Invalid Patent Infringement Claim
Hey guys,
Been selling on Amazon for a couple years now. Recently I have been subject to a patent infringement which is totally false. I even paid a lawyer to compile a document showing how my product is different to the person claiming. The account health team don’t even review it, they just instantly reject it and is very infuriating. Our business relies on that 1 product and we get no help from Amazon. You try calling them and they don’t ever have a straight answer, on top of that they hang up on you when they know they are wrong! My manufacturer has a patent for the design and has provided me with the LOA, however Amazon just do not look at it.
It is really unfair that Amazon do nothing to stop this malicious claims. They keep telling me to reach out to the person who submitted it but they never reply, I mean why would they? They now have less competition.
Can anyone provide any advice? They told me to file claims etc. but that would out very expensive.
Thanks in advance
@Ash_Amazon I noticed you helped someone with a similar issue
@Venessa_Amazon @Danii_Amazon @Xeno_Amazon @Noor_Amazon
Blockquote
Invalid Patent Infringement Claim
Hey guys,
Been selling on Amazon for a couple years now. Recently I have been subject to a patent infringement which is totally false. I even paid a lawyer to compile a document showing how my product is different to the person claiming. The account health team don’t even review it, they just instantly reject it and is very infuriating. Our business relies on that 1 product and we get no help from Amazon. You try calling them and they don’t ever have a straight answer, on top of that they hang up on you when they know they are wrong! My manufacturer has a patent for the design and has provided me with the LOA, however Amazon just do not look at it.
It is really unfair that Amazon do nothing to stop this malicious claims. They keep telling me to reach out to the person who submitted it but they never reply, I mean why would they? They now have less competition.
Can anyone provide any advice? They told me to file claims etc. but that would out very expensive.
Thanks in advance
@Ash_Amazon I noticed you helped someone with a similar issue
@Venessa_Amazon @Danii_Amazon @Xeno_Amazon @Noor_Amazon
Blockquote
37 replies
Seller_7VbclcPFFRTnc
Whats your asin and what’s the design right number of the complainant ?
Seller_WseB32EBb785w
Does the OP know where they’re based ?
Julia_Amzn
Hi @ ProClinic,
Thank you for reaching out to us!
I will check your case and come back with details. Let me check if there is anything I can do
Kind regards,
Julia.
Seller_zrjjUGItomqbq
Hi @Julia_Amazon,
Thanks for reviewing the case.
However, Intellectual Properties registered in WIPO are NOT valid worldwide. An inventor can file a PCT application, but this does not guarantee the acquisition of an international utility patent across all territories. Inventors must still pursue the grant of individual patents in each of the countries they desire protection in.
In our case, the rights owner has submitted this utility patent in the US, but if you search on PATENTSCOPE, you can see that they have not entered the ‘National Phase’. If the inventor or patent owner does not enter the ‘National Phase’, they cannot obtain protection in other countries.
Here is a link to their utility patent: https://patentscope.wipo.int/search/en/detail.jsf?docId=WO2018048398&_cid=P20-LGB749-19931-1.
Please see the screenshot below. As you can see, the ‘National Phase’ section is blank:
As an example, we can look at Apple. They filed their invention under the PCT and subsequently applied for individual patents in specific countries: https://patentscope.wipo.int/search/en/detail.jsf?docId=WO2007076210&_cid=P20-LGB7CE-23967-1.
Please see the screenshot below - you can see that Apple have specifically filed in the separate countries in the ‘National Phase’ section:
To conclude, we have already provided evidence through Account Health that the rights owner’s design patents are only valid in the US, and also have a different design to our product. From examining their utility patent registered in WIPO, we can also see that the utility patent has only been granted in the US. The rights owner has not entered the ‘National Phase’ to gain patent protection in the UK. As a result, their entire patent infringement claim is invalid and our listing should be reinstated.
@Julia_Amazon, we would appreciate if you could look into this further. We look forward to hearing from you.
Thanks,
ProClinic
Julia_Amzn
Good morning @ ProClinic,
Thank you for the response and information you have provided, which is very interesting indeed!
We have one more appeal path, which you could use in case you disagree with the “standard appeal” decision. Below you can find more details:
Please keep me informed about your next steps.
Have a great weekend,
Julia.
Seller_zrjjUGItomqbq
Hi @Julia_Amazon,
Could you please explain why this cannot be solved using the “standard appeal” process? Why is there a reason to go through another appeal path when the standard appeal process has not properly reviewed the evidence?
Please could you advise on this.
Thanks,
ProClinic
Julia_Amzn
Hi @ ProClinic,
Hope you had a nice weekend.
I do not have access to the procedures and resources used by the team, which resolves your appeals hence I am not able to verify if there is any misalignment.
Kind regards,
Julia.
Seller_zrjjUGItomqbq
Hi Julia,
We have tried going through the mediation policy and contacting Amazon Account Health but no one seems to reviewing our evidence.
Do you know of any other places to submit our evidence? We have sough legal counsel and need it to be reviewed ASAP.
Thanks
Julia_Amzn
Good morning @ ProClinic,
Hope you are doing well!
I can see, that you have contacted the Account Health agent, who has provided this information.
Please reach out, if you have more questions.
Kind regards,
Julia.
Seller_zrjjUGItomqbq
Finally managed to get it removed, does anyone know if Amazon offer any sort of compensation for incorrectly removing the listing and loss of sales? We have lost all our ranking and could not sell for 3 months…