David S. Johanson, Chairman of the United States International Trade Commission (USITC or Commission), announced today that Doris Johnson Hines will become an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) at the USITC effective February 27, 2023. Johnson Hines will manage an active litigation docket, preside over evidentiary hearings, and make initial determinations in Section 337 investigations, most of which involve allegations of patent and trademark infringement.
Johnson Hines has extensive experience in intellectual property litigation in both the public and private sectors leading teams in U.S. district courts, the USITC, and before arbitration panels. She argued over a dozen appeals at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and was regularly involved in license negotiations, especially with respect to standard essential patents. Johnson Hines comes to the Commission from Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner LLP, having joined the firm in 1990 and now is Partner. Johnson Hines also participated in Finnegan’s veterans pro bono program, representing veterans in appeals to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims and the Federal Circuit.
Johnson Hines spent the early years of her career involved in patent application drafting and worldwide prosecution. She worked as a patent examiner at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and served as a law clerk to Judge Giles S. Rich at the Federal Circuit.
Johnson Hines holds a juris doctor degree, from the George Washington University Law School and a bachelor of science degree in electrical engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
The USITC is an independent, nonpartisan, quasi-judicial federal agency that investigates and makes determinations in proceedings involving imports claimed to injure a domestic industry, violations of U.S. intellectual property rights, or other unfair methods of competition in connection with imported goods; provides independent analysis and information on tariffs, trade, and competitiveness to the President and the Congress; and maintains the U.S. Harmonized Tariff Schedule.
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