Opinion ID: 3153976
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: DeLorme shall be precluded from seeking judi-

Text: cial review or otherwise challenging or contesting the validity of this Consent Order. ... 4. The Consent Order shall not apply with respect to any claim of any intellectual property right that has expired or been found or adjudicated invalid or unenforceable by the Commission or a court or agency of competent jurisdiction, provided that such finding or judgment has become final and non-reviewable. Consent Order ¶¶ 1, 2, 4. Interpretation of the Consent Order is a question of law. The Consent Order in this case is short—two pages long—and was drafted by DeLorme. Though we acknowledge that “[c]onsent decrees and orders have attributes both of contracts and of judicial decrees,” United States v. ITT Cont’l Baking Co., 420 U.S. 223, 237 n.10 (1975), DeLorme agreed to the terms of the Consent Order. We conclude that the Consent Order unambiguously resolves the question of the impact of an invalidity decision on the enforcement of the Consent Order. The Consent Order bars certain sales and importations “until” one of three events occurs: “expiration, invalidation, and/or unenforceability of the ’380 Patent.” Consent Order ¶ 1. Additionally, it explains that the Consent Order ceases to apply when the patent claim at issue has “expired or been found or adjudicated invalid or unenforceable . . . provided that such finding or judgment has become final and non-reviewable.” Consent Order ¶ 4. Thus, the Consent Order identifies three events which will cause it to no longer apply. When one of these events occurs the Consent Order will no longer apply, and De10 DELORME PUBLISHING CO., INC. v. ITC Lorme will no longer be constrained by its terms. Until one of these events occurs, however, the Consent Order is binding upon DeLorme. In this case, the Consent Order applied to DeLorme at the time it committed the acts found to violate the order. The Consent Order applied to DeLorme even at the time the enforcement decision with the civil penalty issued. 2 DeLorme argues in its supplemental briefing that the subsequent district court invalidation of the claims retroactively eliminates the Consent Order such that we can no longer affirm the civil penalty properly adjudicated by the Commission. This argument is inconsistent with the plain language of the Consent Order itself. The Order explains that it applies “until” one of the triggering events. Paragraph 1 contains no language that could be construed as requiring (or even allowing) the triggering events to apply retroactively. Indeed, DeLorme argues with respect to paragraph 1 that invalidation “would end” its obligations—an argument that is forward-looking. Appellants’ Suppl. Br. 5. Paragraph 4 similarly provides that the Consent Order “shall not apply” with respect to any claim that “has . . . been” invalidated. Consent Order ¶ 4. Particularly when read in the context of the Consent Order as a whole, this provision is forward-looking and contains no language indicating that the invalidation trigger would apply retroactively. DeLorme’s argument regarding paragraph 4—that the Commission would “no longer” retain jurisdiction over invalidated claims—is also forward-looking. Appellants’ Suppl. Br. 5. 2 Because our concurrently issued affirmance of the district court’s summary judgment of invalidity is still reviewable, the Consent Order continues to be binding upon DeLorme even now. DELORME PUBLISHING CO., INC. v. ITC 11 Indeed in application DeLorme’s argument makes no sense. DeLorme acknowledges that the expiration and unenforceability triggers would have the same effect as the invalidation trigger because the plain language of the Consent Order treats them identically. If invalidation of claims 1 and 2 were to apply retroactively to eliminate the Commission’s enforcement decision and accompanying penalty, then expiration of the claims would do the same. Under such a reading of the Consent Order, the Commission could determine that DeLorme violated the Consent Order and award a civil penalty in an enforcement action. Then, under DeLorme’s proposed interpretation of the Consent Order, if the patent expires while the enforcement decision is on appeal, this court would be forced to vacate the enforcement decision. Under DeLorme’s interpretation later expiration of the patent would erase an earlier violation and any civil penalty assessed for that violation. DeLorme would have no motivation to abide by the terms of the Consent Order and could violate the order, and when the patent inevitably expired, DeLorme’s violation would need to be vacated. This is an absurd reading of the Consent Order. DeLorme argues that its position is supported by the Commission Rules adopted after the Consent Order was entered in this case, which it purports now require consent orders to include statements that they become “null and void” if any claim of the patent expires or is held invalid or unenforceable “in a final decision, no longer subject to appeal.” Appellants’ Supp. Br. 6–7 (quoting 19 C.F.R. § 210.21(c)(4) (eff. May 20, 2013)); see also Consent Order at 1 (“DeLorme . . . agrees to the entry of this Consent Order and to all waivers and other provisions as required by Commission Rule of Practice and Procedure 201.21(c) . . . .”). This argument is unpersuasive. At the time of the Consent Order, Rule 210.21(c)(4) did not exist. The Commission Rules did not require inclusion of the statements that now exist at Rule 210.21(c)(4). Thus, 12 DELORME PUBLISHING CO., INC. v. ITC the statements set forth in this Rule were not incorporated into the Consent Order. Moreover, we note that even if the statements had been incorporated, the Consent Order becomes null and void only after a decision of invalidity that is “final” and “no longer subject to appeal.” 19 C.F.R. § 210.21(c)(4)(x). The enforcement decision was entered for this case before the Eastern District of Virginia’s invalidity decision. And even now, the invalidity decision remains subject to appeal. Finally, we note that like the Consent Order, the Rule groups the invalidation trigger with expiration and unenforceability triggers, which, as discussed above, cannot sensibly apply retroactively. We thus reject DeLorme’s argument that the new Rules mandate reversal of the Commission’s enforcement decision or the accompanying penalty. DeLorme also argues that the Commission is not au- thorized to enforce a Consent Order with regard to invalid patent claims. This argument is inapplicable to this case. DeLorme’s acts, the Commission’s finding that those acts violated the Consent Order, and the Commission’s imposition of a civil penalty all occurred before the summary judgment of invalidity. If that judgment becomes nonreviewable, the Consent Order will not apply prospectively as to the invalid claims. But the Commission’s finding that DeLorme violated the Consent Order and the accompanying penalty for that violation will not be lifted. The Commission acted within the scope of its authority in enforcing the Consent Order. In its supplemental briefing and at argument, the Commission declined to take a position on the interpretation of the Consent Order. The Commission laid out a number of possible actions this court could take, including (1) remand to the Commission for a determination of the effect of the affirmance of invalidity, or (2) “not to remand at all, but to proceed to judgment in both appeals.” Appellee’s Suppl. Br. 4. If the Consent Order were unclear as to the impact of the invalidation decision in this case, we DELORME PUBLISHING CO., INC. v. ITC 13 would remand. But the Consent Order unambiguously indicates that the invalidation trigger—like the expiration and unenforceability triggers—applies only prospectively. Neither the Commission nor DeLorme argues that the Consent Order is ambiguous. There is no reason to remand this case because the Consent Order unambiguously answers the question at issue.