EcoSafe Packaging Sues The Packaging Company Over Child-Resistant Tins, Jars, and Tubes.

The complaint

The case is EcoSafe Packaging, LLC v. International Sourcing & Manufacturing d/b/a The Packaging Company, No. 2:26-cv-10671 (C.D. Cal.), a patent complaint filed September 21, 2026 in the Western Division. EcoSafe Packaging, LLC is a Texas limited liability company based in Plano, Texas. The complaint alleges, on information and belief, that the defendant, International Sourcing & Manufacturing d/b/a The Packaging Company (TPC), is a company organized under California law with its headquarters in Long Beach, California. EcoSafe asserts U.S. Patent 12,600,538 and says it is the exclusive licensee of the patent with all substantial rights, including the right to enforce it and recover damages. Venue is pleaded under 28 U.S.C. § 1400(b) on the ground that TPC resides in the district, has committed acts of infringement there, and has a regular and established place of business there. The complaint demands a jury trial.

The patent and the asserted claims

U.S. Patent 12,600,538, titled "Child Resistant Container," issued April 14, 2026 from Application No. 19/310,459, filed August 26, 2025. The complaint asserts claims 1, 2, 4, 6, 7, 9, 10, 14, 15, 19, 20, 21, and 22, and says Exhibit 2 charts the accused products against those claims.

Independent claim 1 recites a cap assembly for a child-resistant container that includes, among other elements, an inner cap that couples to a container body, a metal outer cap coupled to the inner cap with the inner cap at least partially inside it, a plate between the inner and outer caps that is rotationally and axially fixed relative to the outer cap, female and male couplers configured to optionally engage one another, and a top of the outer cap that is configured to move between first and second positions relative to the inner cap along the cap assembly's central longitudinal axis. A female coupler is attached to either the inner cap or the plate and a male coupler to the other, and the female coupler's sides and the male coupler's sides extend upwardly or downwardly so the couplers can optionally engage. The claim also requires a volume of space at least partially enclosed beneath the bottom surface of the top of the outer cap and above at least one of the plate, the female coupler, the male coupler, and a combination thereof. At least a portion of the top of the outer cap can move along the cap assembly's central longitudinal axis between a first position, in which the outer cap rotates relative to the inner cap, and a second position closer to the top of the inner cap, in which the couplers engage and rotationally fix the inner and outer caps relative to one another. Independent claim 22 recites a child-resistant container that combines a container body having a central longitudinal axis, a closed base, an open top, and an exterior wall with a cap assembly having the same elements.

The accused products and notice

The complaint accuses TPC's "CR Round Tin Jars," "Child-Resistant Tin Jars," "Child-Resistant Aluminum Tubes," "Child-Resistant Glass Tubes with Aluminum Cap," and "Child-Resistant Aluminum Jars," and similar child-resistant containers, and alleges that they are distributed through TPC's website and its Long Beach location. It alleges that a licensee of the patent marks its products with the '538 patent and that EcoSafe has complied with the marking requirements of 35 U.S.C. § 287(a).

The complaint describes an earlier suit, No. 2:25-cv-10236 (C.D. Cal.), which EcoSafe filed against TPC on October 24, 2025 on U.S. Patents 10,513,375, 11,040,808, and 11,492,182. It alleges that EcoSafe notified TPC's counsel of the '538 patent and its infringement allegations on April 27, 2026, that EcoSafe gave TPC a proposed amended complaint and an infringement claim chart on May 14, 2026, and that after TPC did not agree to a stipulation, EcoSafe moved on May 21, 2026 to amend its complaint and infringement contentions in that case. It alleges that TPC has had knowledge of the '538 patent since at least April 27, 2026, or alternatively no later than May 14, 2026, and has continued making and selling the accused products.

The count

Count I alleges infringement of the '538 patent: direct infringement under 35 U.S.C. § 271(a); induced infringement under § 271(b), alleging that TPC supplies the accused products to its partners, distributors, and customers and instructs and encourages them to package their own goods in them; and contributory infringement under § 271(c), alleging that the accused products are especially made or adapted for infringing use and are not staple articles suitable for substantial non-infringing use. The complaint alleges that TPC's infringement has been willful and that TPC has at least been willfully blind to the '538 patent.

The relief sought

EcoSafe asks for a judgment that TPC has directly and/or indirectly infringed one or more claims; past and future damages under 35 U.S.C. § 284, including supplemental damages for any post-verdict infringement, with an accounting as needed; reasonable ongoing royalties after final judgment; a judgment that the infringement has been willful from the time TPC became aware of the infringing nature of its products, and treble damages under § 284; pre-judgment and post-judgment interest; costs; a finding that the case is exceptional under 35 U.S.C. § 285 and an award of attorneys' fees; and other relief the court deems just and proper.

The docket since filing

An answer to the complaint was filed October 28, 2026 (ECF No. 22). On October 29, 2026, the docket records that transfer of the case as a related case was declined (ECF No. 25).

What to watch next

Watch for a scheduling order in this case and for further proceedings in No. 2:25-cv-10236 on the earlier patents. The case can end at any time, including by settlement or voluntary dismissal.