Source: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-ca13-23-01524/USCOURTS-ca13-23-01524-0/pdf.json

Nature of Suit Code: 830
Nature of Suit: Patent
Cause of Action: 

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NOTE: This disposition is nonprecedential.

 

United States Court of Appeals 

for the Federal Circuit ______________________ 

KIDS2, LLC, F.K.A. SUMMER INFANT (USA), INC.,

Plaintiff-Appellee

v.

TOMY INTERNATIONAL, INC.,

Defendant-Appellant

______________________ 

2023-1524

______________________ 

Appeal from the United States District Court for the 

District of Rhode Island in No. 1:17-cv-00549-MSM-PAS, 

Judge Mary S. McElroy.

______________________ 

______________________ 

Decided: January 14, 2025

RUBEN JOSE RODRIGUES, Foley & Lardner LLP, Boston, 

MA, argued for plaintiff-appellee. Also represented by 

SARAH E.RIEGER, Milwaukee, WI; JEFFREY TECHENTIN, Adler Pollock & Sheehan, PC, Providence, RI. 

 JOSEPH KUO, Saul Ewing Arnstein & Lehr LLP, Chicago, IL, argued for defendant-appellant. Also represented 

by ELIZABETH A. THOMPSON. 

 ______________________ 

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2 KIDS2, LLC v. TOMY INTERNATIONAL, INC.

Before CHEN, CUNNINGHAM, and STARK, Circuit Judges.

Opinion for the court filed by Circuit Judge STARK.

Opinion dissenting-in-part filed by Circuit Judge CHEN.

STARK, Circuit Judge.

TOMY International, Inc. (“TOMY”) appeals from a 

grant of summary judgment of non-infringement. See 

Summer Infant (USA), Inc. v. TOMY Int’l, Inc., 2023 WL 

313959 (D.R.I. Jan. 19, 2023). Because there is a genuine 

dispute of material fact as to whether the Summer Infant 

(USA) Inc. (“Kids2”)1 accused product infringes, we reverse 

and remand.

I

A

TOMY owns U.S. Patent No. 6,578,209 (“’209 patent”), entitled “Tubs for Bathing Infants and Toddlers.” 

As its name suggests, the ’209 patent is directed to a multistage tub for bathing an infant and, as the child develops, 

a toddler. The claimed tub “is configured with opposing 

back rests and associated seating surfaces, for bathing an 

infant reclining against one of the back rests, or a toddler 

seated against the other back rest,” potentially eliminating 

the need to replace the tub when an infant becomes a toddler. ’209 patent at Abstract, 1:17-28. 

Specifically, “[a] first of the opposing side walls extends at a first incline angle with respect to the rim” of the 

tub to form a reclining backrest for an infant, and “a 

1 During the pendency of this appeal, Summer Infant 

was dissolved and, after a series of transactions, became 

Kids2, LLC. We granted an unopposed motion to substitute Kids2 as the appellee. For simplicity, we use Kids2 

throughout this opinion.

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KIDS2, LLC v. TOMY INTERNATIONAL, INC. 3

second, opposite one of the opposing side walls extends at 

a second incline angle with respect to the rim” of the tub to 

form an upright backrest for a toddler. Id. at 1:36-40. 

“[T]he first and second inclined side walls form[] back rests 

for children seated in the tub in different orientations.” Id.

at 1:40-42. This configuration renders the tub “useful for 

bathing at one time an infant reclined against the first 

back rest, and then, at another time, bathing a child [(i.e., 

a toddler)] seated erect against the second back rest.” Id.

at 1:42-45. The tub also has a bottom surface that preferably “has two seating surface[s] disposed at differing inclinations and extending from respective back rests to distal 

edges joined at a bottom surface apex spaced from either 

end of the basin, each seating surface forming, together 

with a respective one of the back rests, an inclined seat.” 

Id. at 1:46-51.

Annotated Figure 13, reproduced below, depicts a 

cross-sectional view of the seating surfaces in an embodiment of the tub disclosed in the ’209 patent. 

’209 patent at Fig. 13, 5:41-42. In this embodiment, “[a]t 

the lower end of surface 62 [(shown in blue, on the infant 

side)], a tub bottom surface 64 [(green)] extends upward 

generally at an angle [] of about 45 degrees and forms a 

seating surface associated with back rest 62, with apex 66

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4 KIDS2, LLC v. TOMY INTERNATIONAL, INC.

[(pink)] received behind the knees of the infant.” Id. at 

5:47-51. “At the other end of the tub (the right end, as 

shown), an opposing back rest 68 [(orange)] extends generally at the angle [] of about 77.5 degrees and serve[s] as a 

back rest for a toddle[r] seated on generally horizontal seating surface 70 [(red)] . . . .” Id. at 5:51-54.

The ’209 patent has 31 claims. Independent claim 1 

is illustrative:

A tub for bathing children, the tub comprising a molded plastic body having an upper 

rim and defining a bathing basin sized for 

bathing a young child and having a bottom 

surface and opposing side walls forming opposite ends of the basin,

a first of the opposing side walls extending at a first incline angle with respect to the 

rim, and a second, opposite one of the opposing side walls extending at a second incline 

angle with respect to the rim, the first and 

second inclined side walls forming first and 

second back rests for children seated in the 

tub in different orientations;

the bottom surface having two seating surfaces disposed at differing inclinations and extending from respective back rests to distal

edges joined at a bottom surface apex spaced 

from either end of the basin, each seating surface forming, together with a respective one of 

the back rests, an inclined seat;

wherein the body has a nominal thickness 

and upper and lower surfaces having matching shape across an overall extent of the tub 

so as to enable the tub to nest within an identical tub with a nesting space differential of 

less than about two inches (five centimeters).

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Id. at 6:29-51 (emphasis added). The “bottom surface” limitation, emphasized above, is central to the issues raised in 

this appeal.

B

TOMY sells a baby bathtub, called the “Sure Comfort Deluxe,” which it asserts is an embodiment of the ’209 

patent’s claims. In September 2017, Kids2 began selling a 

competing baby bathtub, called the “Comfy Clean Deluxe.” 

Less than a month later, TOMY sent Kids2 a cease-anddesist letter, accusing Kids2’s Comfy Clean Deluxe of infringing one or more claims of TOMY’s ’209 patent. Shortly 

after receiving TOMY’s letter, Kids2 filed a declaratory 

judgment action in the United States District Court for the 

District of Rhode Island, seeking a determination that its 

product did not infringe the ’209 patent. TOMY answered 

Kids2’s complaint and filed counterclaims alleging that 

Kids2’s product infringes the ’209 patent. 

In May 2019, TOMY filed a motion for a claim construction order. After briefing and oral argument, the magistrate judge to whom the case was referred issued a report 

and recommendation (“R&R”) on claim construction. Relevant to this appeal, the magistrate judge construed a portion of the “bottom surface” limitation – specifically, the 

term “distal edges joined at a bottom surface apex” – as 

“edges of the seating surfaces situated farthest away from 

their respective back rests joined to each other at the area 

of a high point of the bottom surface of the body between 

the seating surfaces.” J.A. 79 (emphasis added). The magistrate judge further concluded that the meaning of “seating surface(s)” “is clear and does not require further 

construction,” adding that “‘seating surfaces’ plainly mean 

the inclined (for the infant side) and generally horizontal 

(for the toddler side) portions of the bottom surface that extend from the respective back rests to the central apex of 

the bottom surface.” J.A. 71 (citing ’209 patent at 6:45-46). 

Both parties objected to the R&R. After considering the 

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6 KIDS2, LLC v. TOMY INTERNATIONAL, INC.

parties’ written objections and hearing oral argument, the 

presiding district judge adopted the claim construction 

R&R “in its entirety.” J.A. 11.

Subsequently, the parties filed cross-motions for 

summary judgment of infringement and non-infringement, 

as well as motions to exclude expert testimony. The motions were referred to the same magistrate judge who had 

conducted claim construction. In another R&R, the magistrate judge, among other things, granted-in-part and denied-in-part Kids2’s motion to preclude TOMY’s expert, 

Mr. Mauro, from testifying, and recommended that the district court: (i) grant Kids2’s motion for summary judgment 

of non-infringement, (ii) deny TOMY’s motion for summary 

judgment of infringement, and (iii) enter final judgment. 

Over TOMY’s objections, the district court adopted the 

R&R “in its entirety,” J.A. 8, and entered final judgment.2

TOMY timely appealed. We have jurisdiction under 

28 U.S.C. § 1295(a)(1).

II

“We decide the proper claim construction and address the intrinsic-evidence aspects of a claim-construction 

analysis de novo, while we review for clear error any subsidiary factual determinations based on extrinsic evidence 

made by the district court.” Inline Plastics Corp. v. Lacerta 

Grp., LLC, 97 F.4th 889, 901 (Fed. Cir. 2024). Claim terms 

“are generally given their ordinary and customary meaning,” which is the meaning understood by one of ordinary 

skill in the art when read in the context of the claims, specification, and prosecution history. Phillips v. AWH Corp., 

415 F.3d 1303, 1313-14 (Fed. Cir. 2005) (en banc). 

2 For simplicity, from this point forward we refer to the 

decisions of both the district judge and the magistrate 

judge as decisions of the “district court.”

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KIDS2, LLC v. TOMY INTERNATIONAL, INC. 7

“We review the district court’s grant or denial of 

summary judgment under the law of the regional circuit,” 

here the First Circuit. Halo Elecs., Inc. v. Pulse Elecs., Inc., 

831 F.3d 1369, 1376 (Fed. Cir. 2016). The First Circuit reviews a grant of summary judgment de novo, evaluating 

the “record in the light most flattering to the nonmovant” 

and drawing “all reasonable inferences in that party’s favor.” Alston v. Town of Brookline, 997 F.3d 23, 35 (1st Cir. 

2021). “Summary judgment is appropriate only when the 

record, read as required, demonstrates that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving 

party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Id.

We also “apply regional circuit law when reviewing 

a district court’s evidentiary rulings.” Omega Pats., LLC v. 

CalAmp Corp., 13 F.4th 1361, 1368 (Fed. Cir. 2021). Under 

First Circuit law, “we review a district court’s ruling on the 

admissibility of expert testimony under Rule 702 for abuse 

of discretion.” Rodríguez v. Hosp. San Cristobal, Inc., 91 

F.4th 59, 71 (1st Cir. 2024).

III

On appeal, TOMY contends that the district court 

adopted an incorrect claim construction for the “bottom 

surface” claim limitation, and, as a result, also wrongly excluded testimony of TOMY’s infringement expert, granted 

Kids2’s motion for summary judgment of noninfringement,

and denied TOMY’s motion for summary judgment of infringement. We address each issue in turn.

A

TOMY first challenges the district court’s construction of the “bottom surface” claim term – “the bottom surface having two seating surfaces disposed at differing 

inclinations and extending from respective back rests to 

distal edges joined at a bottom surface apex” – which appears in independent claims 1, 23, and 30 of the ’209 patent. TOMY raises three issues in relation to different 

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8 KIDS2, LLC v. TOMY INTERNATIONAL, INC.

parts of the court’s construction of the “bottom surface” limitation: (i) “distal edges joined at a bottom surface apex,”

(ii) “apex,” and (iii) “seating surfaces.” While we agree with 

TOMY that the district court erred by limiting “distal edges 

joined at a bottom surface apex” solely to direct connections, we are not persuaded by TOMY that the court committed any further claim construction error.

1

The parties’ dispute with respect to “distal edges 

joined at a bottom surface apex” is, as the district court explained, “whether the patent claims that the distal edges 

of each seating surface are connected directly, that is, edgeto-edge, or whether the patent also claims indirect joinder, 

that is, with edges meeting on either side of an intervening 

structure.” J.A. 73. The district court resolved this dispute 

in favor of Kids2, adopting the narrower view that the 

claim requires the “edges of the seating surfaces situated 

farthest away from their respective back rests [be] joined 

to each other at the area of a high point of the bottom surface of the body between the seating surfaces.” J.A. 79 (emphasis added). To reach this holding, the district court 

distinguished dependent claim 18’s disclosure – “wherein 

the seating surfaces are joined by a central bottom surface 

portion that rises from the distal edge of one of the seating 

surfaces to the distal edge of the other of the seating surfaces” – from independent claim 1’s disclosure – that the 

“distal edges [are] joined at a bottom surface apex” – stating that it found “it impossible to avoid the force of [Kids2’s]

argument that ‘joined at,’ as the term appears unadorned 

by further definition in Claims 1, 23 and 30, describes 

clearly the joinder of the two distal edges to each other at 

the apex; it does not encompass indirect joinder of the two 

seating surfaces to a third intervening structure, as 

claimed by dependent Claim 18.” J.A. 74-75 (emphasis 

added). Hence, the district court agreed with Kids2 that 

claims 1, 23, and 30 of the ’209 patent do “not encompass 

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KIDS2, LLC v. TOMY INTERNATIONAL, INC. 9

indirect joinder of the two seating surfaces to a third intervening structure.” J.A. 75. We disagree.

Claim 1 recites, in pertinent part, “two seating surfaces . . . extending from respective back rests to distal 

edges joined at a bottom surface apex.” ’209 patent at 6:41-

44. There is no indication in this claim language that 

“joined at” takes on anything other than its plain and ordinary meaning, which would include any type of joining, direct or indirect. See generally Deere & Co. v. Bush Hog, 

LLC, 703 F.3d 1349, 1355 (Fed. Cir. 2012) (noting “joined,”

in context of upper and lower deck walls in rotary cutter, 

does “not necessitate direct contact”); Genentech, Inc. v. 

Chiron Corp., 112 F.3d 495, 501 (Fed. Cir. 1997) (explaining, in context of DNA sequences, that “[t]o be joined or 

connected does not necessitate a direct joining or connection.”). To read the limitation “joined at a bottom surface 

apex” to require that the distal edges of the seating surfaces be “joined to each other at a bottom surface apex,” as 

the district court did, imports language into the claim that 

is not there. The term “at a bottom surface apex” indicates 

where the distal edges of the two seating surfaces join but

does not limit how those distal edges must be joined.

Additional support for this conclusion is found in 

claim 18, which depends from claim 1, and would be understood by a skilled artisan as including indirect joinder. 

Claim 18 recites:

The tub of claim 1 wherein the seating 

surfaces are joined by a central bottom surface portion that rises from the distal edge of 

one of the seating surfaces to the distal edge 

of the other of the seating surfaces.

’209 patent at 7:44-47. 

Claim 18’s requirement that the seating surfaces “are 

joined by a central bottom surface portion,” that rises from 

the distal edges of the seating surfaces, can only be met by 

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10 KIDS2, LLC v. TOMY INTERNATIONAL, INC.

embodiments in which those distal edges of the two seating 

surfaces do not directly touch one another and are, instead, 

joined only indirectly – by their respective connections to 

the intervening central bottom surface portion. The ’290 

patent’s specification expressly discloses this embodiment, 

stating: “The seating surfaces may be joined by a central 

bottom surface portion that rises from the distal edge of one 

of the seating surfaces to the distal edge of the other of the 

seating surfaces.” ’290 patent at 2:64-67.

Independent claim 1 must be broad enough to contain the full scope of its dependent claims, including claim 

18. See Littelfuse, Inc. v. Mersen USA EP Corp., 29 F.4th 

1376, 1380 (Fed. Cir. 2022) (“By definition, an independent 

claim is broader than a claim that depends from it, so if a 

dependent claim reads on a particular embodiment of the 

claimed invention, the corresponding independent claim 

must cover that embodiment as well.”); Intellectual Ventures I LLC v. T-Mobile USA, Inc., 902 F.3d 1372, 1378 

(Fed. Cir. 2018) (stating that claim constructions rendering

“dependent claims meaningless” are generally “disfavored”). Claim 18, then, provides substantial support for 

TOMY’s position.3

We find still further support for TOMY’s proposed construction in the specification and prosecution history. 

3 We do not agree with the district court that “dependent Claim 18 materially alters the words chosen for independent Claims 1, 23 and 30, in that it omits the references 

to ‘edges’ and recites that the ‘seating surfaces are joined 

by a central bottom surface portion.’” J.A. 75 (quoting 

claim 18). Claim 18 plainly requires that “a central bottom 

surface portion” be situated between the distal edge of one 

seating surface and the distal edge of the other seating surface, indicating, as we have explained, that these “edges” 

are joined indirectly.

 

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Recall Figure 13, which we reproduced above. In the embodiment depicted in Figure 13, the distal edge of the infant seating surface 64 (annotated in green) and the distal 

edge of the toddler seating surface 70 (annotated in red)

are not directly joined. Kids2, citing the prosecution history, argues that the unlabeled portion extending from 70 

(annotated in yellow) is also part of the toddler seating surface 70 (annotated in red).4 Whether or not the unlabeled 

structure extending from 70 is considered part of the toddler seating surface or an intervening structure, it is indisputable that elements 64 (green) and 70 (red) do not 

directly join one another. Instead, they only indirectly join 

either at the central bottom surface portion (yellow) or at 

the apex 66 (pink). The district court’s construction, precluding indirect joinder, would read the embodiment of Figure 13 out of claim 1, a result contrary to our “strong 

presumption against a claim construction that excludes a 

disclosed embodiment.” In re Katz Interactive Call Processing Pat. Litigation, 639 F.3d 1303, 1324 (Fed. Cir. 

2011).

Our review of the intrinsic evidence, therefore, 

4 During prosecution, the applicant described the embodiment shown in Figure 13 as follows: “surface 64 forms 

one seating surface [(i.e., the infant seating surface)], extending at inclination angle β1, and the other [(i.e., toddler)] seating surface is formed by surface 70 and the 

extension of surface 70 that meets surface 64 at apex 66.” 

J.A. 695. In briefing to us, TOMY seeks to distance itself 

from this interpretation, emphasizing instead that the unlabeled portion (yellow) is an intervening structure indirectly joining the distal edges of the two seating surfaces at 

the apex (pink). Both views have support in the intrinsic 

evidence, making it proper to consider both in carrying out 

our obligation to construe the disputed claim term as a 

matter of law.

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12 KIDS2, LLC v. TOMY INTERNATIONAL, INC.

persuades us that the correct construction of the claimed 

“distal edges joined at a bottom surface apex” encompasses 

both direct and indirect joinder. Because the claim construction dispute is resolved on the intrinsic evidence, and 

“[e]xtrinsic evidence may not be used to contradict claim 

meaning that is unambiguous in light of the intrinsic evidence,” Profectus Tech. LLC v. Huawei Techs. Co., 823 F.3d 

1375, 1380 (Fed. Cir. 2016) (internal quotation marks omitted), it is unnecessary for us to consider the extrinsic evidence, Phillips, 415 F.3d at 1319 (explaining that courts 

may exercise discretion in determining whether extrinsic 

evidence is useful). 

Thus, we construe “distal edges joined at a bottom 

surface apex” as meaning the “areas of the seating surfaces 

situated furthest away from their respective back rests are 

connected directly or indirectly by an intervening structure

at a high point of the bottom surface of the body between 

the seating surfaces,” as TOMY proposes. J.A. 71-72 (emphasis added). The district court must apply this construction on remand. 

2

We reject TOMY’s contention that the district court 

committed two other claim construction errors.

TOMY insists that the claimed “apex” need not 

“span[] the width of the tub bottom.” While we agree with 

TOMY on this point, so, too, did the district court. Its construction of “apex” – “a surface that is higher than the other 

portions of the tub’s bottom surface, located between the 

seating surfaces” – does not require that the “apex” must 

“span[] the width of the tub bottom.” J.A. 76. At most, the 

district court suggested that in the embodiment depicted in 

Figure 14 the apex is shown as “stretching across most of 

the tub’s width,” id., but we do not read this description of 

this embodiment as an explication of claim scope. Since 

there is no error, there is nothing for us to correct.

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KIDS2, LLC v. TOMY INTERNATIONAL, INC. 13

TOMY also faults the district court for implicitly 

construing “seating surfaces” based on their function instead of limiting them to particular structures. It insists 

“the district court effectively added requirements to the 

construction of ‘seating surface’ including that it must support a child, that the child’s legs cannot straddle the seating surface, and that a ‘seating surface’ excluded near 

vertical structures.” Appellant’s Br. 34. We do not see 

where the district court imported any such limitations into 

the construction of “seating surface.” During claim construction, the district court concluded that the meaning of 

the term “seating surface” is “clear and does not require 

further construction.” J.A. 71 (“‘Seating surfaces’ plainly 

mean the inclined (for the infant side) and generally horizontal (for the toddler side) portions of the bottom surface 

that extend from the respective back rests to the central 

apex of the bottom surface. Together with their respective 

back rests, each seating surface forms ‘an inclined seat.’”). 

The court later explained, at summary judgment, that it 

“did not reject the core concept that a seat functions as the 

part on which one rests in [when] sitting,” and that this 

“concept is embedded” in its plain meaning construction. 

J.A. 23 (internal quotation marks omitted). TOMY provides no persuasive reason for us to add anything further 

to the construction of “bottom surface” or “seating surfaces.” 

B

The district court denied-in-part and granted-inpart Kids2’s motion to exclude Mr. Mauro’s expert testimony. Relevant here, the district court excluded Mr. 

Mauro from offering infringement opinions built on his “illogical construct,” which “clash[ed] with the [district 

court’s] claim construction,” as he would have opined that 

the “two seating surfaces” could be indirectly “joined at a 

bottom surface apex.” J.A. 33-35. Now that we have reversed the district court’s construction, and the court on 

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14 KIDS2, LLC v. TOMY INTERNATIONAL, INC.

remand will have to apply our broader construction, the 

premise for the exclusion ruling has been eliminated. See 

generally Chamberlain Grp., Inc. v. Lear Corp., 516 F.3d 

1331, 1339 (Fed. Cir. 2008) (explaining that where district 

court “relies on an erroneous claim construction” in connection with other rulings, “this legal error may well constitute an abuse of discretion” that must be reversed).

Mr. Mauro’s opinion – that the “seating surface for 

the infant is shown as the substantially vertical portion for 

the central protrusion extending upwards from the bottom 

of the tub,” and that the seating surface for the toddler side 

includes the “flat portion and upwardly curved portion,” 

J.A. 1805 – as shown in the figures below, is not inconsistent with the correct claim construction, which permits 

direct or indirect joinder of the seating surfaces. 

J.A. 1836.

Our dissenting colleague, in critiquing Mr. Mauro for 

espousing a theory of infringement that supposedly “eviscerates all meaning of ‘seating’ from the term ‘seating surface,’” Dissent at 1-2, relies on a combination of TOMY’s 

appellate briefing (not Mr. Mauro’s own words) and a reading of excerpts from Kids2’s internal documents that is 

something other than a reading in the light most favorable 

to TOMY, see id. at 3-4. None of this, in our view, provides 

a persuasive basis for excluding Mr. Mauro’s actual 

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KIDS2, LLC v. TOMY INTERNATIONAL, INC. 15

opinion.5

Accordingly, we reverse the district court’s exclusion 

of portions of Mr. Mauro’s testimony.

C

The district court’s grant of Kids2’s motion for summary judgment of non-infringement was, like its ruling on 

the exclusion of Mr. Mauro’s testimony, predicated on its 

rejection of TOMY’s construction of “distal edges joined at 

a bottom surface.” Because we have now determined that 

TOMY is correct that this term must be construed to include both direct and indirect connections, and we have decided that Mr. Mauro’s testimony is not excludable based 

on application of an erroneous claim construction, it follows 

that we must reverse the judgment of non-infringement.

TOMY has pointed to other evidence, in addition to Mr. 

Mauro’s opinion, that, taken in the light most favorable to 

TOMY, might support a reasonable finding that Kids2’s accused tub infringes. For example, at least one of Kids2’s 

own product documents, which describes the raised portion 

of the bottom surface of the Comfy Clean Deluxe tub as a 

“[c]ontoured seat,” could support a finding that the side 

surface of the raised portion of the bottom surface constitutes a “seating surface.” J.A. 1443; see also J.A. 1436. A 

reasonable factfinder, taking the evidence in the light most 

flattering to TOMY, might also find that the sliding-prevention function of the raised hump of the bottom surface 

additionally supports a finding that the side surface of the 

raised hump is a “seating surface.” J.A. 1293 (Kids2 engineer describing “how this little bump . . . prevents [a child] 

from sliding down”).

5 There may be other grounds on which, on remand, the 

district court might determine it must exclude some or all 

of Mr. Mauro’s opinions.

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16 KIDS2, LLC v. TOMY INTERNATIONAL, INC.

In granting summary judgment of non-infringement, the district court also stated that Kids2’s accused tub 

“has a relatively flat bottom surface comprised of two seating surfaces that flow into each other, around and past the 

convex central hump that goes between the legs of the infant or toddler and serves as a stop to prevent either the 

infant or the toddler from slipping.” J.A. 47. Kids2 argues 

that, in this portion of its order, the district court was explaining that it was granting summary judgment because 

the accused product does not have two seating surfaces disposed at differing inclinations. While it is not entirely clear 

to us which claim limitation the district court was holding 

the Comfy Clean Deluxe did not meet, if Kids2’s reading is 

correct, we disagree with the district court. A reasonable 

factfinder could find that the accused product has a “bottom surface having two seating surfaces disposed at differing inclinations” because the basically horizontal 

inclination of the toddler seating surface and the steeper 

inclination of the infant seating surface could reasonably 

be found to differ. J.A. 1497 (Mr. Mauro testifying that 

“one of ordinary skill in the art just looks at” the “inclination” language of the claim as “simply” requiring “different 

inclinations”). 

Our conclusion relies on the view that the claimed “differing inclinations” include a zero-degree incline, i.e., that 

one seating surface is horizontal. The Dissent faults that 

conclusion as being both forfeited and wrong on the merits. 

We disagree.

The Dissent contends that “TOMY never argues in its 

briefing to us that the claim includes ‘zero incline,’” Dissent 

at 6, which is not quite right. In its initial brief to us, 

TOMY argued that in the accused tub “the seating surface 

for the toddler has a relatively horizontal portion and a 

modest incline portion, and the seating surface for the infant has an incline relatively steeper than the toddler side.” 

Appellant’s Br. 45; see also id. at 37 (“[T]he toddler seating 

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KIDS2, LLC v. TOMY INTERNATIONAL, INC. 17

surface is the portion of the bottom surface that extends 

from the left seatback to the apex, and the infant seating 

surface is the portion of the bottom surface extending from 

the right seatback to the apex. The slopes of these two seating surfaces are different. This is all that the claim requires.”). Although TOMY did not use the phrase “zero 

incline” in its brief, it is clear to us that TOMY was contending that its claim includes seating surfaces of various

inclinations, including a zero-degree incline.6 The limitation requires “seating surfaces disposed at differing inclinations,” and TOMY’s position before us has consistently 

included potentially all inclinations, including a zero-degree incline, as long as the two seating surfaces have different inclinations.

On the merits, we agree with TOMY that different inclinations, whatever they may be (including a zero-degree

incline), “is all that the claim requires.” Appellant Br. 37. 

We see nothing in the claim language or specification, and 

the Dissent points to nothing, to support a conclusion that 

a person of ordinary skill in the art would exclude a zero 

angle from her understanding of “inclination.”7 To the 

6 As the Dissent acknowledges, TOMY made this point 

even more clearly during oral argument. See Dissent at 6-

7 (quoting oral argument).

7 The parties did not present a claim construction dispute over the meaning of “inclination.” Even if we were to 

say we have such a dispute before us now, we see no reason 

to conclude that a person of ordinary skill would ignore the 

intrinsic evidence and understand this term based solely 

on the definition from an online general use dictionary relied upon by the Dissent. See Dissent at 6. Moreover, even 

under the Dissent’s definition, it does not necessarily follow 

that the amount of “deviation from the true vertical or horizontal” cannot be zero degrees. 

Case: 23-1524 Document: 58 Page: 17 Filed: 01/14/2025
18 KIDS2, LLC v. TOMY INTERNATIONAL, INC.

contrary, one claim, claim 17, actually requires “the seating surface associated with the first inclined wall is disposed generally horizontally,” meaning it requires a 

seating surface with an incline at or near zero. Other 

claims, specifically claims 12-16, require that an “inclined 

wall” extend either at a specific angle (“about 41 degrees,” 

“about 45 degrees,” “about 77 degrees”) or at a specific 

range of angles (“between about 35 and 45 degrees,” “between about 70 and 85 degrees”), further indicating that 

claims not specifying any particular inclination do not exclude any inclination. 

The Dissent’s contention that the prosecution history 

provides “quite clear” support for its conclusion is, in our 

view, likewise unavailing. Dissent at 8. It wrongly suggests that TOMY told the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office that “the toddler seating surface must include both 

horizontal surface 70 [red] and the inclined extension of 

surface 70 [yellow]” to meet the “disposed at differing inclinations” limitation. Dissent at 8 (emphasis added). It is 

true that during prosecution the applicant responded to an 

examiner’s antecedent basis objection of two seating surfaces “disposed at differing inclinations” (in connection 

with unasserted claim 22) by stating that the toddler seating surface of the Figure 13 embodiment “is formed by surface 70 and the extension of surface 70 that meets surface 

64 at apex 66,” J.A. 695, but the applicant never said that 

the differing inclinations are not also satisfied even without considering the yellow extension. That is, contrary to 

the Dissent, the applicant did not tell the Patent Office that 

the “generally horizontal seating surface 70 on its own” was 

“insufficient.” Dissent at 7-8 (internal quotation marks 

omitted).

Accordingly, we reverse the district court’s grant of 

summary judgment of non-infringement and remand for 

further proceedings.

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KIDS2, LLC v. TOMY INTERNATIONAL, INC. 19

D

Finally, we affirm the district court’s denial of TOMY’s 

motion for summary judgment of infringement. While we 

have set out above a portion of the evidence from which a 

reasonable factfinder, taking the evidence in the light most 

flattering to TOMY, could find that Kids2’s Comfy Clean 

Deluxe tub infringes the ’209 patent, nothing we have said 

should be taken to mean that such a factfinder would be 

compelled to make such a finding. Viewing the evidence in 

the light most favorable to Kids2, as the party opposing 

TOMY’s motion, a reasonable factfinder is clearly free to

reject Mr. Mauro’s opinion and the other evidence we have 

highlighted and, consequently, find no infringement. 

Thus, TOMY is not entitled to summary judgment.

IV

We have considered the parties’ remaining arguments 

and find them unpersuasive. For the foregoing reasons, we 

(i) reverse the district court’s (a) “bottom surface” claim 

construction, (b) its exclusion of portions of Mr. Mauro’s 

testimony, and (c) its grant of summary judgment of noninfringement, and (ii) affirm the court’s denial of summary 

judgment of infringement. We remand for further proceedings consistent with this opinion. 

REVERSED-IN-PART, AFFIRMED-IN-PART, 

AND REMANDED

COSTS

Costs awarded to TOMY.

Case: 23-1524 Document: 58 Page: 19 Filed: 01/14/2025
NOTE: This disposition is nonprecedential.

United States Court of Appeals 

for the Federal Circuit ______________________

KIDS2, LLC, F.K.A. SUMMER INFANT (USA), INC.,

Plaintiff-Appellee

v.

TOMY INTERNATIONAL, INC.,

Defendant-Appellant

______________________

2023-1524

______________________

Appeal from the United States District Court for the 

District of Rhode Island in No. 1:17-cv-00549-MSM-PAS, 

Judge Mary S. McElroy.

 ______________________

CHEN, Circuit Judge dissenting-in-part.

Both on appeal and before the district court, TOMY has 

offered “evolving theories of infringement.” J.A. 27. As the 

magistrate judge aptly observed, “TOMY has struggled to 

explain how [the Accused Tub] also meets the ’209 Patent’s 

ubiquitous limitation of ‘two seating surfaces disposed at 

differing inclinations and extending from respective back 

rests to distal edges joined at a bottom surface apex.’” Id. 

TOMY advances two infringement theories, but both are 

fatally flawed. The first theory, which contends a near-vertical wall in the Accused Tub is a seating surface, eviscerates all meaning of “seating” from the term “seating 

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2 KIDS2, LLC v. TOMY INTERNATIONAL, INC.

surface.” The second theory, which claims a flat horizontal 

surface is the seating surface, similarly eviscerates the “differing inclinations” limitation from the claim. 

TOMY’s infringement theories fail regardless of how 

the disputed claim limitation is construed. If we affirm the 

district court’s construction, then TOMY must rely on its 

first infringement theory, which requires an unreasonable 

understanding of what a “seating surface” may encompass. 

If we adopt TOMY’s proposed construction, TOMY’s second 

infringement theory failed to argue or explain how the Accused Tub’s horizontal seating surface has an “inclination.” 

And, regardless, it doesn’t. In my view, the district court 

correctly handled the issues presented to it based on the 

arguments made. I join the court’s opinion at parts III.A.2

and III.D, but I would affirm the district court’s claim construction, exclusion of TOMY’s expert opinions on infringement, and grant of summary judgment of noninfringement. 

Accordingly, I respectfully dissent. 

I

Under its first infringement theory, TOMY argues the 

near-vertical sidewall of the Accused Tub’s central hump is 

part of the toddler seating surface. I am not persuaded that 

this is an issue that merits a trial. Under its plain and 

ordinary meaning, a “seating surface” is something that 

one sits on, not something that one sits against. 

Mr. Mauro’s infringement opinions require an illogical 

and unreasonable understanding of the plain and ordinary 

meaning of “seating surface.” When a toddler is sitting in 

the Accused Tub, the central hump (the vertical sidewall of 

which Mr. Mauro contends is a seating surface) sticks up 

and is located between the toddler’s legs. It is thus appropriate to exclude Mr. Mauro’s infringement opinions because he reads “seating” out of the term “seating surface.” 

Mr. Mauro is not arguing that a toddler actually sits on the 

hump sidewall because they can squirm such that their 

bottom slides up against the sidewall. Mr. Mauro instead 

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KIDS2, LLC v. TOMY INTERNATIONAL, INC. 3

argues, without meaningful explanation, that the hump 

sidewall is part of the toddler seating surface. J.A. 1416;

see also Appellant’s Br. 39 (arguing the hump sidewall “is 

clearly a seat because the child necessarily rests against 

it”).1 However, resting against something is not the same 

as sitting on it—a footrest would necessarily support part 

of a toddler’s weight but would not be considered a seating 

surface. 2 Likewise, no one would suggest a backrest of a 

chair or the Accused Tub is a seating surface just because 

someone can rest part of their weight against it when 

1 Mr. Mauro identified only the sidewall of the central hump as the infant seating surface (see J.A. 1836–37), 

but, at a minimum, part of the flat portion on the infant 

side should also be the seating surface because an infant 

would, as TOMY argues, necessarily rest their weight 

against part of the flat portion. It is questionable whether 

this sidewall on the infant side is part of the seating surface

for the same reasons that the sidewall on the toddler side 

should not be part of the seating surface. 

2 During oral argument, TOMY’s counsel rather nonsensically argued a footrest would be “a seat for your feet” 

and therefore a seating surface. Oral Arg. at 43:06–23, 

available at https://oralarguments.cafc.uscourts.gov/default.aspx?fl=23-1524_06072024.mp3. 

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4 KIDS2, LLC v. TOMY INTERNATIONAL, INC.

sitting on the true seating surface, which in this case is the 

flat surface in Accused Tub where the toddler actually sits. 

Appellee’s Br. 3.

Based on Kids2’s internal documents, the Accused 

Tub’s central hump is not a seating surface but rather a 

restraint for how far forward a sitting toddler can move

within the tub. J.A. 1435 (“built-in contoured support 

keeps baby from sliding in the tub”); J.A. 1441 (“Horn reshaped to prevent slipping”). That kind of contoured support is no different in principle than, say, a contoured, 

concave-shaped backrest that would help maintain and 

confine the location of where the toddler sits. Such features 

help further define the sitting location, but they don’t serve 

as the sitting location itself. Because a restraint is something one, at most, rests against, not something that one 

sits on, I do not agree that “the sliding-prevention function 

of the raised hump of the bottom surface additionally supports a finding that the side surface of the raised hump is 

a ‘seating surface.’” Maj. at 15. Contrary to the majority’s 

assertions, reading Kids2’s internal documents “in the 

light most favorable to TOMY” does not require expanding

“seating surface” to include mechanisms that restrain 

movement, as doing so would eviscerate the term’s plain 

and ordinary meaning. Id. at 14. 

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KIDS2, LLC v. TOMY INTERNATIONAL, INC. 5

II

Under its second infringement theory, TOMY argues 

the near-vertical sidewall of the central hump is an “intervening structure,” leaving only a “horizontal seating surface” as the toddler seating surface. Appellant’s Reply 

Br. 23; see also Appellant’s Br. 20–21, 25–27. This theory 

benefits from not having to rely on a wall as counting as 

part of the “seating surface,” but the district court correctly 

spotted defects here as well. 

As a threshold matter, I believe the district court correctly construed the claim to exclude indirect joinder of the 

claimed two seating surfaces. Under its plain and ordinary 

meaning, “distal edges [of the two seating surfaces] joined 

at a bottom surface apex” means the seating surfaces’s distal edges are directly joined to each other through the apex. 

In other words, the distal edges cannot be indirectly joined

at the apex through an intervening structure. 

Dependent claim 18 does not clearly contemplate indirect joinder by a “central bottom surface portion” (i.e., intervening structure). The sole description of this term in 

the specification refers to an embodiment of the apex, as it 

necessarily encompasses the apex, and does not, as the majority asserts, refer to an intervening structure that indirectly joins the two seating surfaces. Maj. at 10 (quoting 

’209 patent at col. 2, ll. 64–67 (“The seating surfaces may 

be joined by a central bottom surface portion that rises 

from the distal edge of one of the seating surfaces to the 

distal edge of the other of the seating surfaces.”)). This understanding of “central bottom surface portion” is fully consistent with the district court’s construction of “apex,” 

which no party disputes: “an area of a high point of the bottom surface between the seating surfaces.” J.A. 76–77, 79

(emphasis added). 

Although the majority asserts the apex itself is an intervening structure that indirectly joins the distal edges, 

Maj. at 11–12, TOMY never argued the case that way. 

Case: 23-1524 Document: 58 Page: 24 Filed: 01/14/2025
6 KIDS2, LLC v. TOMY INTERNATIONAL, INC.

Rather, TOMY argues the unlabeled portion (yellow) is the 

“central bottom surface portion” that indirectly joins the 

seating surfaces’s distal edges at the apex 66 (pink). Appellant’s Br. 20–21 (see annotated Figure 13 below), 25–26; 

Appellant’s Reply Br. 10–11. Thus, TOMY clearly considers the apex as distinct from any alleged intervening structure. The majority, in my view, engages in its own 

independent inquiry untethered from TOMY’s arguments. 

Regardless, even if the claim is construed to include indirect joinder, TOMY’s infringement theory still fails because the Accused Tub would not meet the “two seating 

surfaces disposed at differing inclinations” limitation. 

TOMY admits that the Accused Tub’s toddler seat under 

this theory is “a horizontal seating surface.” Appellant’s 

Reply Br. 23. The majority asserts that the claim language 

does not exclude a horizontal angle of zero degrees to the 

bottom surface from the required “inclinations,” Maj. at 

17–18, but under its plain and ordinary meaning, an “inclination” is “a deviation from the true vertical or horizontal”

(i.e., “slant”). Inclination, Merriam-Webster, available at 

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/inclination. 

In other words, to say an inclination can be no inclination 

means this limitation is really no claim limitation at all. 

More importantly, TOMY never argues in its briefing 

to us that the claim includes “zero incline.” When asked 

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KIDS2, LLC v. TOMY INTERNATIONAL, INC. 7

about this at oral argument, TOMY argues what the majority argues now. Oral Arg. at 4:37–51 (arguing that the 

’209 patent contemplates “completely flat” seating surfaces 

because “an incline of zero is still something that is measurable”), 7:54–8:37 (arguing that “differing inclinations” is 

met because one seating surface is “horizontal” and the 

other seating surface is “pitched somewhat”), 9:18–44 (arguing that, “in the context of this patent,” all surfaces, even

a “flat” surface with “zero” incline, is “inclined”). But it is 

too late for TOMY to correct the defect from its briefs. See, 

e.g., Hannon v. Dep’t of Just., 234 F.3d 674, 680 (Fed. Cir.

2000) (arguments made after the opening appeal brief that 

are not in the opening brief come too late to be considered). 

Although the majority contends TOMY did argue that the 

claims include a zero-degree incline, Maj. at 16–17 (quoting

Appellant’s Br. 37, 45), those quotes were made in the context of the first infringement theory—in arguing that the 

near-vertical sidewall of the Accused Tub’s central hump is 

part of a seating surface—and were not asserted for alleging that a flat surface with no incline meets the “inclinations” limitation. That TOMY argued the claim includes a 

90-degree incline does not mean TOMY affirmatively argued the claim also includes a zero-degree incline. 

In addition to the plain and ordinary meaning, the 

prosecution history reinforces my view that the ’209 patent

claims require the two seating surfaces to be inclined at 

different angles. During prosecution, when the patent examiner “objected to the specification as failing to provide 

antecedent basis” for the “disposed at differing inclinations” limitation, TOMY pointed to Figure 13 and then explained the limitation was met because “surface 64 forms 

one seating surface, extending at inclination angle β1, and 

the other seating surface is formed by surface 70 and the 

extension of surface 70 that meets surface 64 at apex 66.” 

J.A. 695 (emphasis added). In other words, “generally horizontal seating surface 70” on its own was, in TOMY’s view,

insufficient to meet the limitation because, otherwise, 

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8 KIDS2, LLC v. TOMY INTERNATIONAL, INC.

TOMY need not have included the inclined extension of 

surface 70 as part of the toddler seating surface to overcome the examiner’s objection. ’209 patent at col. 5, l. 54. 

The majority contends that TOMY did not tell the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office the “generally horizontal” portion alone was insufficient, Maj. at 18, but in my view, it is 

quite clear that TOMY was explaining to the Patent Office 

that the toddler seating surface must include both horizontal surface 70 and the inclined extension of surface 70 to be 

“disposed at differing inclinations.” The specification does 

not present a contrary, or any, explanation of the extension 

of surface 70 depicted in yellow in annotated Figure 13.3 

See ’209 patent col. 5 ll. 40–55. TOMY should not be allowed to tell the courts one thing about what can be a seating surface with an inclination when it told the Patent 

Office something very different during prosecution. 

For TOMY to prevail under its second infringement 

theory, the inclined limitation would have to be met by noninclined surfaces. But that conflicts with the claim language and is neither supported by the record nor how this 

case was litigated. It was thus appropriate and correct for 

the district court to conclude that the claim “calls for two 

seating surfaces that rise at different angles” and such a 

limitation cannot be met by a “flat bottom surface,” J.A. 8, 

or, in TOMY’s own words, “a horizontal seating surface,” 

Appellant’s Reply Br. 23. 

3 The prosecution history is clear that the extension 

of surface 70 is a portion of the seating surface itself, rather 

than a separate intervening structure. J.A. 695. This undermines TOMY’s proposed construction, which argues the 

claim allows for indirect joinder of the seating surfaces’s 

distal edges because the extension of surface 70 is supposedly an “intervening structure.” Appellant’s Br. 20–21. 

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KIDS2, LLC v. TOMY INTERNATIONAL, INC. 9

CONCLUSION

For the foregoing reasons, I respectfully dissent. Although a party should have its right to trial when there are 

genuine issues of material fact, I see none here. I would 

affirm the district court on all issues. 

Case: 23-1524 Document: 58 Page: 28 Filed: 01/14/2025