ITC grants ClearCorrect's motion to stay cease-and-desist orders

The U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) announced today it had stayed the cease-and-desist orders previously issued against Round Rock, TX-based ClearCorrect. The issue originated from a patent infringement dispute with Align Technology.

The ITC had issued the order in early April, saying ClearCorrect had violated Align's patent rights. The commission said at the time that ClearCorrect could not transmit into the U.S. the digital data needed to make their clear aligners.

However, the ITC was recently informed of a German case, in which a number of Align's patents were found to be invalid, including one of the patents involved in Align's action against ClearCorrect.

"We're excited that the ITC granted our request and that we now have the opportunity to prove our case to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, the same court that invalidated other Align patents in their protracted litigation with Ormco," ClearCorrect legal counsel Mike Myers stated in a release.

The ITC found that the equities of the case required that the status quo be maintained until the appeal is decided. This means that there will be no disruption to ClearCorrect's business operations during the appeal.