By Ajay Mago and Scott Anderson ( August 17, 2017, 11:31 AM EDT) -- It's an independent, little-known, quasijudicial agency, but in just over a decade and a half, the U.S. International Trade Commission has steadily moved to center stage in the multibillion-dollar business of determining and enforcing patent rights. This move is not simply a case of "switching venues," but a signal that patent attorneys and attorneys for technology companies increasingly are changing their patent enforcement strategies and tactics to take advantage of the ITC's broader powers to levy remedies and its speedier process. Sometimes called the "other U.S. patent office," the ITC has been known for speedier and effective patent violation resolution, helped along by its authority to exclude infringing products being imported by multiple importers (known as respondents at the ITC) in a single case. Holding a U.S. patent gives the owner the right to exclude others from importing infringing products into the U.S. The ITC has the power to issue an exclusion order directing U.S. customs officials to stop infringing products at the border....