Empowering Online Marketplace Control through Patent Portfolios

In the age of online marketplaces like Amazon, Walmart, and Alibaba, having a well-rounded patent portfolio that protects a brand’s flagship products is more important than ever. Using sophisticated online tools, marketplace sellers can easily identify hot product categories. They can also find a product source in a category, and create optimized listings with targeted keywords that may include the brand’s name. Or, have the products shipped directly to a marketplace fulfillment center, and start selling. All of that can be done without ever leaving their couch! 

If a brand properly protects its top products with patents that claim features that give the product a competitive advantage, and assuming resellers are not buying diverted or counterfeit products, they may be able to stop these bad actors. At the very least, they may be able to force them to sell an inferior product.

Good patent counsel can help brands create a patent portfolio to protect their flagship products. Ideally, the patent portfolio will cover both functional and ornamental aspects of the products with strategic use of utility and design patents. Keep reading to learn how this can affect your brand, how you can identify sellers of patent-infringing products, and what you can do to reduce the risk that resellers will free-ride off of your investment in your next big product.