Trade agency pulled into litter box dispute

WASHINGTON -- Patent lawsuits can get pretty messy -- and this one is bound to be littered with dirty details.

The U.S. International Trade Commission, a normally staid government agency staffed with lawyers and economists, has been dragged into a cat fight over self-cleaning litter boxes.

Applica Inc., a Miramar, Fla.-based company that makes LitterMaid litter boxes, has charged that several small firms are importing their own self-cleaning boxes that infringe on its patent.

Applica, which was bought by a private equity firm earlier this year, markets household goods under the Black & Decker and other brand names.

The company claims "3 million happy, satisfied users" of its LitterMaid products.

Applica's complaint to the ITC names Lucky Litter LLC, based in Chicago; Doskocil Manufacturing Co. Inc., of Arlington, Texas; and OurPet's Co. of Fairport Harbor, Ohio, as the allegedly guilty parties.

The ITC said Friday it has agreed to investigate Applica's complaint. If it concludes the companies have violated Applica's intellectual property, it could ultimately block the imports, leaving pet owners with fewer options in the high-tech cat litter department.

Calls to OurPets were not immediately returned seeking comment.

While the subject matter is unusual, the choice of the ITC is not -- many companies have taken their patent disputes there in recent years when they involve imported products. The agency is seen as a faster venue for the resolution of patent disputes than the courts, and has the power to block infringing imports.

The agency ruled in favor of Nokia Corp. last week in a patent dispute with semiconductor company Qualcomm Inc.

Qualcomm lost a separate, high-profile case at the agency earlier this year, when the ITC barred imports of its cell phone chips that were found to infringe patents held by its rival, Broadcom Corp. The ban extended to new cell phone models that used the chips, although that aspect of the ban was halted in September by a federal judge, pending an appeal of the ruling.