Amazon trials scheme to tackle utility patent infringements
Amazon is trialling a new scheme that enlists third-party lawyers to act in patent infringement disputes on its platform.
The programme, called the Utility Patent Neutral Evaluation process, is intended to tackle goods that infringe utility patents.
The new programme involves sellers raising a complaint against an infringing product for sale on Amazon. If the complaint is not contested, then the infringing product will be removed from Amazon’s listings.
If the defendant selling the allegedly infringing product wishes to contest the case, both parties must each place a $4,000 deposit. Amazon then assigns a third-party lawyer to adjudicate the dispute.
The winner will receive their deposit back, while the lawyer will collect the $4,000 dispute from the losing party for their time and work.
The third-party lawyers selected will have experience in technology and patent law.
Amazon does not take any fee as part of the process.
In a statement sent to WIPR, a spokesperson for Amazon said that the company “respects the IP rights of others and requires that third-party sellers do the same when listing items for sale on Amazon”.
“While more than 99% of page views by our customers landed on pages without a notice of potential infringement, we continue to experiment and develop tools that will help us better protect rights owners and our customers, including this process for utility patent owners”, the spokesperson added.
Aimed at small- to medium-sized businesses, the scheme aims to significantly reduce the cost and time requirements for assessing utility patent claims.
An average patent lawsuit can take years and can cost hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars. Comparatively, Amazon’s process should take no longer than four months and only requires the $4,000, refundable deposit.
The news comes just months after Amazon launched Project Zero, a machine learning-powered anti-counterfeiting programme.
In early February, the company acknowledged the risk of counterfeit goods on its platform to investors for the first time.
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