The number of actual or alleged design violations or infringements of other IP rights like trademarks on the website Amazon.de (one of the leading ecommerce marketplaces in Germany) is increasing. As a German Intellectual Property Lawyer working at a specialized German Patent and Intellectual Property Law Firm with a Patent Attorney and dealing with different topics in design, trademark, unfair competition law and such like, I am able to assist you in matters like this either in case you are the owner of a registered design fighting against copy-cats or if you are accused that your product infringes another design.
► Feel free to contact us by email or phone (without obligation) to find out how we can help you!
Violation of your design
In the first case where you think that your design (e.g. registered German design or European Union design / formerly: community design on a European Union level) is violated by the product of a seller in Germany we will first check the scope of protection of your design as well as if the other product conveys the same overall impression. If this is the case our IP law firm can either contact the opponent informal or send him a warning letter (German: “Abmahnung”) and demand the signing of a declaration to cease-and-desist (German: “Unterlassungserklärung”). Alternatively, we can also try to block the other article (and ASIN) on the ecommerce platform through the involvement of Amazon so that it is suspended.
Suspension of your product / warning letter due to alleged design infringement
In addition to the above there is often the case where clients or their products are attacked by third parties due to supposed design infringements (e.g. based on a registered design in Germany or a European Union design / formerly: community design). The owner of the IP right frequently notifies Amazon directly (or through his attorney) of the alleged violation and tries to suspend / block the concerned product and the respective ASIN (Amazon Standard Identification Number) or try to close the whole Amazon Seller Account. This has a quite severe consequence for the user because he is often not able to reinstate the product and to proceed with his sales after such a policy warning. It has turned out that this relatively easy process to stop a user on Amazon and his potentially successful product is also used by competitors as a means of unfair competition and by knowing that their attack is unlawful.
If a client contacts us in a matter like this, we first check if there is really a design violation (comparison of the fronting designs) and if there are indications that the opponent’s design is invalid (e.g. lack of novelty due to previously known geometry / usual shapes available / previous state of art). After that we can either contact the IP right owner directly (or his lawyer) or we get in contact with the Amazon legal department in Germany and attempt that they reinstate the account or the respective offer (and ASIN). Shouldn’t this lead to the desired result we can also attack the registered design itself and try that it is deleted at the German Patent and Trademark Office (GPTO) or the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO).
► Feel free to contact us by email or phone (without obligation) to find out how we can help you!
Our services for design owners and suppliers concerned:
– Analysing if there is a design violation (e.g. checking overall impression of designs, comparison with previously known geometry)
– Assistance in law enforcement (e.g. warning letters, interim injunctions, court proceedings)
– Defence against wrong accusations of competitors
– Contact with Amazon legal team to either block / suspend a product or to unblock / reinstate it
– Assistance at Patent and Trademark Offices (GPTO, EUIPO) in case of attacks (cancellation actions) against registered designs
– General consulting regarding design protection and design strategy as well as in questions concerning trademark, unfair competition law etc.
We offer flat fees for various actions based on the different steps to be taken and tailored at your need in every situation. Just contact our German IP Law Firm with a short summary of your issue and ask for Dr. Florian Lichtnecker (Certified IP Lawyer).
► Feel free to contact us by email or phone (without obligation) to find out how we can help you!