UNITED STATES INTERNATIONAL TRADE COMMISSION
`WASHINGTON, D.C.
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`Investigation No. 337-TA-1277
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`In the Matter of:
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`CERTAIN SMART THERMOSTATS, LOAD
`CONTROL SWITCHES, AND
`COMPONENTS THEREOF
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`
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`COMPLAINANT CAUSAM ENTERPRISES, INC.’S
`SUBMISSION ON THE PUBLIC INTEREST PURSUANT TO 19 CFR 210.50(a)(4)
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`Pursuant to 19 CFR 210.50(a)(4), Complainant Causam Enterprises, Inc. (“Complainant”
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`or “Causam”), respectfully submits this Public Interest Statement regarding the potential public
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`interest effects that would be caused by the requested exclusion orders. The issuance of a limited
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`exclusion order and cease-and-desist orders covering the accused smart thermostats, load control
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`switches, and components thereof (hereinafter, “Accused Products”) will not adversely affect the
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`public health and welfare, competitive conditions in the United States economy, the production of
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`like or directly competitive articles in the United States, or United States consumers. The Chief
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`Administrative Law Judge (“CALJ”) recommended the entry of an exclusion order and cease and
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`desist order against each Respondent in the event a violation of section 337 is found. Thus, if the
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`Commission finds a violation of Section 337, the Commission should grant the relief requested by
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`Causam.
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`I.
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`THE REQUESTED REMEDIAL ORDERS ARE IN ACCORD WITH THE
`PUBLIC INTEREST.
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`The requested remedial orders, which would exclude from the United States infringing
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`smart thermostats and load control switches having Demand Response functionality, are plainly in
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`the public interest. Indeed, the Commission has made clear that the protection of intellectual
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`property rights is strongly in the public interest. See, e.g., Certain Digital Television Prods. &
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`1
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`Certain Prods. Containing Same & Methods of Using Same, Inv. No. 337-TA-617, Comm’n Op.
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`at 9 (Aug. 2, 2009); see also Certain Baseband Processors Chips and Chipsets, Transmitter and
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`Receiver (Radio) Chips, Power Control Chips, and Products Containing Same, Including Cellular
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`Telephone Handsets, Inv. No. 337-TA-543, Comm’n Op. at 136-37 (June 19, 2007) (“We must
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`take into account the strong public interest in enforcing intellectual property rights”). Any public
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`interest concerns invoked by this investigation, to the extent there are any, are outweighed by the
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`interest in protecting Causam’s intellectual property rights.
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`A.
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`The Requested Remedial Orders Raise No Public Health, Safety, Or Welfare
`Concerns.
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`The issuance of a limited exclusion order and cease and desist order against the Proposed
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`Respondents, and exclusion of the Accused Products, would have no adverse impact upon public
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`health, safety, or welfare concerns in the United States. These Accused Products are not the type
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`of articles that the Commission has previously identified as warranting denial of relief. See, e.g.,
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`Certain Fluidized Supporting Apparatus & Components Thereof, Inv. No. 337-TA-182/188,
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`USITC Pub. 1667, Comm’n Op. at 23-25 (Oct. 1984) (noting that exclusion of essential medical
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`equipment may not be in the public interest where the accused products “provide[] benefits
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`unavailable from any other device or method of treatment.”). The Accused Products are not
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`medical devices, pharmaceuticals, or vaccines, and therefore do not fall within this limited
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`exception to the Commission’s mandate.
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`Even though the Accused Products have environmental benefits by permitting a user to
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`reduce their overall energy consumption, a limited exclusion order would not raise public welfare
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`concerns. Complainant’s licensee and third parties will be able to fill any void in the market caused
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`by the requested remedial orders, so there is no likelihood of environmental harm. Also, the current
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`Biden administration has indicated a strong interest in encouraging innovation in the areas of
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`2
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`environmental and clean energy technologies, which would be greatly diminished if Respondents’
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`infringement and unfair trade practices were allowed to continue. See, e.g., THE BIDEN PLAN
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`TO BUILD A MODERN, SUSTAINABLE INFRASTRUCTURE AND AN EQUITABLE
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`CLEAN ENERGY FUTURE, https://joebiden.com/clean-energy (last visited December 16, 2022)
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`(recognizing new administration’s “historic commitment to accelerate R&D investment” in clean
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`energy innovations including “smart materials, appliances, and systems management”).
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`Accordingly, there are no issues related to public health, safety, or welfare that would foreclose
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`the entry of an exclusion order against each Respondent.
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`B.
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`Like Or Directly Competitive Articles Are Available In The United States That
`Could Replace The Excluded Articles.
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`Other manufacturers, including Complainant’s licensee and third parties, could readily
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`replace the Accused Products in the event an exclusion order is entered. For example, numerous
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`non-accused third parties offer smart thermostats having Demand Response functionality,
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`including Braeburn Systems, Carrier, Google (NEST), International Environmental Corp. (“IEC”),
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`Geenlite, Johnson Controls, Venstar, and Zen Thermostat. Similarly, load control switches having
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`Demand Response functionality are available from Complainant’s licensee Landis+Gyr, as well
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`as other third parties including Aclara Technologies, Siemens, Eaton, and Trilliant. Each of these
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`companies offers directly competitive products that could replace the Accused Products in the
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`event of an exclusion order.
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`C.
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`Third-Party Suppliers Have The Capacity To Replace The Volume of
`Excluded Articles In A Commercially Reasonable Time.
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`As described above, smart thermostats and load control switches having Demand Response
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`functionality will continue to be available in the United States from Causam’s licensee and third
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`parties in the event of an exclusion order. Given the number of market participants, there is no
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`concern the requested remedial orders could lead to unmet demand. To the contrary, Causam’s
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`3
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`licensee and the non-Respondent third parties would have the capacity to increase production of
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`smart thermostats and load control switches should demand require.
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`D.
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`The Requested Remedial Orders Would Not Adversely Impact Consumers.
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`As described above, Complainant’s licensee and other third parties sell smart thermostat
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`and load control switches that can replace the infringing products sold by the Proposed
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`Respondents. Accordingly, U.S. consumers have many options when choosing smart thermostats
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`and load control switches having Demand Response functionality and will not be adversely
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`impacted by the exclusion of the Accused Products.
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`II.
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`CONCLUSION
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`Protecting Complainant’s intellectual property rights and the associated domestic industry
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`in the U.S. through the requested exclusion and cease and desist orders will serve the public interest
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`without raising any concerns regarding public health and welfare, competitive conditions in the
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`United States economy, the production of like or directly competitive articles in the United States,
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`or United States consumers. For these reasons, in the event a violation is found, the Commission
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`should grant the relief requested by Causam.
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`Date: December 16, 2022
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`Respectfully submitted,
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`/s/Jeffrey M. Telep
`Jeffrey M. Telep
`Brian Hill
`Katherine Vessels
`Richard C. Lutz, Consultant
`KING AND SPALDING LLP
`1700 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
`Suite 200
`Washington, DC 20006
`(202) 737-0500
`
`Christopher C. Campbell
`KING AND SPALDING LLP
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`4
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`1650 Tysons Boulevard
`Suite 400
`McLean, VA 22102
`Telephone: (703) 245-1000
`
`Britton F. Davis
`Brian Eutermoser
`Peter Sauer
`KING AND SPALDING LLP
`1401 Lawrence Street
`Suite 1900
`Denver, CO 80202
`Phone: (720) 535-2300
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`Abby L. Parsons
`KING AND SPALDING LLP
`1100 Louisiana Street
`Suite 4100
`Houston, TX 77002
`Phone: (713) 751-3200
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`John D. Roehrick
`KING AND SPALDING LLP
`633 West Fifth Street
`Suite 1600
`Los Angeles, CA 90071
`Phone: (213) 443-4355
`
`Rahul Sarkar
`KING AND SPALDING LLP
`1185 Avenue of the Americas
`34th Floor
`New York, NY 10036
`Phone: (212) 556-2100
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`Noah Stid
`KING AND SPALDING LLP
`601 South California Avenue
`Suite 100
`Palo Alto, CA 94304
`Phone: (650) 422-6700
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`Counsel for Complainant,
`Causam Enterprises, Inc.
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`5
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`
`
`In the Matter of CERTAIN SMART THERMOSTATS, LOAD CONTROL SWITCHES,
`AND COMPONENTS THEREOF
`Investigation No. 337-TA-1277
`
`CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
`
`
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`I hereby certify that on December 16, 2022, a true and correct copy of the Complainant’s
`Submission on The Public Interest that was filed and served upon the following parties as
`indicated below:
`
`
`X Via EDIS
`(cid:31) Via Hand Delivery
`(cid:31) Via Overnight Delivery
`(cid:31) Not Served
`
`(cid:31) Via EDIS
`(cid:31) Via Hand Delivery
`(cid:31) Via Overnight Delivery
`X Via Email
`
`(cid:31) Via Hand Delivery
`(cid:31) Via Overnight Delivery
`X Email to counsel for Alarm.com Inc.,
`Alarm.com Holdings, Inc., and EnergyHub,
`Inc.
`
`The Honorable Lisa R. Barton
` Secretary to the Commission
`U.S. International Trade Commission
`500 E Street, SW, Room 112
`Washington, D.C. 20436
`
`The Honorable Clark S. Cheney
`Administrative Law Judge
`U.S. International Trade Commission
`500 E Street, SW, Room 317
`Washington, D.C. 20436
`Cheney337@usitc.gov
`pyong.yoon@usitc.gov
`Deanna Tanner Okun
`Daniel F. Smith
`ADDUCI, MASTRIANI &
`SCHAUMBERG LLP
`1133 Connecticut Ave NW
`Washington, DC 20036
`Alarm-002@adduci.com
`
`Keith R. Hummel
`Richard J. Stark
`Sharonmoyee Goswami
`Marc J. Khadpe
`Matthew J. Boggess
`Allison N. Kempf
`Kalana Kariyawasm
`Retley G. Locke, Jr.
`CRAVATH, SWAINE & MOORE LLP
`Worldwide Plaza
`825 Eighth Avenue
`New York, NY 10019-7475
`Telephone: (212) 474-1000
`service-csm-alarm-1277@cravath.com
`
`
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`

`

`Megan S. Woodworth
`Elizbeth M. Manno
`Leslie A. Lee
`VENABLE LLP
`600 Massachusetts Ave, N.W.
`Washington, DC 20001
`Telephone: (202) 344-4507
`ecobee1277@venable.com
`
`Timothy J. Carroll
`Steven M. Lubezny
`Catherine N. Taylor
`Vivian Sandoval
`VENABLE LLP
`227 W. Monroe Street, Suite 3950
`Chicago, IL 60606
`Telephone (312) 820-3414
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`Manny J. Caixeiro
`Venable LLP
`2049 Century Park East, Suite 2300
`Los Angeles, CA 90067
`Telephone: (310) 229-9900
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`Daniel A. Apgar
`Venable LLP
`1290 Avenue of the Americas
`20th Floor
`New York, NY 10104
`Telephone: (212) 218-2209
`
`M. Scott Stevens
`ALSTON & BIRD LLP
`950 F Street NW
`Washington, DC 20004
`Telephone: (202) 239-3025
`ResideoITC@alston.com
`
`Lauren N. Griffin
`S. Benjamin Pleune
`Christopher TL Douglas
`ALSTON & BIRD LLP
`One South at The Plaza
`101 S. Tryon Street, Suite 4000
`Charlotte, NC 28280-4000
`Telephone: (704) 444-1025
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`
`
`
`
`
`
`(cid:31) Via Hand Delivery
`(cid:31) Via Overnight Delivery
`(cid:31) Not Served
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` X Email to counsel for Ecobee, Inc.
`
`(cid:31) Via Hand Delivery
`(cid:31) Via Overnight Delivery
`(cid:31) Not Served
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`X Email to counsel for Resideo Smart Homes
`Technology, Resideo Technologies, Inc.
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`2
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`Kirk T. Bradley
`Lauren N. Griffin
`S. Benjamin Pleune
`Christopher TL Douglas
`ALSTON & BIRD LLP
`One South at The Plaza
`101 S. Tryon Street, Suite 4000
`Charlotte, NC 28270-4000
`Telephone: (704) 444-1030
`ItronITC@alston.com
`
`
`Bradley W. Micsky
`Dennis C. Bremer
`CARLSON CASPERS VANDENBURGH
`& LINDQUIST, PA
`Capella Tower, Suite 4200
`225 South Sixth Street
`Minneapolis, MN 55402
`bmicsky@carlsoncaspers.com
`dbremer@carlsoncaspers.com
`
`
`
`(cid:31) Via Hand Delivery
`(cid:31) Via Overnight Delivery
`(cid:31) Not Served
`
`X Email to counsel for Itron, Inc., and Itron
`Distributed Energy Management, Inc.
`
`(cid:31) Via Hand Delivery
`(cid:31) Via Overnight Delivery
`(cid:31) Not Served
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`X Email to counsel for Resideo Smart Homes
`Technology, Resideo Technologies, Inc.
`
`
`/s/ Christopher Suggs
`Paralegal
` KING & SPALDING LLP
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`3
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