ITC Asks for Comments on Toyo's Tire Tread Design Patent Complaint

The International Trade Commission is asking for comments by Aug. 28 on Toyo Tires’ request for a ban on imports of tires it alleges infringe its design patents on tread patterns. Toyo requested the Section 337 investigation on Aug. 14 (see 13081601). It says 22 companies are either manufacturing, importing, or selling the infringing tires in the U.S. Foreign tire manufacturers identified in the petition include Shandong Yongtai, Doublestar Tire, Tri-Ace, South China Tire, Guangzhou SCT, Shandong Linglong, and Weifang, all of China, as well as Svizz-One of Thailand.