The Final Co. Issued General Exclusion Order for its Patented FinalStraw
Congratulations to our client, Final! The Final Co., designer and manufacturer of FinalStraw, announced the issuance of a General Exclusion Order (GEO) on September 22, 2020 by the presiding Judge of the International Trade Commission (ITC), pertaining to certain foldable reusable drinking straws and components and accessories thereof. The GEO will bar the importation, into the United States, of products from anywhere in the world that infringe U.S. Patent No. 10,123,641, for the life of the patent. The Judge’s ruling is subject to adoption by the Commissioners no later than March of 2021.
Final filed its complaint with the ITC last November, naming 17 respondents, including foreign manufacturers, importers, and distributors. In obtaining a General Exclusion Order, the issuance bars the importation of infringing products by any company, anywhere in the world, not just those named in the complaint.
“It’s Final’s mission to create products that reduce waste,” said Emma Rose Cohen, CEO and Founder of Final. “The knockoffs were not only infringing on our patent, they are also extremely poor quality and break after a few uses which completely defeats the purpose of reusables. The GEO is a win for both the company and the environment.”
Final launched FinalStraw in April 2018. Almost immediately, the U.S. market was flooded with knockoff products. The company’s brand protection team has successfully requested the removal of more than 16,000 fraudulent product listings. They are pleased with ITC’s findings, as it is not reasonable to sue each infringer individually, both domestically and internationally.
“The ITC is a fast and powerful option for patent owners that hope to exclude infringing products from the US market,” added Marshall Gerstein & Borun LLP partner, Ben Horton, “and it is one of the only anti-counterfeiting options that can literally stop knock-offs at the border before they ever reach US markets.” So often for recently successful Kickstarter or Indiegogo companies, knockoffs and counterfeit products are quick to jump on the bandwagon, suffocating what would otherwise be growth and profitability. Marshall Gerstein has more than twenty years of experience with actions at the ITC, and is one of the most active firms in the country in this area.
Final continues to vigilantly enforce its intellectual property rights through all enforcement means available. Final’s full press release on this matter is available here.