11, 13-14, and 17 of 
the '592 patent; and whether an industry in the United States exists as 
required by subsection (a)(2) of section 337;
    (2) Pursuant to section 210.10(b)(1) of the Commission's Rules of 
Practice and Procedure, 19 CFR 210.10(b)(1), the plain language 
description of the accused products or category of accused products, 
which defines the scope of the investigation, is ``smart thermostats 
and load control switches with Demand Response functionality and 
components thereof'';
    (3) For the purpose of the investigation so instituted, the 
following are hereby named as parties upon which this notice of 
investigation shall be served:
    (a) The complainant is:

Causam Enterprises, Inc., 8480 Honeycutt Road, Suite 200, Raleigh, NC 
27615.

    (b) The respondents are the following entities alleged to be in 
violation of section 337, and are the parties upon which the amended 
complaint is to be served:

Alarm.com Holdings, Inc., 8281 Greensboro Drive, Suite 100, Tysons, VA 
22102.
Alarm.com Inc., 8281 Greensboro Drive, Suite 100, Tysons, VA 22102.
Ecobee, Inc., 25 Dockside Drive, Suite 600, Toronto, ON M5A OB5, 
Canada.
EnergyHub, Inc., 41 Flatbush Ave., Suite 400A, Brooklyn, NY 11217,
Itron, Inc., 2111 N. Molter Road, Liberty Lake, WA 99019.
Itron Distributed Energy Management, Inc., 2111 N. Molter Road, Liberty 
Lake, WA 99019.

[[Page 49346]]

Resideo Smart Homes Technology (Tianjin), Building 21, Jinbin 
Development Area, No. 156 Nanhai Road, Teda, Tianjin 300457, China.
Resideo Technologies, Inc., 901 E. 6th Street, Austin, TX 78702.
Xylem Inc., 1 International Drive, Rye Brook, NY 10573.

    (4) For the investigation so instituted, the Chief Administrative 
Law Judge, U.S. International Trade Commission, shall designate the 
presiding Administrative Law Judge.
    The Office of Unfair Import Investigations is not a party to this 
investigation.
    Responses to the amended complaint and the notice of investigation 
must be submitted by the named respondents in accordance with section 
210.13 of the Commission's Rules of Practice and Procedure, 19 CFR 
210.13. Pursuant to 19 CFR 201.16(e) and 210.13(a), as amended in 85 FR 
15798 (March 19, 2020), such responses will be considered by the 
Commission if received not later than 20 days after the date of service 
by the complainant of the complaint and the notice of investigation. 
Extensions of time for submitting responses to the complaint and the 
notice of investigation will not be granted unless good cause therefor 
is shown.
    Failure of a respondent to file a timely response to each 
allegation in the complaint and in this notice may be deemed to 
constitute a waiver of the right to appear and contest the allegations 
of the amended complaint and this notice, and to authorize the 
administrative law judge and the Commission, without further notice to 
the respondent, to find the facts to be as alleged in the amended 
complaint and this notice and to enter an initial determination and a 
final determination containing such findings, and may result in the 
issuance of an exclusion order or a cease and desist order or both 
directed against the respondent.

    By order of the Commission.

    Issued: August 27, 2021.
Katherine Hiner,
Supervisory Attorney.
[FR Doc. 2021-18929 Filed 9-1-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7020-02-P


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