A leader in the firm’s US International Trade Commission (ITC) Section 337 investigations practice, Aimee has more than 15 years of experience in patent and trade secret litigation at the ITC, district courts, and the Federal Circuit. 

Appearing in almost 40 Section 337 investigations while in private practice, Aimee regularly provides advice regarding ITC-specific issues, such as domestic industry, remedy, and public interest, and is an author of the “go-to” ITC litigation treatise, Unfair Competition and the ITC (published by Thompson Reuters). The Patexia 2020 ITC Intelligence Report named her one of the most active attorneys in the ITC: of 7,596 attorneys who appeared in Section 337 investigations from 2014-2019, she ranks #81 most active for respondents and #87 most active overall.

Aimee spent two years as an Attorney Advisor to the Administrative Law Judges at the ITC, where her responsibilities included providing guidance on substantive questions of law and procedural disputes, and drafting initial and summary determinations; Markman, discovery, and prehearing orders; and findings of fact and conclusions of law. At the ITC, she acquired an in-depth comprehension of the intricacies of Section 337 investigations and an insider appreciation of ITC culture.

In both the ITC and district court, Aimee handles all phases of litigation, including discovery, motion practice, claim construction, trial, and appeal. She is equipped with valuable knowledge of wide ranging, complex technologies, consumer products, and legal issues.

Aimee also completed Fashion Law Bootcamp at Fordham’s Fashion Law Institute. She is particularly interested in technology, fashion, design, and entrepreneurship; specifically, innovation that is leading to the intersection of these industries and the law in ways that require creative new legal solutions.

Representative Experience

• One of the world’s largest motor manufacturers in ITC patent litigation relating to electric power steering motors. Obtained a favorable claim construction of a key disputed patent term, resulting in complainant’s withdrawal of the complaint prior to hearing, during expert discovery. Thermoplastic-Encapsulated Electric Motors, 337-TA-1073, ALJ Pender.
• Volkswagen and Audi in ITC patent litigation relating to hybrid electric vehicles. Successfully defended numerous discovery disputes, leading to a favorable settlement. Hybrid Electric Vehicles, 337-TA-998, ALJ Pender.
• Sony in ITC patent litigation relating to digital audio transmission in wireless headsets. Successfully argued before the ALJ and Commission that the asserted patents are invalid as indefinite, resulting in termination of the investigation. Wireless Headsets, 337-TA-943, ALJ Pender.
• Lenovo in ITC patent litigation relating to optical disc drives. Successfully argued that the complainant lacked standing to file the complaint (twice, on two sets of patents), resulting in termination of the investigation. Optical Disc Drives, 337-TA-897, ALJ Lord.
• Hewlett-Packard in ITC patent litigation relating to flash memory card interfaces in computers, laptops and printers. Successfully argued that the complainant failed to establish that it met the domestic industry requirement of Section 337, resulting in precedent-setting Commission opinion holding that “a complainant alleging the existence of a domestic industry under 19 U.S.C. § 1337(a)(3)(C) must show the existence of articles” protected by the intellectual property right at issue. Computers and Computer Peripheral Devices, 337-TA-841, ALJ Essex.
• Apple in ITC patent litigation relating to secure communication applications between mobile phones, tablets and computers. Successfully argued that the complainant lacked standing to file the complaint, resulting in termination of the investigation. Devices with Secure Communication Capabilities, 337-TA-818, ALJ Shaw.
• Hebei Sukerui in ITC patent litigation relating to the process of manufacturing sucralose. Preserved Hebei Sukerui’s ability to import into and sell in the United States a generic version of Splenda^® (sucralose), based on determinations of no infringement and no domestic industry. Sucralose, Sweeteners Containing Sucralose, and Related Intermediate Compounds Thereof, 337-TA-604, ALJ Bullock.

Bar Admissions

Education
JD, Cornell Law School, 2002BA, Bowdoin College, magna cum laude, 1999Certificate, Fordham Law School Fashion Law Institute, Summer Intensive Program, “Fashion Law Bootcamp”, 2016

• Hunton Retail Law Resource: Analysis and Insight in Retail Law

  By Aimee Soucie |November 2020

• Unfair Competition and the ITC: A Treatise on Section 337 Actions
• Federal Circuit Rules That Losing Parties May Appeal Any Issue Noticed For Review By The ITC, Kenyon IP Insight 
• An Overview of Trade Secrets Law, Westlaw Journal Intellectual Property
• Not all audits are bad: Intellectual property audits can protect and create value in your retail business, Thomson Reuters Westlaw
• Suprema, Inc v. ITC Federal Circuit En Banc Decision
• International Trade Commission Amends Rules of Practice and Procedure
• Organik Kimya et al. v. ITC
• House Subcommittee Holds Second Hearing on Abusive Patent Litigation
• House Subcommittee Holds Hearing on ITC Patent Litigation
• ClearCorrect Operating, LLC v. ITC
• Akamai Techs Inc. v. Limelight Networks Inc. Federal Circuit En Banc Decision Sets New Standard for Divided Infringement
• Lelo Inc. v. ITC - Federal Circuit Decision
• IP Issues to Watch in 2013
• ITC ALJ Finds No Violation of Section 337 by Lenovo in Investigation No. 337-TA-897: Optical Devices Failed to Establish a Domestic Industry
• Congress Holds Additional Hearings on Patent Reform, Protecting Innovation and the American Economy
• ITC Finds No Violation of Section 337 by HP in Investigation No. 337-TA-841: Patents Not Infringed and TPL Failed to Establish a Licensing-Based Domestic Industry
• 2020 Retail Industry Year in Review
• An Overview of Trade Secrets Law in the United States, NYSBA International Law Practicum, Vol. 32, No. 1, pp. 35-41
• An Attractive ITC Tool To Stop IP-Infringing Online Sales, Law360