The Long Arm of Section 337: International Trade Law as a Global Business Remedy

41 Pages Posted: 23 Mar 2015 Last revised: 29 Oct 2015

See all articles by Marisa Anne Pagnattaro

Marisa Anne Pagnattaro

University of Georgia - C. Herman and Mary Virginia Terry College of Business

Stephen Park

University of Connecticut - School of Business; University of Connecticut - School of Law

Date Written: October 21, 2015

Abstract

This Article analyzes the use of international trade law by American companies as part of a broad-based legal strategy to protect their commercial and investment interests in the increasingly knowledge-based global economy. It focuses on Section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930, which provides companies with a private right of action to enjoin the importation and sale of goods in the United States that have been produced in violation of their intellectual property rights. Section 337 has recently emerged as a powerful enforcement tool to combat offshore misappropriation of trade secrets by employees, and this Article constitutes the first scholarly analysis of Section 337 offshore trade secret cases brought before the U.S. International Trade Commission. We describe the broad and far-reaching implications of Section 337 as a global business remedy, focusing on the extraterritorial projection of U.S. regulatory power and the growing overlap of multiple regulators over similar business conduct. Drawing from our normative and doctrinal analysis, we propose specific strategies that companies can adopt to maximize the value of Section 337, and outline certain measures that regulators can adopt to address the systemic concerns raised by Section 337.

Keywords: Section 337, international trade law, extraterritorial regulation, International Trade Commission, trade remedies, trade secret misappropriation, employee misconduct

Suggested Citation

Pagnattaro, Marisa Anne and Park, Stephen, The Long Arm of Section 337: International Trade Law as a Global Business Remedy (October 21, 2015). American Business Law Journal, Vol. 52, No. 4, 2015, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2583417

Marisa Anne Pagnattaro

University of Georgia - C. Herman and Mary Virginia Terry College of Business ( email )

Brooks Hall
Athens, GA 30602-6254
United States

Stephen Park (Contact Author)

University of Connecticut - School of Business ( email )

Storrs, CT 06269
United States

University of Connecticut - School of Law ( email )

65 Elizabeth Street
Hartford, CT 06105
United States

Do you have negative results from your research you’d like to share?

Paper statistics

Downloads
182
Abstract Views
1,656
Rank
299,048
PlumX Metrics