Case: 23-1446   Document: 93     Page: 1   Filed: 05/06/2025




           NOTE: This order is nonprecedential.


   United States Court of Appeals
       for the Federal Circuit
                 ______________________

   FOCUS PRODUCTS GROUP INTERNATIONAL,
 LLC, ZAHNER DESIGN GROUP, LTD., HOOKLESS
  SYSTEMS OF NORTH AMERICA, INC., SURE FIT
 HOME PRODUCTS, LLC, SURE FIT HOME DECOR
    HOLDINGS CORP., SF HOME DECOR, LLC,
              Plaintiffs-Appellees

                            v.

     KARTRI SALES CO., INC., MARQUIS MILLS,
             INTERNATIONAL, INC.,
               Defendants-Appellants
              ______________________

       2023-1446, 2023-1450, 2023-2148, 2023-2149
                ______________________

    Appeals from the United States District Court for the
 Southern District of New York in No. 1:15-cv-10154-PAE,
 Judge Paul A. Engelmayer.
                  ______________________

                     SUA SPONTE
                 ______________________

  Before MOORE, Chief Judge, CLEVENGER and CHEN, Cir-
                      cuit Judges.
 PER CURIAM.

ORDER

Case: 23-1446    Document: 93      Page: 2    Filed: 05/06/2025




 2              FOCUS PRODUCTS GROUP INTERNATIONAL, LLC v.
                                      KARTRI SALES CO., INC.


     Kartri Sales Co., Inc. (Kartri) and Marquis Mills Inter-
 national, Inc. (Marquis, collectively, Appellants) filed non-
 compliant briefs that divided the issues on appeal and at-
 tempted to incorporate by reference each other’s briefs. See
 ECF No. 25 at 30 (Kartri); ECF No. 26 at 26, 43 (Marquis).
 Kartri’s brief focused on the trademark and trade dress is-
 sues, while Marquis’s brief concentrated on the patent
 claim construction and infringement issues. Appellees ob-
 jected to Appellants’ briefs as effectively doubling Appel-
 lants’ word count and argued it would be inequitable for
 Appellees to have half the words to address the same is-
 sues. ECF No. 33 at 2.
      We struck the non-compliant briefs and ordered Appel-
 lants to file corrected opening briefs. ECF No. 43 at 2. We
 explained “incorporation cannot be used to exceed word
 count” and “[t]he incorporated material counts against the
 litigants’ word count in exactly the same manner as if it
 had been expressly included in the brief.” Id. (quoting Mi-
 crosoft Corp. v. DataTern, Inc., 

 (Fed. Cir.
 2014)); see also Promptu Sys. Corp. v. Comcast Cable
 Commc’ns, LLC, 

 (Fed. Cir. 2024); Med-
 tronic, Inc. v. Teleflex Life Scis. Ltd., 

 (Fed. Cir. 2023). We also explained the non-compliant
 briefs contravened our rule limiting opening briefs to
 14,000 words. ECF No. 43 at 2 (citing Fed. Cir. R. 32(b)(1)).
 Despite our rule and order, Appellants re-filed briefs which
 again continued to divide the issues for treatment. See
 ECF No. 46 (Kartri); ECF No. 48 (Marquis). For instance,
 Marquis spent over twenty pages addressing patent in-
 fringement covering three patents and multiple disputed
 claim terms, while Kartri spent less than one page on all
 patent issues. Compare ECF No. 48 at 35–56, with ECF
 No. 46 at 40–41.
     We understand Kartri and Marquis, even without ex-
 pressly saying so, are each continuing to seek the benefit of
 any winning argument that was adequately presented only
 by the other Appellant. If our understanding is correct, the
Case: 23-1446     Document: 93     Page: 3    Filed: 05/06/2025




 FOCUS PRODUCTS GROUP INTERNATIONAL, LLC v.                  3
 KARTRI SALES CO., INC.


 Appellants are ordered to show cause why their briefing
 choices do not amount to another violation of our word
 count limit for opening briefs, as well as our prior order en-
 forcing the word limit.
     IT IS ORDERED THAT:
     (1) Counsel for Appellants are to independently show
 cause why they should not be sanctioned for violating our
 court rule (Fed. Cir. R. 32(b)(1)) and our prior order (ECF
 No. 43). Appellants are also directed to explain what an
 appropriate sanction would be.
     (2) By May 15, 2025, Appellants are directed to file sep-
 arate briefs not to exceed 10 pages each, double spaced.


                                               FOR THE COURT




 May 6, 2025
    Date