Amazon Patent Evaluation

MH2 has represented several clients in Amazon’s new patent infringement evaluation program, which is known as the Amazon Utility Patent Neutral Evaluation Procedure (AUPNEP).

Under this program, a patent owner who believes possibly infringing products are listed on Amazon.com is able to request an evaluation, in which a neutral individual, who is an experienced patent practitioner chosen by Amazon, determines whether or not the patent covers the listed products. If the neutral evaluator finds that the patent covers the products based on written arguments submitted from each side, then the products are removed from Amazon.com. Otherwise, the products remain listed. The procedure takes approximately 10 weeks, and, in either case, the losing party pays $4,000, which covers the cost of the neutral evaluator.

The written arguments are the key to succeeding in the Amazon procedure, both for the patent owner and the product seller. A patent owner must submit concise, convincing, initial infringement contentions against the accused products that are listed on Amazon.com. The seller must then submit concise, convincing non-infringement and/or limited invalidity contentions in response. Finally, the patent owner may also submit a short final reply, and the neutral evaluator makes a decision based on the written submissions.

MH2 has the patent expertise and the resources to competently represent both patent owners and product sellers. And more importantly, we are one of the few firms that has actual, real-life experience representing a client in Amazon’s Utility Patent Neutral Evaluation Procedure. We have been through the entire process; for example, our successful representation of a patent owner resulted in having over 500 counterfeit, copy-cat product listings removed from Amazon.com— copy-cat products that were undercutting and stealing sales from the patent owner’s genuine products.

To learn more about representation in the Amazon Utility Patent Neutral Evaluation Procedure, please contact MH2 partner Bill Brogan (bbrogan@mh2law.com).