A patent is one of the important types of intellectual property. It refers to the exclusive right granted to the patentee for a certain period of time over an invention that meets the conditions of novelty, creativity and practicality according to legal provisions. Without the permission of the patentee, no one may manufacture, sell or use products that are the same as or fall within the protection scope of the patent.

There are usually three types of patents, each protecting different creative achievements. The following uses common products as examples to illustrate the protection content of each type of patent. Patent protection systems vary from country to country. Some countries, such as the United States, only protect invention patents and design patents, and do not accept utility model patents; other countries, such as China and Japan, protect all three types.

China's "Patent Law" stipulates three types of patent protection systems: invention patents, utility model patents and design patents. Most countries generally establish patent systems along the two main lines of "technical solution protection + appearance protection", but the specific protection types, durations and application procedures vary from country to country, so it is necessary to consult a local qualified lawyer or agent.

Among the three types of patents, Amazon sellers should focus on design patents the most. There are three reasons:

❶ The threshold for invention patents is high, and the requirements for underlying technical capabilities are strict.Most Amazon sellers' product "innovation" focuses on differentiated design in shape, color and form, rather than breakthroughs in underlying technology.

❷ Design patents have the lowest application cost and the shortest authorization cycle.Whether it is domestic, the United States or the European Union, no substantial examination (or relatively loose examination) is carried out for appearance designs, and the cycle from submission to authorization is much shorter than that of invention patents.

❸ In Amazon patent infringement complaints, design patents account for the highest proportion.The reason is as mentioned above - fast authorization, low threshold for evidence and intuitive judgment of infringement. Whether it is overseas brands, overseas professional rights defenders or domestic counterparts, the most frequently used complaint weapon is design patents.

This is a very common scenario for pitfalls. The typical script is: the seller finds a supplier that "ships directly from the factory and has its own patent", the factory shows the Chinese patent certificate, and the seller thinks that everything is fine and confidently launches the product on Amazon's US site. However, a few months later, it may be found that the factory does not have a patent in the United States, or even receive an infringement complaint or TRO (temporary restraining order) notice from the US rights holder, resulting in the delisting of the product link and the freezing of the account funds.

Many sellers have the psychology of taking chances when selecting products: "This appearance is being sold by a lot on the market, it must be in the public domain" or "It is not infringement to change the color, add a logo or move the button". In fact, both of these ideas do not stand up to legal scrutiny, and the risk of infringement still exists.

Right holders file complaints through Amazon's reporting channel and need to explain the patent right information. If the infringement is true, the infringing link ASIN may be delisted. The specific submission paths are as follows:

Path 1:Brand Registry Backend >>Protection>>Report Violation

Path 2:Seller Central>>Brands>>Brand Protection>>Report Violation