Restrictions, Election, Traversal, and Disclaimer
Patent – Patently-O 2025-10-01
Summary:
by Dennis Crouch
In Focus Products Group International, LLC v. Kartri Sales Co., Inc., No. 2023-1446 (Fed. Cir. Sept. 30, 2025), the Federal Circuit reversed patent infringement findings against one defendant (Marquis Mills) while affirming most findings against another (Kartri Sales).
The most important part of the decision for patent prosecutors focuses on examiner driven restriction practice and how that can be used to define claim scope. The case also delves into trademark and trade dress issues that I leave for a separate post.
The patents at issue—U.S. Patent Nos. 6,494,248, 7,296,609, and 8,235,088—cover “hookless” shower curtains that attach directly to a shower rod through reinforced ring openings with slits. This integrated approach eliminates the need for separate hooks or clips. The representative claims recite shower rings with specific design features: a slit extending through the ring to an opening, and in some claims, a “projecting edge” that extends from the ring’s outer circumference. The accused products, manufactured by Marquis and sold by Kartri under the “Ezy-Hang” brand, featured rings with flat upper edges similar to Fig 21 above —a design feature that became the central battleground for determining infringement.