Online Patent Monitoring and Enforcement

What it does

When a competitor or an importer sells a product that may use your patented invention, the first sign is often a listing on a marketplace or in a webshop. This function applies the online monitoring and enforcement tools we use for brands to that situation. It finds the listings, secures the proof, and puts the file in front of a patent attorney who decides whether the product falls within your claims and what to do about it.

A patent infringement isn't like a fake logo that anyone can spot: it depends on the wording of the claims and on how the product works. The platform finds and records. The comparison with the claims, and the conclusion, are the attorney's legal work.

Functions

Monitoring of marketplaces and webshops

Through our online brand monitoring we look at the major marketplaces, among them Amazon, eBay, AliExpress, Temu and Etsy, and at webshops reached through domain names. For a patent matter we point it at your product: the product names, model numbers and descriptions under which an infringing product is likely to be offered. Detections appear in the client portal, where you tell us whether to investigate or dismiss them.

Evidence pack

For each listing that matters, the evidence pack holds captures of the page, the seller details, the price and the product images and description, plus a trusted timestamp that fixes when they were made. Listings change and disappear, so this is secured first. A test purchase and its examination are added by the attorney.

Assessment against the claims

This step is legal work and is not automated. A patent attorney reads the listing, and where needed the product itself, against the claims of your patent in the countries where it is in force. The attorney considers whether each feature of the claim is found in the product, whether the equivalent is arguable, and whether the patent is valid, in force and owned by you at that date. If the picture is unclear, we dig further and send no notice. The method is the same claim reading as in a freedom-to-operate analysis, applied from the side of the patent holder.

Notices and platform procedures

If the attorney concludes that the listing is infringing, our team prepares a notice through our takedown service. It is addressed to the platform or host, or directly to the seller, and it carries the patent details and the evidence. The directory of reporting routes shows where a report should be made. Marketplaces generally have their own patent complaint procedures and usually ask for more than a brand complaint, because they cannot judge the claims themselves. The outcome is not guaranteed. Only an attorney sends the notice, since an unfounded notice can expose you to claims from the seller.

Escalation

Some cases end with a removed listing. Others need a stronger step: a cease-and-desist letter, summary proceedings, an action before a national court or the Unified Patent Court, or a customs application where the goods enter the EU. The file built for the notice is used for the next step; we advise on route and cost first.

Where a lawyer checks: the attorney verifies the patent status and ownership, the claim comparison, that the seller is not licensed or an exhaustion of rights applies, and that the notice is proportionate.

What you receive

You receive the listings found for your products in the client portal, the evidence pack for each listing we act on, and the attorney's written assessment against the claims. Where we act, you receive the notice or letter as sent and a record of the reply from the platform or seller. Where we advise not to act, you receive the reasons.

We can't promise that a listing will be removed or that a court will agree. What you can rely on is that every step rests on documented evidence and a reasoned reading of your claims.

A matter from start to finish

A client with a European patent on a clip for solar panels asks us to watch for copies. Monitoring returns three marketplace listings of a similar clip from the same seller. The evidence pack is made for each. The attorney compares the photographs and the technical description with claim 1, finds that one feature is missing in two of the products and present in the third, and recommends a notice for that listing only. The client agrees, the notice goes to the marketplace with the patent and the evidence, and the reply is recorded. If the seller reappears, the file supports a cease-and-desist letter.

Where it is used

The function supports the enforcement part of patent strategy, where patents are drafted and maintained with enforcement in mind. It also complements patent research: patent watch follows new filings of third parties, while this function follows the products on the market. For brand matters the same tools are described under online brand monitoring and takedowns.