In a case of major significance, on January 27, 2016, both the
U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) and Align Technology,
Inc. (Align) have filed a petition for rehearing en banc seeking
the full Federal Circuit's review of the panel's decision
in ClearCorrect Operating, LLC v. Int'l Trade
Comm'n, No. 2014-1527, slip op. (Fed. Cir. Nov. 10,
2015). There, a divided panel ruled against the ITC and held
that the ITC lacks jurisdiction over the importation of electronic
transmissions.
The technology at issue in this case relates to the production
of orthodontic appliances, also known as aligners. ClearCorrect
U.S. scans physical models of the patient's teeth and
electronically transmits to ClearCorrect Pakistan a digital
recreation of the initial tooth arrangement. ClearCorrect Pakistan
then creates digital data models of the patient's tooth
positions and electronically transmits this digital dataset back to
ClearCorrect U.S. Upon receipt of the electronic
