A single seller sued over 3,900 stores!

Not long ago, the patent infringement case between Dreame and Stone Technology was concluded in Germany. Although it is a common war between big guys and a number of small and medium-sized sellers are busy watching the show, few people know that such cases are not limited to leading companies. Some popular products that seem to have no technical barriers also have intellectual property issues from time to time.

There are more than 100,000 listings on sale , beware of infringement

On September 12, Shenzhen seller Shenzhen Xingxia Trading Co., Ltd. commissioned the law firm The Law Offices Of Konrad Sherinian, LLC to sue for patent infringement, and the case has been officially filed with the case number 2024-cv-08339 .

According to Qichacha data, the company was established in 2020 and is currently located in Nanshan, Shenzhen. It is engaged in domestic and foreign trade of electronic products, mobile phones and mobile phone accessories, hardware and plastic products, stainless steel products, auto parts and other products.

The seller registered a brand store on Amazon and sold various kitchen storage supplies on the platform.

The product being defended this time is a simple storage rack with a patented appearance design under its name . It is a two-layer rack consisting of a metal bracket and a plastic storage board . The product structure and installation are very simple, and its practical storage nature is suitable for scenes such as kitchens , balconies and bathrooms .

Documents from the United States Patent and Trademark Office ( USPTO) show that the product's appearance patent was actually applied for by the above-mentioned seller as early as November 22, 2022, but it was not approved until July 9 this year. After the certificate was issued, the rights protection was initiated soon. The patent number is USD1034007S .

The case has just been filed and has not yet been officially frozen by TRO, but Yien.com has noticed that as a popular "mass product" in the cross-border circle, this product has received a lot of attention and has many listings for sale on the Amazon platform, so a group of sellers may be affected.

According to Google Trend, the global search popularity of "shelf" on Google Shopping has remained high over the past five years, especially from October to December each year, which is a fixed peak purchasing period.

In addition, according to the results of hot searches on Amazon’s US site, there are 491 entries related to the keyword “shelf”, and the search popularity of most entries maintains a high ranking position on the site, and the rankings of some entries have soared in recent times, rising by 81,000 .

According to platform data, there are more than 100,000 listings for "shelf" on Amazon , and the sales data of many listings are very impressive.

As can be seen from the above figure, the listings marked as "Overall Pick" have accumulated more than 230,000 reviews since they were put on the shelves, and the monthly sales in August exceeded 5,000 pieces. In addition, the listings in the corresponding BS list have received more than 90,000 reviews since they were put on the shelves, and the monthly sales in August exceeded 3,000 pieces. At the same time, there are many shelf product listings with monthly sales of thousands, and many of them are as high as 5,000-6,000 pieces .

It can be seen that the market demand for this "mass product" is not low.

A single seller sued nearly 4,000 stores for infringement

It's not just the above-mentioned products. There have been many infringement cases in recent times, including those involving high-incidence sellers of patents and Chinese sellers.

StripHair Pet Brush

In fact, this is not the first time the seller has defended his rights.

On August 20 and August 29 , the seller Betty's Best, Inc commissioned the law firm SRIPLAW, PA to file a series of intellectual property cases in Illinois, USA , including infringements of trademarks , appearance patents , copyrights , etc. The case numbers are 24-cv-07491 and 24-cv-07884 respectively .

Betty's Best, Inc. specializes in the design and sales of pet grooming tools. It has a popular product - pet hair removal tools. It uses high-quality materials and is designed to meet the needs of pets. It pursues the comfort of pet grooming and helps pets quickly remove loose hair, dirt and dander. This product is suitable for a variety of pets, so it is very popular in the market.

This time, Betty's Best, Inc. filed infringement lawsuits against multiple patents under its name. TRO injunctions were signed for two cases on September 3. In particular, a summons was issued to the defendant in 24-cv-07884 on September 4. There are 347 store defendants in this case, involving mainstream platforms such as Amazon , Temu , and Walmart .

As early as June and September last year, SRIPLAW, PA law firm filed two infringement lawsuits on behalf of Betty's Best, Inc. The case numbers were 23-cv-22322 and 23-cv-11244 , and there were 1,099 and 2,468 defendants respectively .

That is to say, from last year to this year, Betty's Best, Inc. has sued 3,914 stores in four intellectual property cases .

clamp cup clamp

On September 8, Lance Liu, the law firm representing Shenzhen seller Shenzhen Linsky Intelligent Control Technology Co., Ltd., sued the former for infringement of the product's appearance patent and the case was formally filed with the case number 2024-cv-08177.

It is reported that the plaintiff, a Shenzhen seller, has a store on Amazon, with two brands selling various daily necessities. The product being defended this time is a cup clamp under its brand. This product is more suitable for DIY enthusiasts because it is a clamp specially designed for sublimation printing process. It can firmly fix the mug and thermal transfer paper together . With the help of this tool, the paper can be prevented from shifting and the success rate of one-time pasting can be improved.

As for the appearance patent of the product being defended this time, documents from the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) show that the seller applied for it on April 17 last year , but it was not issued until June 25 this year . The patent is valid for 15 years and the patent number is US D1032351 S.

According to inquiries on Amazon, there are more than 100,000 listings for " clamps " of different uses and appearances on the platform. There are many products with monthly sales of thousands, and some even have monthly sales of up to 6,000 pieces .

folding sofa

On September 5, Hefei furniture seller Hefei Makie Siyou Trading Co., Ltd. commissioned the law firm Gottesman Legal PLLC to file a lawsuit in the United States regarding the infringement of its products. The case has been filed with the case number 2024 -cv-08104 .

According to information, the seller has been engaged in the overseas furniture market since 2014, focusing on mattresses, sofas and other fields . Many of its brands have performed well in Europe, the United States, Japan and other markets.

The object of the rights protection this time is a folding sofa of its brand . The folding sofa provides sitting and lying rest , is highly practical, meets the diverse needs of consumers , and the folding design also saves space and is easy to store , so it is very popular.

Documents from the United States Patent and Trademark Office ( USPTO) show that the above-mentioned product applied for an appearance patent on May 15, 2023 , and was officially issued on November 28 of the same year. The patent number is US D1005706 S , and the validity period is 15 years .

Searching for "folding sofa" on Amazon , there are not many listings for sale on the platform, "only" 1,000, but the brand of the seller listed at the top is the one mentioned above. At present, the case has entered the TRO stage, and the funds of some sellers may have been frozen.

At present, the traditional peak sales season in Europe and the United States is about to arrive. Industry insiders said, " The more peak season , the more likely infringements will occur. First, they can get compensation; most importantly, at this time, many people have a fluke mentality and want to sprint to make a quick buck and leave. Not only is it easy to catch infringers, but it can also reduce competitors. "

At the same time, Ennet has also noticed that many new patents for products have begun to take effect. Sellers must always conduct inspections to prevent products from being removed from the shelves or even their stores from being frozen.

Seller

Infringement