Coda Development S.R.O. v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company

• Court: Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
• Decided: December 8, 2025
• Docket: 23-1880
• Status: Published

Opinion

Case: 23-1880 Document: 59 Page: 1 Filed: 12/08/2025

United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ______________________

CODA DEVELOPMENT S.R.O., CODA INNOVATIONS S.R.O., FRANTISEK HRABAL, Plaintiffs-Appellants

v.

GOODYEAR TIRE & RUBBER COMPANY, ROBERT BENEDICT, Defendants-Appellees ______________________

2023-1880 ______________________

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio in No. 5:15-cv-01572-SL, Judge Sara Lioi. ______________________

Decided: December 8, 2025 ______________________

BOYD CLOERN, Steptoe LLP, Washington, DC, argued for plaintiffs-appellants. Also represented by JOSEPH F. ECKER, LEAH MARGARET QUADRINO, SCOTT RICHEY, CHRISTOPHER ALAN SUAREZ.

GREGORY A. CASTANIAS, Jones Day, Washington, DC, argued for defendants-appellees. Also represented by TRACY A. STITT; JOHN CHARLES EVANS, CALVIN GRIFFITH, Case: 23-1880 Document: 59 Page: 2 Filed: 12/08/2025

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THOMAS KOGLMAN, DAVID MICHAEL MAIORANA, Cleveland, OH. ______________________

Before LOURIE, DYK, and CUNNINGHAM, Circuit Judges. CUNNINGHAM, Circuit Judge. Coda Development s.r.o., Coda Innovations s.r.o., and Frantisek Hrabal (collectively, “Coda”) appeal a decision of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio holding that Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company and Robert Benedict (collectively, “Goodyear”) were entitled to judgment as a matter of law of no trade secret misappro- priation and denying correction of inventorship of Good- year’s U.S. Patent No. 8,042,586 (the “’586 patent”). See Coda Dev. s.r.o. v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., 667 F. Supp. 3d 590, 611 (N.D. Ohio 2023) (“JMOL Deci- sion”); Coda Dev. s.r.o. v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., 667 F. Supp. 3d 567, 589 (N.D. Ohio 2023) (“Bench Deci- sion”). For the reasons below, we affirm. I. BACKGROUND Coda sued Goodyear in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, raising, among other things, claims for trade secret misappropriation un- der Ohio state law and correction of inventorship of the ’586 patent. 1 JMOL Decision at 593; J.A. 158–96. Both the as- serted trade secrets and the ’586 patent relate to self-

1 This appeal marks the second time that this case is before this court. Previously, we vacated the district court’s dismissal and remanded the case to the district court to allow Coda to amend its complaint. CODA Dev. s.r.o. v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., 916 F.3d 1350, 1362 (Fed. Cir. 2019). The amended complaint similarly raised trade secret and correction of inventorship claims. See JMOL Decision at 594 & n.3; J.A. 1120; J.A. 1943–2131. Case: 23-1880 Document: 59 Page: 3 Filed: 12/08/2025

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inflating tire (“SIT”) technology. See, e.g., JMOL Decision at 595–97; ’586 patent col. 1 ll. 5–7; id. at col. 10 ll. 29–54. The district court held a jury trial on Coda’s trade se- cret claims in September 2022. JMOL Decision at 598. The jury found that Goodyear had misappropriated five of Coda’s alleged trade secrets and awarded Coda $2.8 million in compensatory damages and $61.2 million in punitive damages. Id. at 598–99; J.A. 17997–8001. These five al- leged trade secrets, the only ones at issue on appeal, were defined by Coda as described below: TS 7: Coda’s design and development of a multi- purpose interface for transporting air in a self-in- flating tire that can connect to the air source, con- nect to the tire interior, connect to the peristaltic pump, serve as an end to the peristaltic pump, con- nect to the regulator, carry the regulator, go around or through the bead, go around or through the tire layers, click to the bead and hold the filter; TS 11: Coda’s knowledge of how to design and de- velop self-inflating tire pump and groove solutions, consisting of round pump tubing in an outward-fac- ing groove with straight, angled interior geometry; pump tubing with geometry that interlocks with its seat; pump tubing with elliptical interior cross-sec- tion; variant pump tube, groove and chamber di- mensions, size and materials; pump tube and groove design to minimize internal friction; a “tube- less” pump solution (i.e., a pump that may compose an integral part of tire); cross-section designs that minimize stress on compression in order to improve durability; and tubing with reinforced wall; TS 20: Coda’s knowledge of how to design and de- velop self-inflating tire systems with circulating and non-circulating pump variations, comprised of the disclosure of technical information through ob- servations and descriptions of the three-way valve Case: 23-1880 Document: 59 Page: 4 Filed: 12/08/2025

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regulator, and explanations of the function and air- paths for the states of recirculation and inflation; closure elements related to recirculation systems and a pressurized air reservoir that would permit the storage of air within the system without the need to engage the pump tube with each tire revo- lution; recirculation at different pressures, such as ambient pressure; recirculation through various paths, such as through the tire, the atmosphere and the pump tube; the safety benefit of recirculat- ing around the pump tube isolated from the tire cavity; a check valve on intake (between the pump tube and the atmosphere) to only permit air in when pressure in the pump tube falls below atmos- pheric pressure; and a check valve on output (be- tween the pump tube and tire interior) to only allow air into the tire when pressure in the pump tube exceeds the tire pressure; TS 23: Coda’s development of a functional self-in- flating tire as demonstrated by the test results con- firming that the tire pump can generate pressure higher than the pressure in the tire cavity, through the test results showing that the pump placed on the tread could generate 6.5 absolute atmospheres of pressure (5.5 relative atmospheres); the test re- sults showing that the tube-in-groove pump of the prototype could generate 3.3 absolute atmospheres of pressure; and test results that demonstrated that the Flap Tubes could generate 1 relative at- mosphere of pressure; TS 24: Coda’s knowledge regarding the optimal lo- cation for placement of a pump in a tire for tire manufacturers, namely, in the sidewall close to, and above, the rim where the tire cyclically deforms in response to deformation. Case: 23-1880 Document: 59 Page: 5 Filed: 12/08/2025

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JMOL Decision at 596–98, 611 (cleaned up); Appellants’ Br. 16–40. Following trial, the district court granted Goodyear’s motion for judgment as a matter of law under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 50(b), concluding that (1) TS 7, TS 11, TS 20, and TS 24 are not sufficiently definite; (2) TS 11, TS 20, TS 23, and TS 24 are not “secret;” (3) TS 7, TS 11, TS 20, and TS 23 had never been used or disclosed by Good- year; and (4) TS 11 and TS 20 were never conveyed by Coda to Goodyear. JMOL Decision at 602–11. After considering the parties’ briefs in lieu of a bench trial, see Bench Decision at 572–73; see also id. at 571 (citing Fed. R. Civ. P. 52(a)(1)), the trial court denied Coda’s correction of in- ventorship claim and denied its other pertinent requests for relief. Id. at 589. Coda timely appeals. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1295(a)(1). II. STANDARD OF REVIEW “In reviewing district court judgments, we apply the law of the circuit in which the district court sits with re- spect to nonpatent issues, but we apply our own law to is- sues of substantive patent law.” In re Spalding Sports Worldwide, Inc., 203 F.3d 800, 803 (Fed. Cir. 2000). Under Sixth Circuit law, a district court’s grant of judgment as a matter of law under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 50 is reviewed de novo. Kusens v. Pascal Co., 448 F.3d 349, 360 (6th Cir. 2006). “The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure au- thorize courts to enter judgment as a matter of law against a plaintiff upon finding that ‘a reasonable jury would not have a legally sufficient evidentiary basis to find’ in [its] favor.” Mosby-Meachem v. Memphis Light, Gas & Water Div., 883 F.3d 595, 602 (6th Cir. 2018) (quoting Fed. R. Civ. P. 50). “In making such a determination, the courts must view the evidence in the light most favorable to the non- movant, granting all reasonable inferences in [its] favor.” Id. In reviewing decisions issued pursuant to Federal Rule Case: 23-1880 Document: 59 Page: 6 Filed: 12/08/2025

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of Civil Procedure 52(a), the Sixth Circuit reviews the dis- trict court’s conclusions of law de novo, and its findings of fact for clear error. S.C. v. Metro. Gov’t of Nashville, 86 F.4th 707, 714 (6th Cir. 2023). III. DISCUSSION On appeal, Coda argues that the district court erred by (1) setting aside the jury’s verdict that Coda had five valid trade secrets that were misappropriated by Goodyear, Ap- pellants’ Br. 16–40; (2) rejecting Coda’s equitable claims for injunctive relief and correction of inventorship of the ’586 patent, id. at 50–52; (3) concluding that Coda had not raised a reasonable royalty damages theory and declining to give a corresponding jury instruction, id. at 40–50; and (4) “suggesting” that laches barred Coda’s claims, id. at 52–56. Coda also requested that the case be reassigned to another district court judge in the event of a remand. Id. at 56–61. Because we affirm the district court’s judgment with respect to the trade secret and correction of inventor- ship claims, we do not address Coda’s arguments relating to damages, injunctive relief, laches, and case reassign- ment. See id. at 40–61. A. We first address Coda’s argument that the district court erred in concluding that Goodyear was not liable for trade secret misappropriation. Appellants’ Br. 23–40. Specifically, Coda challenges the district court’s determi- nation that each trade secret was not sufficiently definite, not secret, and/or not used or disclosed by Goodyear. Id. We agree with the district court that no reasonable jury Case: 23-1880 Document: 59 Page: 7 Filed: 12/08/2025

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could find that all elements of a trade secret misappropri- ation claim were satisfied for each asserted trade secret. 2 We first provide an overview of the Ohio Uniform Trade Secrets Act (“OUTSA”), which governs the trade se- cret claims in this case. The OUTSA defines “trade secret” as: (D) “Trade secret” means information, including the whole or any portion or phase of any scientific or technical information, design, process, proce- dure, formula, pattern, compilation, program, de- vice, method, technique, or improvement, or any business information or plans, financial infor- mation, or listing of names, addresses, or telephone numbers, that satisfies both of the following: (1) It derives independent economic value, actual or potential, from not being generally known to, and not being readily ascertainable by proper means by, other persons who can obtain economic value from its disclosure or use. (2) It is the subject of efforts that are reasonable under the circumstances to maintain its secrecy. Ohio Rev. Code. § 1333.61(D). To succeed on a trade secrets misappropriation claim, a plaintiff must show: “(1) the existence of a trade secret; (2) acquisition of the trade secret as the result of a

2 The parties dispute whether trade secret definite- ness under the Ohio Uniform Trade Secrets Act is an issue of fact or an issue of law. See Appellants’ Br. 18–22; Appel- lees’ Br. 44–46. Because we conclude that TS 7, TS 11, TS 20, and TS 24 are not sufficiently definite even under a no reasonable jury standard, resolution of this issue does not affect our conclusion regarding the definiteness of these asserted trade secrets, and we decline to address this issue. Case: 23-1880 Document: 59 Page: 8 Filed: 12/08/2025

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confidential relationship or through improper means; and (3) an unauthorized use of the trade secret.” Novus Grp., LLC v. Prudential Fin., Inc., 74 F.4th 424, 427–28 (6th Cir. 2023) (citing Tomaydo-Tomahhdo L.L.C. v. Vozary, 82 N.E.3d 1180, 1184 (Ohio Ct. App. 2017); Ohio Rev. Code. § 1333.61(B)(1)). 3 In addition, a trade secret plaintiff must “defin[e] the information for which protection is sought with sufficient definiteness to permit a court to ap- ply the criteria for protection . . . and to determine the fact of an appropriation.” Caudill Seed & Warehouse Co. v. Jar- row Formulas, Inc., 53 F.4th 368, 380–81 (6th Cir. 2022) (quoting Restatement (Third) of Unfair Competition § 39 cmt. d) (addressing claims under the Kentucky Uniform Trade Secrets Act); see also Ohio Rev. Code § 1333.68 (stat- ing the sections of the act “shall be applied and construed to effectuate their general purpose to make uniform the law with respect to their subject among states enacting them.”). i. We begin with TS 24, the trade secret that served as the primary focus in the parties’ briefing and during oral argument. Coda argues that the district court erred in con- cluding that TS 24 was not defined with sufficient

3 While a regional circuit court’s interpretation of the law of states within their borders does not serve as binding precedent upon this court, it is entitled to weight as the court “‘better schooled in’ the law of the particular State involved.” Whitewater W. Indus., Ltd. v. Alleshouse, 981 F.3d 1045, 1051 (Fed. Cir. 2020) (quoting Brockett v. Spokane Arcades, Inc., 472 U.S. 491, 500 (1985)); see In re Dow Corning Corp., 778 F.3d 545, 549 (6th Cir. 2015) (“Unless the home circuit has ‘disregarded clear signals emanating from the state’s highest court pointing towards a different rule’ we will avoid creating ‘the oddity of a split in the circuits over the correct application’ of one state’s law.” (citation omitted)). Case: 23-1880 Document: 59 Page: 9 Filed: 12/08/2025

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particularity and was not kept secret. Appellants’ Br. 23– 31. We disagree that the district court erred. We conclude that the district court correctly deter- mined that (1) Coda publicly disclosed the information cov- ered by TS 24, and (2) to the extent that TS 24 covered knowledge not disclosed in Coda’s publications, Coda failed to identify TS 24 with sufficient particularity. TS 24 is di- rected to “Coda’s knowledge regarding the optimal location for placement of a pump in a tire,” which the trade secret explains is “in the sidewall close to, and above, the rim.” JMOL Decision at 598. However, Coda disclosed this placement in a 2007 PCT application and a 2008 article published in Tire Technology. See id. at 603–04; J.A. 252– 96 (International Patent Application Publication No. WO 2007/134556 (filed May 23, 2007; published November 29, 2007)); J.A. 23863–67. For example, the 2007 PCT appli- cation discloses that a pump can be located “at any place in the wall of the tire . . . or in its vicinity, so for example, in the tread or side wall of the tire.” J.A. 274 at col. 21 ll. 1– 3; see, e.g., J.A. 289 at Fig. 2(c); J.A. 271–72 at col. 18 l. 27 to col. 19 l. 3 (explaining that the pump can be located in a “lug boss on the tire . . . wall” as shown in Fig. 2(c)). Simi- larly, the 2008 Tire Technology article discloses that “[t]he peristaltic tubing can be implemented in the tire wall . . . as a crevice in the tire sidewall.” J.A. 23865; see, e.g., J.A. 23866 at Fig. 4. Mr. Hrabal confirmed this under- standing of the two publications at trial. See, e.g., J.A. 15756 at 624:14 (“The lug boss is part of the tire side- wall.”); J.A. 15795 at 663:2 (“The lug boss is on the rim near and above the rim.”); J.A. 15757 at 625:9–12 (“Q. So locating a peristaltic pump in the tire sidewall near the rim in an area where it cyclically deforms was not a trade se- cret? A. This is public.”). Thus, the district court did not err in concluding that no reasonable jury could find that the information contained in TS 24, as defined by Coda, qualified as a trade secret. Case: 23-1880 Document: 59 Page: 10 Filed: 12/08/2025

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Coda’s attempt to differentiate TS 24 from the disclo- sures in the publications runs into a different obstacle— definiteness. Relying on Mr. Hrabal’s trial testimony, Coda asserts that the 2007 PCT application and the 2008 Tire Technology article do not disclose a pump that was “part of a conventional tire sidewall,” Appellants’ Br. 26– 27 (citing J.A. 15748) (emphasis added), or in the sidewall of a “standard tire . . . as they look today, or at the time of this application.” J.A. 15956 at 824:8–9; Appellants’ Br. 30–31 (citing J.A. 15956–58) (emphasis added). How- ever, these limiting terms are not present in the definition of TS 24, as set forth in Coda’s interrogatory responses in compliance with the district court’s order to provide “a com- plete list of the trade secrets (with particularity).” 4 J.A. 2343; JMOL Decision at 594–95, 604. We reject Coda’s attempt to belatedly introduce additional specificity into the trade secret based on Mr. Hrabal’s trial testimony and attorney argument. Coda’s insistence that TS 24 con- tains these additional limitations demonstrates Coda’s fail- ure to identify TS 24 with sufficient specificity to “separate the purported trade secret from the other information that was known to the trade.” TLS Mgmt. & Mktg. Servs., LLC v. Rodríguez-Toledo, 966 F.3d 46, 54 (1st Cir. 2020) (cleaned up); see Mallet & Co. v. Lacayo, 16 F.4th 364, 384 (3d Cir. 2021) (“When the breadth of a trade secret descrip- tion is so far-reaching that it includes publicly available in- formation (like patent disclosures) and admitted industry knowledge, that information is not specific enough to be ac- corded trade secret status.”). We find no reversible error in the district court’s determination that TS 24 is not entitled to trade secret status.

4 Notably, the trial court ordered that Coda provide a “closed” recital of the trade secrets in its interrogatory responses. See J.A. 2349–50. Coda’s briefing contains no indication that it is appealing this order. Case: 23-1880 Document: 59 Page: 11 Filed: 12/08/2025

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ii. Turning to TS 7, TS 11, and TS 20, Coda argues that the district court erred in concluding that these trade se- crets are not identified with sufficient specificity and were not used by Goodyear. Appellants’ Br. 31–37. Coda also challenges the determination that TS 11 and TS 20 were also not secret. Id. We find no reversible error in the dis- trict court’s determination that these trade secrets are not sufficiently definite and were not used by Goodyear. 5 The district court did not err in determining that Coda failed to define TS 7, TS 11, and TS 20 with sufficient par- ticularity. TS 7 covers “Coda’s design and development of a multi-purpose interface for transporting air in a self-in- flating tire that can” perform a list of ten functions, includ- ing “connect[ing],” “go[ing] around or through,” and “hold[ing]” other components. JMOL Decision at 596. Ab- sent from TS 7, however, is any description of the infor- mation for which trade secret protection is sought—the “design and development” knowledge that would enable someone to develop this interface. Id. Rather, TS 7 merely describes the functions that can be performed by the final product created by the knowledge in TS 7. Coda’s emphasis of Mr. Hrabal’s testimony regarding the “specific value” of the interface is misguided as this testimony fails to address the relevant issue at hand—whether the articulation of TS 7 sufficiently defines the “design and development” in- formation. See Appellants’ Br. 31 (citing J.A. 15559–61;

5 With respect to TS 11 and TS 20, we need not reach the issue of disclosure by Goodyear or secrecy due to our conclusion that Coda fails to prove other required elements of its trade secret misappropriation claim. For the same reason, we do not address the parties’ dispute over whether the district court concluded that TS 7 was not secret. See Appellants’ Br. 32 n.1; Appellees’ Br. 51–52; Appellants’ Reply Br. 11. Case: 23-1880 Document: 59 Page: 12 Filed: 12/08/2025

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J.A. 15591). Furthermore, the listed functions are de- scribed in vague terms with no detail regarding how those functions are carried out. See, e.g., Caudill Seed, 53 F.4th at 381 (“[A] plaintiff asserting a combination trade secret over highly complex technical information cannot merely offer ‘lists of broad technical concepts identifying categories of information’ without showing which information con- tained within those categories constituted a trade secret.” (cleaned up)); BondPro Corp. v. Siemens Power Generation, Inc., 463 F.3d 702, 710 (7th Cir. 2006) (explaining that a trade secret “described in general terms . . . will usually be widely known and thus not worth incurring costs to try to conceal and so not a trade secret”). Thus, Coda failed to fully articulate what aspects of TS 7 constituted a protect- able trade secret. As the district court correctly recognized, TS 11 and TS 20 face similar definiteness problems, including that they are “articulated [as] no more than an undifferentiated list of components” described in vague terms and that they contain “no disclosure of what [the claimed] knowledge is and/or what the design or development is.” JMOL Decision at 606–07; see id. at 596–97. For the same reasons ex- plained above with respect to TS 7, the district court did not err in concluding that TS 11 and TS 20 are not suffi- ciently definite. Even if TS 7, TS 11, and TS 20 were valid trade secrets, the district court correctly concluded no reasonable jury could find that Goodyear used these trade secrets. As ex- plained, the descriptions of TS 7, TS 11, and TS 20 all in- clude lists of components or functions. With respect to TS 7, Coda challenges the district court’s finding that the testimony of its expert, Mr. Coughlin, was vague and failed to identify all ten TS 7 functions in the Goodyear patent that allegedly disclosed TS 7, see JMOL Decision at 605, on the basis that “[t]he unauthorized use need not extend to every aspect or feature of the trade secret; use of any sub- stantial portion of the secret is sufficient.” Appellants’ Case: 23-1880 Document: 59 Page: 13 Filed: 12/08/2025

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Br. 32 (quoting Restatement (Third) of Unfair Competition § 40 cmt. c); see also Caudill Seed, 53 F.4th at 385 (reject- ing the argument “that trade-secrets law requires showing acquisition of each atom of a combination trade secret”). However, Coda’s assertion that the few TS 7 functions identified by Mr. Coughlin as allegedly being in unauthor- ized use constitute a “substantial portion of the secret” rests on Mr. Coughlin’s conclusory assertions that “Good- year patented a configuration that is essentially a concept of [TS 7’s] concept” and a “perfect knock-off of that technol- ogy.” Appellants’ Br. 32 (quoting and modifying J.A. 16250 at 1118:4–9). As Mr. Coughlin’s conclusory testimony “is not supported by sufficient facts . . . it cannot support a jury’s verdict.” Brooke Grp. Ltd. v. Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corp., 509 U.S. 209, 242 (1993). Coda’s arguments regarding Goodyear’s use of TS 11 and TS 20 fail for similar reasons. With respect to TS 11, Coda argues that Goodyear disclosed substantial aspects of TS 11 in Goodyear’s patents and other documents. Appel- lants’ Br. 33 (citing J.A. 16763; J.A. 80–81; J.A. 20017–100 as “disclosing ‘passageway’ pump, i.e., a tubeless solution”; then citing J.A. 16766–67; J.A. 21664 as disclosing “an el- liptical cross section was easiest to pinch”; then citing J.A. 20163; J.A. 20257 (Figure 5-1); J.A. 22193; J.A. 22262 (Figure 5-2) as “showing tubeless solution”). Coda’s cita- tions, however, only speak to usage of two of TS 11’s eight components. Even if we ignore the lack of evidentiary sup- port for Goodyear’s assertion that these two elements con- stitute “substantial aspects of TS 11,” Appellants’ Br. 33, Coda fails to refute Goodyear’s assertion that these ele- ments were previously publicly disclosed. See Appellees’ Br. 55; id. at 15–16 (citing J.A. 290 (Figs. 3(d)–(f)); J.A. 271 at 18:27–29; J.A. 15768–69 at 636:23–637:4; J.A. 15933 at 801:6–25); Appellants’ Reply Br. 11–14. With respect to TS 20, Coda again alleges use of only two of the seven ele- ments in the combination. See Appellants’ Br. 36–37 (“Goodyear used both the dead space and the recirculation Case: 23-1880 Document: 59 Page: 14 Filed: 12/08/2025

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concepts . . . .” (citing J.A. 15621; J.A. 16762–63)). And Coda similarly fails to refute Goodyear’s assertion that these concepts were disclosed in Coda’s patent applications and public presentations. See Appellees’ Br. 16–18 (citing J.A. 24021–63; J.A. 23960; J.A. 23970; J.A. 16258 at 1126:19–25); Appellants’ Reply Br. 14–15. For the rea- sons stated, we conclude that the district court did not err by concluding that no reasonable jury could find that Coda met its burden of proving all elements of its trade secret misappropriation claim based on TS 7, TS 11, and TS 20. iii. We now turn to the last trade secret, TS 23. Coda ar- gues that the district court erred in concluding that TS 23 was not used by Goodyear. Appellants’ Br. 37–40. We dis- agree. Coda presents insufficient evidence for a reasonable jury to find that Goodyear used TS 23. At trial, the only alleged evidence of use presented by Coda was a January 21, 2009 email that did not contain the test results de- scribed in TS 23. 6 See JMOL Decision at 609; J.A. 23469 (disclosing only the test results of “approximately 6.5A ab- solute pressure (or 5.5A relative pressure)” (cleaned up)); J.A. 15546 at 414:9–24 (Mr. Hrabal corroborating the test results disclosed in the email). Coda argues that it is irrelevant “that the specific test- ing results described in the email and those in TS 23 do not

6 Goodyear claims that none of the test results be- tween TS 23 and the email match. See Appellees’ Br. 58 (arguing that the email discloses the test result of achiev- ing “6.5A of pressure in Coda’s prototype tire,” but TS 23 discloses “6.5A from a pump in the tread”). As it does not affect our disposition, we assume for the sake of our analy- sis that matching numerical measurements are indicative of matching test results. Case: 23-1880 Document: 59 Page: 15 Filed: 12/08/2025

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exactly match, because [Mr.] Hrabal testified that he dis- closed TS 23 to Goodyear, and Goodyear plainly relied on Coda’s testing data.” Appellants’ Br. 39–40 (citing J.A. 15546–47; J.A. 15584). The testimony Coda relies on, however, does not indicate that Mr. Hrabal disclosed all the testing results in TS 23 to Goodyear. Rather, Mr. Hra- bal testified that TS 23 was “related to [the] testing results communicated to Goodyear” and was being asserted in this case, J.A. 15584 at 452:19–24, and that the “post meeting e-mail . . . shows this information about the results” that were discussed at the meeting. J.A. 15546 at 414:9–16 (ref- erencing J.A. 23469). As already discussed, the testing re- sults reflected in the email do not encompass all results covered in TS 23. See J.A. 23469. Coda nevertheless ar- gues that there were “numerous other reasonable infer- ences” that support the jury verdict. Appellants’ Br. 39. Namely, Coda argues that the “testing results gave Good- year further reason to believe in the technology,” pointing to a Goodyear presentation that noted that Goodyear had plans to “[i]nitiate next steps from a technology point of view” for its SIT project on January 30, 2009 and subse- quently “confirmed that the project was a ‘Go’” in late March 2009. Id. (citing J.A. 22170–71). We do not agree with Coda that the timing of Goodyear’s project launch alone constitutes sufficient evidence from which a reason- able jury could find Goodyear’s usage of TS 23, especially when there is no evidence tying TS 23 to the project and no evidence indicating all the information in TS 23 was con- veyed to Goodyear. For the reasons stated, we affirm the district court’s judgment as a matter of law with respect to the trade secret claims. B. Lastly, we address Coda’s challenge to the district court’s denial of its claim for correction of inventorship of the ’586 patent. Coda argues that the district court erred Case: 23-1880 Document: 59 Page: 16 Filed: 12/08/2025

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with respect to its correction of inventorship claim because it erroneously threw out the jury’s verdict under Rule 50(b), and that the district court is bound by any pertinent fact- finding of the jury when deciding equitable claims. See Ap- pellants’ Br. 50–52. Accordingly, Coda’s challenges to the district court’s judgments regarding the correction of in- ventorship and trade secret claims rise and fall together because Coda’s sole argument supporting reversal of the district court’s denial of correction of inventorship is that the district court improperly granted judgment as a matter of law with respect to Coda’s trade secret claims. See id. at 50–52 (raising only the argument that the district court’s judgment regarding correction of inventorship must be reversed because the district court erred in granting Goodyear’s Rule 50(b) motion with respect to the trade se- cret claims). As we affirmed the district court’s judgment that no reasonable jury could find Goodyear liable for trade secret misappropriation, we conclude that the district court’s denial of the correction of inventorship claim also was not erroneous. Moreover, Coda’s challenge separately fails because it is premised on the position that the district court improp- erly ignored the jury’s factual findings. See id. at 51–52; Appellants’ Reply Br. 21–24. In reaching its conclusion that Coda failed to show it was entitled to correction of in- ventorship of the ’586 patent, the district court noted dif- ferences between the locations of the pump assembly covered by TS 24 and by the ’586 patent claims and deter- mined that the trade secret and patent claims do not cover the same scope. See Bench Decision at 587–89. The jury, however, was never asked to compare the scopes of the ’586 patent claims and TS 24. See J.A. 17996–18002. Accord- ingly, the district court’s finding that TS 24 and the ’586 patent claims have different scopes does not conflict with the jury’s findings. The district court did not err in con- cluding that Coda’s alleged trade secret is insufficient evi- dence to show that Mr. Hrabal was the sole inventor of the Case: 23-1880 Document: 59 Page: 17 Filed: 12/08/2025

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’586 patent. See Fina Oil & Chem. Co. v. Ewen, 123 F.3d 1466, 1473 (Fed. Cir. 1997) (“Conception is the touchstone to determining inventorship.”); REG Synthetic Fuels, LLC v. Neste Oil Oyj, 841 F.3d 954, 962 (Fed. Cir. 2016) (“Con- ception must include every feature or limitation of the claimed invention.”). Thus, the district court’s conclusion did not result from erroneously ignoring factual findings made by the jury. For the reasons stated, we affirm the district court’s judgment regarding Coda’s correction of inventorship claim. IV. CONCLUSION We have considered Coda’s remaining arguments and find them unpersuasive. We affirm the district court’s judgment. AFFIRMED