What is an Amazon neutral patent evaluation?
Unless you are selling products as old as dinosaurs, Amazon sellers simply cannot disregard patents. Whether you are the patent owner or an Amazon seller selling me-too products, you must keep a close watch on whether any sales on the e-commerce platform are infringing any patents. Even simple products can infringe design patents. You may be contemplating patent enforcement or facing a patent violation report. In either case, it helps to get a rough ballpark cost of an Amazon patent evaluation.
Need to fight an Amazon neutral patent evaluation case? Email US patent attorney Vic Lin at vlin@icaplaw.com or call (949) 223-9623 to explore how we can help you win your Amazon patent evaluation. Include the patent number and links to the accused product listings.
How much does an Amazon APEX patent evaluation cost?
Costs will vary widely depending upon whether a design patent or utility patent is involved, and upon how far the proceeding will go. Design patent evaluations are simpler and, therefore, less expensive. Let’s walk through the scenarios for a design patent evaluation, and then for a utility patent evaluation.
Attorney’s fees for an Amazon APEX patent case can range from roughly $15,000 to $30,000 to defend an accused product.
Why so much? Patent infringement cases typically involve subtle nuances. Experienced patent litigators will want to dig into the file history of the patent, carefully studying the claim amendments made by the patentee as well as the prior art references cited by the examiner.
This careful investigation will pay dividends in terms of forming smart arguments for noninfringement. For example, particular terms in the asserted independent claim may have a more limited interpretation due to amendments and arguments made by the patentee during the patent application process. Such a narrower claim construction might lead to a successful argument of noninfringement. A
Additional costs may arise if a prior art search would make strategic sense. You should explore whether a strong prior art search may justify a USPTO request for reexamination against the asserted patent. Even if you choose not to invalidate the patent, some good prior art references can help you form strong arguments to narrow the scope of the asserted claim.
Design Patent Evaluation: What are the costs to request and complete an Amazon design patent evaluation?
Attorney’s fees for an Amazon design patent neutral evaluation can range from about $10,000 to $20,000 for a single accused product, not including the evaluator deposit which is currently $4,000. The winner gets a refund of the evaluator deposit.
An Amazon design patent evaluation process involves a few stages. Initially, you need to submit an Amazon Report Infringement Form. If the accused product listings are not removed, you then need to escalate the case. Unfortunately, escalation does not always lead to desired results. This is where we can help.
We can request a design patent express evaluation with Amazon by submitting a carefully drafted email. If we receive an invitation to participate in an Amazon design patent express evaluation, the patent owner must complete and sign an evaluation agreement and send back the signed agreement within two weeks of the invitation date. Thereafter, Amazon will notify each accused seller and give them about three weeks to submit their signed evaluation agreement.
Our costs for this initial stage of the Amazon design patent evaluation process will range from $2,000 to $3,000 for a single accused product. Additional costs would apply for each additional accused product.
If at least one seller sends their signed evaluation agreement, then the patent owner should expect to pay the evaluator deposit and our fees for preparing infringement arguments. Currently, the evaluator deposit is $4,000 and our fee for preparing the opening infringement brief starts at $6,000 for a single accused product.
Utility Patent Evaluation: What are the costs to request and complete APEX?
Similarly, an Amazon utility patent evaluation process involves a few stages. Again, start by submitting an Amazon Report Infringement Form and escalating if necessary. If escalation does not work, then we move forward with requesting APEX.
We can request APEX with Amazon by preparing a succinct summary of why the accused products infringe your utility patent. If we receive an invitation to participate in APEX, the patent owner must send back the signed evaluation agreement within two weeks of the invitation date. Thereafter, Amazon will notify each accused seller and give them a few weeks to submit their signed evaluation agreement.
Our costs for this initial stage of APEX will range from $3,000 to $6,000 for a single accused product. Additional costs would apply for each additional accused product.
If at least one seller sends their signed evaluation agreement, then the patent owner should expect to pay the evaluator deposit and our fees for preparing infringement arguments. Currently, the evaluator deposit is $4,000.
Our fee for preparing the opening infringement brief starts at $6,000 for a single accused product. So expect this briefing stage with infringement arguments to start at $10,000. Again, the winner gets their evaluator deposit refunded.
Need to argue an Amazon patent case?
Patent infringement arguments are complicated. Consider patent attorneys experienced in patent infringement litigation. Patent agents cannot litigate, and trademark attorneys lack patent infringement experience. Call US patent attorney Vic Lin at (949) 223-9623 or email vlin@icaplaw.com to explore how we can protect your Amazon sales.
