Apple has asked the Supreme Court to decide whether research-and-development spending should be classified as labor or capital under the U.S. International Trade Commission's domestic-industry test, according to Patently-O. The case turns on how companies prove they have a domestic industry when that requirement is at issue.
The distinction matters because the statutory label applied to R&D could determine whether Apple's U.S.-based research activities count toward the domestic-industry requirement. Patently-O notes that the ITC's domestic-industry test has tariff-era origins, a historical context that may influence how the justices interpret the relevant provisions.
If the Supreme Court takes the case, its decision could clarify how much weight R&D carries in future ITC proceedings and whether companies can rely on research spending rather than traditional manufacturing to satisfy the domestic-industry requirement.