SawStop wins a legal round in table saw dispute

As SawStop continues to press on with its battle to prevent the Robert Bosch Tool Corp. from importing its Reaxx job-site table saw into the U.S., it now has some legal backing with a cease-and-desist order issued by the U.S. International Trade Commission.

The March 27 order passed a 60-day presidential review period and directs the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency to exclude Bosch Reaxx table saws and components of those saws, including cartridges, from entering the U.S. Additionally, Bosch is prevented from marketing, advertising and soliciting U.S. agents and distributors of the saws and their components.

The order follows SawStop’s complaint that Bosch infringed on its safety technology and patents.

“We have defended our innovation, our hard work, and our investments in developing SawStop technology, and we will continue to protect our intellectual property. We are grateful for the U.S. patent system for encouraging and protecting innovations, and we look forward to continuing to supply the market with safer saws,” SawStop president Stephen Gass said in a March 28 statement.

Bosch is maintaining that its Reaxx saw represents new safety technology and that its patents don’t violate SawStop’s product.

“Bosch will continue to provide distributors and end users with service, repair and support for Reaxx table saws previously purchased, including the availability of replacement cartridges manufactured in the U.S., which are not subject to the ITC import ban,” according to the company’s March 23 statement. “We will continue to fight for our ability to sell Reaxx in the future by appealing to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.”

This article originally appeared in the May 2017 issue.