Federal Circuit Summary For Week Ending February 28, 2020

Collabo Innovations, Inc. v. Sony Corp., Nos. 2019-1152 and 2019-1154 (February 25, 2020) (nonprecedential); Patent No. 7,023,034

Key point(s):

• Arguments are waived on appeal when not timely raised before the trial court; it is untimely to contest claim construction for the first time at trial when the contested construction is used to institute proceedings
• An illustration, combined with expert testimony, can be substantial evidence showing that a claim limitation is taught even if the claim limitation is not explicitly described in the specification

In re JC Hospitality LLC, Nos. 2018-2048, 2018-2049 (February 28, 2020) (nonprecedential); Trademark Application Serial Nos. 86/525,425 and 86/525,431

Key point(s):

• A word that is a double entendre but does not bear any relationship to the good or services applied for is likely generic and not registrable
• A showing of distinctiveness needs more evidence than sales and marketing figures for the applicant’s businesses in isolation