A search of drains on Amazon shows a range of products that sell well, and almost every product has 400 reviews. It's not just the sales that attract attention, but also the shield of patent protection behind the best-selling products. Now, there is a drainage pipe that has been entrusted to a law firm to sue the infringing seller.
案件号：24-cv-02983
Case filing time: April 13, 2024
原告：Shen** Co., Ltd.
代理律所：Direction Ip Law
The plaintiff, a merchant specializing in plumbing-related products, filed a patent infringement lawsuit in the Northern District of Illinois. Due to the confidentiality of the case, Jude had no way to determine the details of the patent to be defended. After searching, the company has applied for invention and appearance patents in China, the United States and Canada, and the corresponding product of the patent is "telescopic drainage pipe".
Appearance patent family
U.S. Invention Patent
The patent, entitled "Telescopic Drainage Pipe", was filed in the United States on December 26, 2022 with patent number US11885***B1 on the basis of priority of an application filed in China on December 12, 2022 (Patent No. CN202223355***.4), and was first disclosed on January 30, 2024.
Considering that the telescopic drainage pipe has been protected by multiple patents, the core protection points of this invention patent are now discussed in detail.
Right one
A telescopic drainpipe assembly, comprising:a spiral telescopica pipe body;
and a first adapter connected to one end of the spiral telescopica pipe body;
wherein the first adapter comprises a hollow first adapter seat and a first pipe connector connected to the first adapter seat, the first pipe connector is spirally provided, and the first pipe connector is in threaded connection to the spiral telescopic pipe body;
the first adapter seat is provided with two first leak-proof gaskets, and the two first leak-proof gaskets are arranged around an outer wall of the first adapter seat; two locking adapters are provided between the two firstd leak-proof gaskets and symmetrically arranged on the outer wall of the first adapter seat.
a telescopic drainage pipe assembly comprising a spiral telescopic pipe body;
and a first adapter connected to one end of the spiral telescopic tube body;
wherein the first adapter comprises a hollow first adapter seat and a first pipe joint connected with the first adapter seat, the first pipe joint is arranged in a spiral shape, and the first pipe joint is in threaded connection with the spiral telescopic pipe body;
The first adapter is provided with two first leak-proof washers, and the two first leak-proof washers are arranged around the outer wall of the first adapter seat; two locking adapters are arranged between the two first leak-proof washers, and the two locking adapters are symmetrically arranged on the outer wall of the first adapter seat.
As shown in the diagram above, this patent primarily protects the two first leak-proof washers possessed on the first adapter, as well as two locking adapters for locking the two first leak-proof washers.
Currently, the case is in its initial stages, and the plaintiff has submitted a list of defendants and evidence to prosecute. A Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) has not yet been applied. In the absence of an application and without the court's approval, the defendant will not be substantiated to notify the allegation of infringement. In order to determine the potential risk of infringement, the defendant can conduct a preliminary self-examination from the following perspectives:
1. Compare the appearance of the product: whether the appearance patent of the self-owned product is similar/the same as that of the plaintiff's telescopic drainage pipe;
2. Analysis of patent rights: Through the above-mentioned analysis of the rights of Jude engineers, it is possible to judge whether there is any possibility of infringement according to the structure of its own products and the plaintiff's patent claims.
If your product falls under the patent protection of someone else, you are worried about being subject to a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO). You can reduce your worries in the following situations:
1. Your product has been publicly sold at least one year in advance of the plaintiff's patent application;
2. The same products have been sold in the market, and these have been sold for more than a year;
3. Your products are the same as the plaintiff's patents, but the plaintiff applied for a patent after the products were sold for more than one year;
4. Your product is similar to the plaintiff's patent, but the patent is based on a combination of two known technologies (A+B). You can prove the invalidity of a patent to determine that your product is not infringing. Even if you may face being sued, you may still have the opportunity to defend yourself.
In any of the above cases, if a publicly available time record can be found, the time log must be accompanied by an image review as evidence (not just the time the product was listed as a link) that will support your position of non-infringement. Providing sufficient public evidence can help you avoid potential liability.