What does every Amazon Seller need to know about getting useful patents?
Patents can be highly effective at driving sales. But, and this is a huge but, good patents do not come easily. So what makes a patent good? For Amazon sellers, good patents are those that can effectively block competitors from selling copycat products that take away market share. LIke most things in life, something that is valuable will take time and effort to obtain. For an Amazon seller, patents that drive sales will take an investment of time and money to get the right type of claims.
Need a utility patent to protect your Amazon sales? Contact US patent attorney Vic Lin at vlin@icaplaw.com to explore how we can get strong utility patents to boost your sales.
Why utility patents for Amazon sellers?
Don’t get me wrong – design patents are great. If your concept is worthy of both types of protection, then apply for both utility and design patents.
The type of patent to file will depend on where the novelty lies. If your product is unique in appearance, then consider design patents. If you have a product or concept where the functionality is unique, consider utility patents.
As of the date of this post, it appears that utility patents are better for Amazon sellers. Amazon offers its own patent dispute system called APEX, a streamlined way for sellers to take down listings that violate utility patents. Currently, design patents are not available on APEX.
Why is it difficult to get a strong utility patent?
Those new to patents will often focus on cost and overlook the most critical thing – claims. Strong utility patents have broad independent claims, and broad independent claims don’t come without a fight.
USPTO examiners are trained to reject broad claims in utility patent applications. They will typically say that your broad claims cover things in the past, i.e., prior art. In other words, the claims in your utility patent application do not cover something unique enough to be granted protection.
How do you get broad utility patent claims allowed?
Almost invariably, the battle for broader claims will not be easy. The prior art references must be carefully studied. Your claims may need to be amended by adding certain features. Those claim amendments must add features that will be used by competitors and yet are sufficient to overcome the prior art rejections.
This is a tricky balance to accomplish. What you might not know is that claims can be amended in a way that will get them allowed. You might feel great getting a patent until you realize later that your claims cannot stop competitors from competing.
Is it worth spending more to get broader utility patent claims?
Every Amazon seller needs to do their own financial analysis. How much more would you earn if you could stop competitors from selling copycat products? For example, if blocking competitive products would lead to $100,000 or more of net income over the course of 10-20 years, would it be worthwhile to spend $20,000 to $30,000, for example, to obtain a stronger patent.
What if a strong utility patent might lead to hundreds of thousands of net income over two decades?
What if broader patent claims are not possible?
Let’s be clear. Broad claims are not an inherent right given to every utility patent. Your invention might be quite specific or located in a crowded field of prior art. A patentability prior art search can help identify past patents to give you a general idea of where you stand.
If the results of a prior art search reveal that broad claims are unlikely, then spending less money to get a narrower utility patent might make sense.
Does your product have any unique visual features? Consider filing design patents to cover the appearance of your product.
How do you use utility patents to stop copycat Amazon listings?
Once your utility patent granted, do not rush off to assert it against every ASIN you think is infringing. You might be surprised to find out that some products do not infringe your patent due to certain language in your independent claim(s).
Have a patent attorney – not a patent agent or trademark lawyer – conduct an initial assessment of whether those competitive products actually infringe your utility patent. If so, then move forward with reporting the infringement to Amazon.
You can identify your patent attorney as an agent so that they can submit a patent infringement report on your behalf within Amazon Brand Registry.
