Sudden! The United States once again launches Section 337 investigation against TCL and other Chinese companies

On August 4, local time, the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) officially voted to launch a 337 investigation (investigation code: 337-TA-1456) on "specific mobile cellular communications equipment." China's TCL, OnePlus, Lenovo and other companies and their overseas affiliates, as well as Finland's HMD Global and other companies were listed as named defendants and involved in this intellectual property dispute.

This investigation was initiated from a complaint submitted to the ITC by South Korea’s Pantech Corporation on July 3, 2025. The company claimed that certain mobile cellular communications equipment exported to, imported and sold in the United States were suspected of infringing on four U.S. registered patents it held (patent numbers were 9.548.839, 11.659.503, 11.051.344, and 12.267.876), and requested the ITC to issue a limited exclusion order and injunction to prevent the allegedly infringing products from entering the U.S. market.

In addition to the above investigation, on August 4, Cerence Operating Company of the United States filed an application with the U.S. International Trade Commission in accordance with Section 337 of the U.S. Tariff Act of 1930, claiming that Certain Smart Televisions exported to, imported and sold in the United States violated Section 337 of the United States.

According to the procedures, the US International Trade Commission will determine the end period of the investigation within 45 days after filing the case. If the investigation determines that infringement is established, the relief order issued by the ITC (unless it is rejected by the U.S. Trade Representative for policy reasons) will take effect from the date of issuance and will have final effect 60 days later. This move may have a direct impact on the U.S. market business of the relevant companies, and subsequent response strategies and litigation progress have attracted much attention in the industry.