Congress may have given the U.S. International Trade Commission the power to block infringing “articles” of commerce at the border, but that does not include information flowing across the Internet, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruled Tuesday.
The court’s 2-1 decision should please Google Inc., Amazon.com Inc. and other tech companies that opposed expansion of the ITC’s jurisdiction to cover Internet transmissions, but it will surely frustrate the film industry and book publishers, who say they need the ITC’s help in blocking the distribution of counterfeit electronic goods.
