Amazon Seller News: Patent Infringement Guide For Sellers

For over a decade, patent infringement has been one of the most troubling issues for sellers on Amazon. This is because not only do accusations of infringement threaten your listings and account, they can spiral into a full blown lawsuit if your case is not handled delicately. In recent weeks, the Amazon Sellers Lawyer team has again seen a rise in patent infringement allegations against independent sellers. In this blog, we give sellers a basic run down on the different types of intellectual property claims, discuss utility versus design patents, and go over the Amazon Sellers Lawyer ARP strategy for appeals.

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IP Intellectual Property Guide On Amazon

Patent infringement is one of the major areas of intellectual property (IP) enforcement on Amazon. It is vital that sellers understand the difference between different forms of IP in order to analyze your legal positioning.

• Copyright Complaints: Brand’s images, videos, or listing text.
• Patent Complaints: Brand’s unique design, features, or function.
• Counterfeit Allegations: Brand’s claim that you are selling unauthorized or replica products.
• Trademark Violations: Brand’s unique name, logo, or product description.
• Trade Dress: Accusations related to the packaging of your products

Patent infringement itself is divided into two major categories: utility and design patents. Utility patents focus on protecting the functionality of a product. Whereas design patents protect the look of a product. Patent law is unique to other forms of intellectual property as it requires extensive knowledge of how products themselves are designed. To be a member of the patent bar, lawyers must have completed a degree in a scientific field, giving them the knowledge to analyze the extent to which two products perform the same function.

Generally, patent infringement allegations are taken extremely seriously at Amazon, meaning your products or account may be suspended even before an entire investigation has been completed. Regardless of the merit of the allegations, your ability to sell can be shut down, with most independent sellers finding it extremely difficult to appeal on their own.

Appeal Account Amazon – Patent Infringement

For appealing IP related suspensions like patent infringement allegations, Amazon Sellers Lawyer makes use of our ARP strategy. This breaks down the order of the appeals process into three stages: analysis, retraction, and plan of action.

The first stage is analysis, where we look at the legal positioning of your case and discuss the options that expedite your account or product reinstatement. Analysis informs the rest of the appeals process as if there is a legitimate case against your products, it is important to approach negotiating for a retraction from a different standing.

Next, we seek a retraction from your complainant. Retractions are the best possible result for sellers as they can instantly clear the suspension from your account health and get you back to selling. During the retraction stage, we negotiate directly with your complainant based on what goals you want out of resolution and our legal analysis. If your product may be infringing and you are willing to exit the product space, we can also negotiate retraction in exchange for ceasing sale of targeted products.

Finally, we move to the plan of action stage, where we work with you to create an Amazon Plan of Action (POA) appeal. These documents officially appeal your case to Amazon’s enforcement team, and include three major written sections along with supporting documentation. By working with our team, we identify major evidence that supports your case, even offering the ability to create legal opinion letters which officially declare that our team does not believe your product is infringing.

However, some cases require multiple forms of appeals. Here, the Amazon Sellers Lawyer team continues to help you by offering the ability to legally escalate your case against Amazon in order to pressure for account and product reinstatement. Typically, we do this through the process of filing for arbitration, a private legal proceeding which amps up the pressure on Amazon to resolve your case.

Contact Amazon Sellers Lawyer Today!

At Amazon Sellers Lawyer, our team is here for you every step of the way in navigating claims against your e-commerce accounts. From negotiating with your complainant to creating escalated appeals against Amazon, our team has over a decade of experience helping sellers like you resolve these allegations. Additionally, unlike other services, our status as a law firm allows us to help you navigate if a brand decides to pursue litigation against your account. Our team, which has already prepared extensive evidence to support your Amazon appeal, can also be the people backing you up on your day in court.

Give us a call today for a free consultation at 212-256-1109 or fill out our online form linked here.

About the Author

CJ Rosenbaum, Esq.

CJ Rosenbaum is the founding partner of Amazon Sellers Lawyer. He’s been practicing law since 1995, and since 2016 his firm has focused exclusively on helping Amazon sellers deal with issues like suspensions, intellectual property disputes, and withheld funds.

CJ has written seven books on Amazon seller legal issues including the Amazon Sellers’ Guide to Copyright Law. He has spoken at major industry events like the Prosper Show, Global Sources Summit, Retail Global. CJ also works with the Amazon Sellers Lawyer team to provide free content for Amazon sellers. This is available through their online blog and YouTube channel, frequently covering major Amazon updates and important topics relevant to the seller space.

Through BrandProtectionAmazon.com, the firm also supports brands in protecting their products. This gives the team the unique opportunity to learn from case wins on both sides of the fence, strengthening protection for both the sellers and brands that Rosenbaum & Segall P.C. represents.

Amazon repeatedly rejecting your Plan of Action? Amazon Sellers Lawyer handles suspension appeals and account reinstatement cases – including arbitration against Amazon when they’re withholding seller money. Contact us to discuss your situation and figure out the best path forward.