How to Avoid Design Patent Infringement as an Amazon Seller
As an Amazon seller, whether you’re a seasoned merchant or just starting out, understanding the patent landscape is crucial. Patents can be a minefield, with risks lurking for the uninformed.
Today, we are going to delve into important aspect of patents for Amazon sellers: strategies to avoid patent issues.
What Is A Design Patent?
A design patent gives you exclusive rights and legal protection over the novel visual appearance or qualities of a manufactured item. It protects the ornamental looks of an article and prevents others from making, using, or selling it without permission. It is issued by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) for a period of 14 years.
Avoiding Patent Pitfalls on Amazon: A How-To for Sellers
Patents are property rights granted to inventors, giving them defensive rights to their inventions. That right is to exclude others from making, using, selling the invention.
For all Amazon sellers, patent security can be said to be the line of life and death, once involved in patent infringement, not only will face the product off the shelves, but also may be subject to a high amount of claims, it is really the seller can not afford the weight.
How to Get Rid of The Risk of Product Infringement
1.Unique Product Design
Make sure your product design is unique and clearly different from the designs already on the market to avoid similarities that could lead to infringement issues.
2.Conduct a Patent Search
Carrying out a thorough patent search before selling a product on Amazon is one of the best ways to avoid and determine patent infringement. This process involves checking existing patents to ensure the product doesn’t violate someone else’s patent rights.
Recently, Tool4seller updated Design Patent Search function with supporting the use of AI Image Recognition for Patent Search, which can easily help sellers to avoid the risk of Product Infringement！
The function is very simple to operate, without authorization to connect your store, after login to tool4seller, select Market Insights-＞Design Patent Search
Select the marketplace here and currently Design Patent Search only supports in US and Japan marketplace. Patent documents are from United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and JAPAN PATENT OFFICE (JPO).
Click the camera icon on the right side of the search box and then upload a picture, the system will automatically search the result.
When there are search results, enter keywords in the search box and click “Search” to further filter and narrow down from the results. This operation does not consume additional points.
Mouse over the patent image to view an enlarged image. Click on the patent number to the original registration document at the patent office to view the patent details.
We also support searching for design patents using keywords alone. Note: When searching for keywords, be aware that singular and plural words, spaces, etc. may lead to different search results.
App also supports this function. Just open Tool4seller APP, in the function page of Product Research to find the Design Patent Search function, you can quickly search the patent by taking photo or uploading pictures,which is very suitable for sellers when visiting factory the exhibition to use.
3.Apply for a Design Patent or Trademark
Although it will cost you some money, applying for a patent or trademark for your products can offer a strong layer of protection. This safeguard grants you exclusive rights to produce, use, sell, and import your product, saving you from future legal troubles and eliminating competition. Knowing the Amazon’s neutral patent evaluation is a must.
4.Work With a Legal Professional
To drastically reduce your risks of infringing on an existing patent, you would need the help of a patent attorney. These legal professionals can help you assess the risk of potential infringement and advise you on how to proceed, thereby minimizing legal exposure.
Conclusion
Regarding patent infringement, it is better to avoid a claim than to appeal it. The proactive measures highlighted above will assist Amazon sellers in navigating the complexities of patents especially that Tool4seller’s Design Patent Search function, can greatly protecting their businesses from potential pitfalls and ensuring long-term success.
Sign up for Tool4seller now and get a 14-day free trial for your Amazon journey!
About Tool4seller
A best-in-class Amazon seller tool that is specialized in sales& profits analytics, PPC optimization, keyword research, competitor tracking, instant alerts for listing hijacking, price changing, and inventory updates, etc.
Click the camera icon on the right side of the search box and then upload a picture, the system will automatically search the result.
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