Today, the ITC published a notice of proposed rulemaking that
would change the rules in 19 CFR 210. These proposed changes were
promulgated after a forum on e-discovery in Section 337
investigations held in July 2011. After the forum, the ITC
considered proposals from various associations, including the
American Bar Association Intellectual Property section, various
model orders and pilot programs adopted by U.S. District Courts,
and the analogous portions of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure
to determine whether the ITC rules should be changed. The ITC has
since drafted proposed changes to 19 CFR 210.27(b).
The current version of 210.27(b) is similar to Federal Rule of
Civil Procedure 26(b)(1), but it does not address guidelines for
limiting discovery or specifically address e-discovery. The
proposed changes are intended to address these issues and mostly
track the 2006 amendments to Federal Rules. The only material
differences in the proposed ITC rules and
