A large number of sellers were sued and their funds were frozen! Something went wrong with these popular products

For sellers, infringement is an eternal topic.

At the beginning of this year, infringement issues occurred frequently. For example, the popular product "Decompression Tool" that was suddenly mentioned frequently in the industry had infringement risks that deterred many sellers.

Now some of Amazon’s popular products have issued infringement warnings.

1. Dog training device

As we all know, the epidemic has greatly boosted the sales of pet products. Google Trends shows that in the past 12 months, the search popularity of dog training in the United States has remained high since it began to rise on March 15.

Among all dog training products, the dog training clicker ranked first on Meiya has received 120,000 reviews. One buyer commented: "I like it. When my dog ​​hears the click, he stops playing pranks." In addition, in the dog training collar sub-category, the best-selling product has received nearly 60,000 reviews.

However, although the market is good, sellers cannot just put products on the shelves rashly because there are many problems in this category, and infringement is one of them that cannot be ignored.

A search through the U.S. Patent Office ( Uspto) shows that there are patents for dog training collars . At the same time, there are many trademarks related to dog training , and most of them are still in existence.

Sellers who already have related products for sale in the US should take note. In addition, for sellers who are preparing to enter the market, in addition to avoiding infringement risks, market conditions are also issues that need to be considered.

According to feedback from some sellers, although this product was a blue ocean in 2018, it is currently severely monopolized by top sellers. In addition, sellers also have to face problems such as high costs and frighteningly high advertising bidding fees:

“——I have sold this kind of product before, but it is too difficult to sell it now, and the market is heavily monopolized by the top players.

——I am working on this product now. The CPC is very expensive, the cost is high, the competition is fierce, and it is difficult to promote .

——If the quality of the dog training device is not well controlled, it is easy to get bad reviews . I suffered a loss from this product in 2018. I had to cut my losses later . ”

2. Weed Snatcher

Spring is here, and horticultural products are about to usher in another wave of hot sales. But often at this time, some brands also begin to entrust law firms to "harvest" infringing products.

Recently, it was reported that David Law Firm represented the Weed Snatcher brand and defended the rights of its weed eater products.

For this brand, there are two main issues that sellers need to pay attention to: trademark infringement and image copyright infringement.

According to the U.S. Patent Office ( USPTO), there are four registered trademarks for Weed Snatcher, of which 1 is still in existence, covering two categories: gardening tools and household items.

In many cases, sellers also know that in order to prevent infringement, they will consciously avoid some word trademarks. But in addition to word trademarks, the Weed Snatcher brand also attaches great importance to image copyright.

Therefore, in this case, sellers who use the words "Weed Snatcher" and directly use pictures of this brand of weed snatchers need to be careful.

Currently, although David Law Firm has filed a case, it has not yet started freezing the case. Sellers need to conduct a quick investigation and remove infringing products from the shelves as soon as possible.

3. STUFZ Hamburger Manual Meat Press

During the epidemic, it is not only pet products that have become popular, but kitchen products have also ushered in a wave of hot sales. However, after the products are sold out, related infringement issues have also arisen.

Recently, a hot-selling kitchen appliance has filed a lawsuit for rights protection. It is reported that the brand in the lawsuit is STUFZ, which is defending its manual meat press for cooking hamburgers. Hundreds of stores have been sued and their funds have been frozen.

It is understood that the reason for the brand's rights protection is "trademark infringement" . Through the query of the United States Patent Office ( USPTO), it can be seen that STUFZ has registered related trademarks, and its word trademark STUFZ is registered in Class 21. The trademark was applied for in October 2011 and is still in a "survival" state. Sellers need to pay attention to: Do ​​not use the trademark in the title, description, or product image.

4. Sink filter

Sink filter, a small gadget for collecting hair, with over 12,000 reviews, best seller on Amazon, can be made of plastic or stainless steel, effectively blocks debris and hair from the sewer, and can be used in wash basins and bathrooms.

This little thing is light in weight but has high sales volume. For Europeans and Americans who always stay at home and have more kitchen work to do, it just meets their shopping needs.

Figure 1

For sellers, a sink filter with this appearance also has the risk of infringement. The editor has found its appearance patent drawings in the United States Trademark Office. If sellers want to sell products with related appearance, they should pay attention to the risk of infringement.

5. Pet gloves

The stay-at-home economy has been booming in Europe and the United States, and pet products, as a hot-selling category, performed very well last year.

In 2020, the overall sales of pet supplies on AliExpress increased by more than 70% year-on-year. The hot-selling categories mainly include pet toys, pet feeders, grooming tools, etc.

Among them, the sales of smart pet products became a highlight. The sales of a smart cat litter box increased by 8 times in the Spanish market year-on-year , and increased by 10 times in the French and Saudi markets. The sales of cat climbing frames increased by 280% in France and 200% in Spain year-on-year.

Pet gloves are also popular with many pet owners. Most gloves have an uneven surface design and are made of silicone. They are used to help cats and dogs bathe, massage, and remove excess hair and foreign objects. In the video, you can see that the cats and dogs being touched seem to enjoy it, which touches the hearts of them and their owners.

The pet gloves market has been spotted by sellers and they are ready to start. However, one of the best-selling pet gloves on Amazon with a star rating of over 30,000 has already been patented in the United States, and the applicant is from Shenzhen. It seems that some sellers have already laid out this market.

Gloves that look like the two pictures below have been applied for at the U.S. Trademark Office. Sellers who want to sell this model should pay more attention to the appearance.

6. Mori Lee wedding dress brand

The Mori Lee trademark and copyright protection case represented by David Law Firm is coming on strong. In January, it was shown that nearly 500 accounts had been sued, including many Amazon, eBay, and Wish sellers. Some sellers’ funds were frozen, and some had their stores closed.

This rights protection case has been represented by David Law Firm. The relevant parameters of the case are:

Case Number: 20-cv-7648

Plaintiff Brand: Mori Lee

Plaintiff Firm: Mori Lee, LLC

Case filing date: December 22, 2020

Law firm: David Gulbransen

Because many sellers like to put "Mori Lee" in the title, hundreds of sellers have suffered. According to the records of the US Trademark Office, the English words related to Mori Lee have already been registered.

So in the product title, try not to use the following descriptions:

MORI LEE MADELINE GARDNER AFFAIRS

MADELINE GARDNER NEW YORK

MORI LEE BY MADELINE GARDNER

VALENCIA MORI LEE BY MADELINE GARDNER

Also, do not use related pictures (especially those on the official website) directly, as this will involve issues of image infringement.

Infringement