Be careful! Tens of thousands of hot-selling listings may be removed from the shelves

A few days ago, a number of descriptive words commonly used in listings, such as material, durable, and operation, were registered as trademarks. Amazon began to crack down on them and conduct a comprehensive cleanup. For a time, many cross-border sellers became targets of the cleanup. Some had their accounts blocked and their funds frozen. Some even received lawsuit notices from patent holders.

In the cross-border circle, it is not uncommon for commonly used words to be registered as trademarks. In the past few years, polo, Hula Hoop, 100%, one, Tetris, yoyo, Organic, Frisbee, airbag, Generic, Brandless, Nologo, N/A, N/B, PINK, etc. have been registered as trademarks one after another.

Take "Frisbee" as an example. Because it was registered as a trademark, a group of Temu sellers were sued last year and ended up paying huge losses.

Not only commonly used words are involved in trademark infringement, but a large number of infringement cases are emerging in the cross-border circle.

Tens of thousands of listings may be deleted due to similar appearance

Recently, the official website of the US court has intensively updated a number of patent prosecution cases . Ennet has selected and integrated these cases. The products involved are popular and common products in the cross-border circle.

1. Origami Bottle Foldable Water Cup

On March 22 , DiFOLD Inc. commissioned the law firm Boies Schiller Flexner LLP to protect the appearance patent of its foldable water cup. The case has now been officially accepted by the U.S. District Court with the case number 24-cv-21125 .

It is understood that DiFOLD 's foldable water cup can be folded to less than 10% of its original volume, which greatly reduces the space occupied for outdoor activities. The convenience, reusability and recyclability also make the water cup widely praised by consumers.

On March 25, DiFOLD Inc. again filed a lawsuit for another appearance patent and was accepted by the US court. The case number is 24-cv-21128 .

Although the plaintiff has not yet disclosed specific case information, information from the U.S. Trademark Office shows that after inquiry, DiFOLD Inc. has a total of 4 patents , including 2 U.S. appearance patents: USD935892S, USD1002386S , and 2 U.S. invention patents: US11814214B2, US2018/0319538A1 .

2. Copyright image of Delta Christmas decoration

Although it is not the peak sales season for Christmas products, sellers of related products will protect their copyrights at all times.

On March 25 , Delta Technology Development LLC protected the copyright of its outdoor inflatable Christmas decorations . The case has been accepted by the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois . The case number is 24-cv-02406 and the law firm represented by it is Whitewood Law .

Delta Technology Development LLC is a design company specializing in outdoor lawn inflatable decorations. Although the copyright images were not made public in this rights protection , after searching, Yien.com noticed that the plaintiff has two patent information, both related to Christmas, and both were issued in December last year .

3. Multi-functional key chain

Not long ago, Magenav, Inc. carried out design patent protection for its brand STATGEAR 's multifunctional keychain , and the law firm entrusted was Greer, Burns & Crain . On March 21, the case was officially accepted by the Northern District Court of Illinois, USA , with the case number 24-cv-02341 .

In 2010, Magenav, Inc. founded the brand STATGEAR , which entered the market with various accessories and tools for outdoor survival, rescue and daily use . It has also collaborated with well-known brands such as Supreme and Unbox Therapy on joint products.

On Amazon, there are only 200+ listings for multifunctional keychains, but many of them have thousands of reviews, which shows that although the product is a niche product, it has great market potential. Sellers should be aware that the appearance is copyrighted.

In 2020, Magenav, Inc. applied for copyright protection for the product's appearance, and the patent was officially issued in December 2021. The U.S. appearance patent number is USD938242S . The plaintiff has not yet applied to the court for a TRO injunction, but it is expected to be applied within 1-2 weeks at the earliest .

In addition to some of the products mentioned above, other popular products that are more likely to be infringed include the Drink caddy beverage bags under AJ's Nifty Products .

On March 22, the brand commissioned Bishop Diehl & Lee law firm to sue for its invention patent. The case was recently formally accepted by the Northern District Court of Illinois , USA. The case number is 24-cv-02375 , and the infringement patent number involved is US11445840B1 .

According to incomplete statistics, there are no less than 10,000 listings involving appearance patents and invention patents recently . In other words, tens of thousands of listings are at risk of being deleted and removed from the platforms , and there is a high possibility that the accounts will be directly blocked by the platforms. Sellers must remember to conduct self-inspections.

There are many trademarks and patents, so be careful when choosing words in listings

It's not just appearance patents and invention patents. Some sellers say that there seem to be more trademark infringement cases this year than ever before.

1. FAG, INA auto parts trademarks

There were a lot of infringement cases on March 25. On the same day, Schaefflers Technologies AG&Co.,KG entrusted the law firm TJ Kelly Intellectual Property Law to formally accept the case of its trademark infringement by the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York . The case number was 24-cv-02215 .

Schaefflers Technologies AG&Co.,KG mainly provides products in the field of motion technology for industries such as automobiles, machines, wind turbines , etc. It is an enterprise that integrates the production of products and systems for automotive industry applications, rolling bearings and linear motion products.

This time, it is mainly protecting its auto parts trademarks , involving the text and pattern trademark numbers: 759980, 759957 , 759908, 3673117, 4103952, 673150, 828795, 828796, 2482859, 3623099, and 3576373 .

Currently, the plaintiff has filed a TRO injunction with the court on March 26 and it was approved .

2. DORA, SPONGEBOB, GARFIELD

VIACOM INTERNATIONAL INC. and PAWS, INC. are internationally renowned entertainment groups . The films produced by their various animation film companies are world-renowned. The well-known Paramount Pictures, MTV Films and Nickelodeon Animation Studios are all affiliated to them .

But for a long time, VIACOM INTERNATIONAL INC. and PAWS, INC. have also been troubled by infringement.

On March 21, VIACOM INTERNATIONAL INC. entrusted Tme Law Firm to represent its classic animation character trademark infringement case, which was accepted by the Northern District Court of Illinois, USA , with the case number 24-cv-02329 .

It is understood that the three classic animation characters involved in this case are SpongeBob SquarePants, Garfield and Dora . The trademark numbers involved are 2753440, 2881965, 2913417, 1221033, 1269955, 2624278, 2897977 and 4475397. The registration scope is concentrated in the two categories of clothing, shoes and hats, and toys and fitness .

On March 25 , VIACOM INTERNATIONAL INC. filed a TRO injunction with the court, but it has not yet been approved.

3. B.Duck​

In 2005, Semk Products Ltd launched B.Duck , a Chinese original IP that became a global hit .

At that time , Semk Products Ltd first launched the B.Duck waterproof bathroom radio, which was very popular in markets such as Japan and Europe. Since then, the image of the B.Duck duck has been used in more than 20 categories such as home furnishings, stationery, electronic products and holiday gifts , with more than 3,000 products.

But like other popular IPs, it has also been infringed. On March 19, SEMK Products Limited ’s infringement case regarding its word mark “ B.DUCK ” was accepted by the Illinois State Court in the United States. The attorney was HSP , and the case number was 24-CV -0 2229 .

Statistics show that since 2022, SEMK Products Limited has initiated 8 rights protection cases, but it is still being infringed. The text trademark number of this rights protection is 4912358. In addition to the trademark, it also has the copyright of the appearance of the yellow duck .

Without the authorization of the brand, using the B.Duck trademark and its image will constitute infringement. Industry insiders said that if a seller is involved in the case, he may face compensation of up to $100,000 .

In addition to the above-mentioned cases, there are also popular and common products such as chicken feeders, children's toilet locks, chair leg protectors, sink drains, pet ladders, pet coats, wine racks, vegetable cutters, etc. that have been issued certificates one after another recently . Sellers must remember to conduct self-inspections.

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