IP Law Daily, PATENT — Fed. Cir.: Non-infringement affirmed in silicone container dispute, (Jan 2, 2026)

By Kevin M. Finson, J.D.

Summary judgment of non-infringement by silicone beverage containers was affirmed because the accused products lacked a distinct spout as required by the asserted patent claims.

SC Johnson was entitled to summary judgment of non-infringement regarding its Ziploc Endurables silicone container products, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has held. The trail court did not err in claim construction and the accused products lacked a spout required by competitor Zip Top’s asserted patent (Zip Top, Inc. v. SC Johnson & Son Inc., No. 24-1661 (Fed. Cir. Dec. 30, 2025)).

Zip Top, Inc. (Zip Top) was the owner of U.S. Patent No. 11,383,890 (the ’890 patent), which claimed a process for making a container from molded silicone. Zip Top brought suit against SC Johnson & Son, Incorporated (SCJ) alleging that SCJ’s Ziploc® Endurables™ products, which were reusable silicone containers, infringed the ’890 patent. The district court granted summary judgment of non-infringement based on its finding that the accused products lacked a required spout. Zip Top appealed, arguing that the zippers of the accused products formed a spout.

Claim construction. The parties had agreed below that the spout claim element was properly construed as a “distinct feature that directs liquids from and facilitates the pouring of fluid from a container.” The trial court adopted this agreed construction, but Zip Top argued that the trial court had erred by further requiring that the zipper members of the products were not the spout or a part of the spout.

The Federal Circuit found that the claim language and specification supported the trial court’s interpretation, noting that the spout, male zipper member, and female zipper member were consistently described as separate and distinct, and that even Zip Top’s agreed construction described the spout as a “distinct feature.” The court affirmed the lower court’s claim construction.

Summary judgment. Aside from the claim construction, Zip Top also argued that the corners of the accused products created a spout. The Federal Circuit found there was no evidence in the record from which a finder of fact could determine that the corners were in any way distinct or discrete from the rest of the containers. While water could be poured from those corners, that was true of any open container. There was nothing in the record to show the shape of the corner facilitated pouring.

The court affirmed trial court’s grant of summary judgment of non-infringement.

The Case is No. 24-1661.

Judge: Chun, J.

Attorneys: Brian C. Banner (Slayden Grubert Beard PLLC) for Zip Top, Inc. Andrew Dufresne (Perkins Coie LLP) for SC Johnson & Son Inc.

Companies: Zip Top, Inc.; SC Johnson & Son Inc.

Cases: Patent FedCirNews IllinoisNews