Our client Underdog faced suspension of its Amazon seller account following a patent infringement allegation. IPLEX prepared an FTO report, appeal letter and plan of action supporting non-infringement, and the account was reinstated.
We interviewed Daewon Kim, head of overseas sales at Underdog, about the case.
Patent attorney Yongduck Kim of IPLEX (left) and Daewon Kim of Underdog's overseas sales team (right)
What kind of company is Underdog?
Underdog launched the home and kitchen brand Carrotez. Guided by its motto of design that transforms spaces, the company develops practical household products and sells them on Amazon in the United States.
2) What problem did you face before contacting IPLEX?
I received a warning letter from Amazon on August 4, 2020. The contents of the warning letter were:
We removed some of your listings because we received a report from a rights owner that they infringe the following patent(s): -- Patent number USxxxxxx and USxxxxxx <-- These are the rights owner’s contact details: -- XXXXXXXXX <-- Rights holder's name -- XXXXXX@gmail.com <-- Rights holder's email address |
We initially submitted a plan of action (POA) apologizing, promising preventive measures and describing personnel changes. The account remained suspended, and we later operated through a new account.
On May 22, 2023, Amazon warned that the unresolved issue with the old account also affected the new account. We were given one week to respond before the new account could be suspended.
The loss of a new account is enormous, so I searched the internet and contacted U.S. attorneys who specialize in recovering various seller accounts, but due to tight deadlines, no one was able to accept the case.
3) When did you realize IPLEX's account-reinstatement service was helping?
During the process, we spoke with an Amazon Account Health representative, who described IP-related reinstatement as difficult. Patent attorney Yongduck Kim assessed the product as non-infringing, prepared an FTO report and used it to support an appeal letter and POA. That legal analysis was different from our initial response.
We do not believe another unsupported POA would have resolved the issue. We were glad to have found IPLEX.
4) Do you have anything to say to those who are in danger of suspension of their account due to intellectual property rights infringement?
This time, I heard a lot of information from a Korean representative of the Amazon Account Health team.
During those discussions, I was told that avoiding related-account restrictions would require setting up a new business at a different address, changing the representative, and using different IP and MAC addresses for a new seller account.
Prepare the appeal and POA carefully from the outset, with professional input where needed. Our initial submissions led to repeated reviews, and reinstatement took about a month despite the later legal response.
First assess whether the product infringes the asserted right. If it does, discuss an appropriate resolution with the right holder; if it does not, obtain a reasoned response from an IP professional.
5) Finally, can you give me a short review of IPLEX IP Law Firm’s services?
Although IP-related account suspensions were described to us as difficult to resolve, IPLEX helped restore our account. We appreciated the technical and legal analysis and the urgent work carried out under a tight deadline.
This article reflects the information available when it was published. Contact us to discuss your circumstances.