(a) Time for response. Except as provided in §210.59(a) and unless otherwise ordered in the notice of investigation or by the administrative law judge, respondents shall have 20 days from the date of service of the complaint and notice of investigation, by the Commission under §210.11(a) or by a party under §210.11(b), within which to file a written response to the complaint and the notice of investigation. When the investigation involves a motion for temporary relief and has not been declared “more complicated,” the response to the complaint and notice of investigation must be filed along with the response to the motion for temporary relief—i.e., within 10 days after service of the complaint, notice of investigation, and the motion for temporary relief by the Commission under §210.11(a) or by a party under §210.11(b). (See §210.59.)

(b) Content of the response. In addition to conforming to the requirements of §§210.4 and 210.5 of this part, each response shall be under oath and signed by respondent or his duly authorized officer, attorney, or agent with the name, address, and telephone number of the respondent and any such officer, attorney, or agent given on the first page of the response. Each respondent shall respond to each allegation in the complaint and in the notice of investigation, and shall set forth a concise statement of the facts constituting each ground of defense. There shall be a specific admission, denial, or explanation of each fact alleged in the complaint and notice, or if the respondent is without knowledge of any such fact, a statement to that effect. Allegations of a complaint and notice not thus answered may be deemed to have been admitted. Each response shall include, when available, statistical data on the quantity and value of imports of the involved article. Respondents who are importers must also provide the Harmonized Tariff Schedule item number(s) for importations of the accused imports occurring on or after January 1, 1989, and the Tariff Schedules of the United States item number(s) for importations occurring before January 1, 1989. Each response shall also include a statement concerning the respondent's capacity to produce the subject article and the relative significance of the United States market to its operations. Respondents who are not manufacturing their accused imports shall state the name and address of the supplier(s) of those imports. Affirmative defenses shall be pleaded with as much specificity as possible in the response. When the alleged unfair methods of competition and unfair acts are based upon the claims of a valid U.S. patent, the respondent is encouraged to make the following showing when appropriate:

(1) If it is asserted in defense that the article imported or sold by respondents is not covered by, or produced under a process covered by, the claims of each involved U.S. patent, a showing of such noncoverage for each involved claim in each U.S. patent in question shall be made, which showing may be made by appropriate allegations and, when practicable, by a chart that applies the involved claims of each U.S. patent in question to a representative involved imported article of the respondent or to the process under which such article was produced;

(2) Drawings, photographs, or other visual representations of the involved imported article of respondent or the process utilized in producing such article, and, when a chart is furnished under paragraph (b)(1) of this section, the parts of such drawings, photographs, or other visual representations, should be labeled so that they can be read in conjunction with such chart; and

(3) If the claims of any involved U.S. patent are asserted to be invalid or unenforceable, the basis for such assertion, including, when prior art is relied on, a showing of how the prior art renders each claim invalid or unenforceable and a copy of such prior art. For good cause, the presiding administrative law judge may waive any of the substantive requirements imposed under this paragraph or may impose additional requirements.

(c) Submission of article as exhibit. At the time the response is filed, if practicable, the respondent shall submit the accused article imported or sold by that respondent, unless the article has already been submitted by the complainant.

[59 FR 39039, Aug. 1, 1994, as amended at 73 FR 38322, July 7, 2008; 78 FR 23841, Apr. 19, 2013]