Yes.

Really enjoyed your article, but my question is, if i bought a product from alibaba that is a patented design is it patent infringement for me to resell it? (Even if it is “counterfeit”) I’ve heard whisperings that reselling an item doesn’t infringe on IP, is this true or have I misunderstood something?

Cheers

What do I do if I have started an order with a China supplier and they informed me a piece on said product is patent and I tell them I no longer want that product because they are replacing the piece with another that doesn’t even perform the intended use for that piece and they tell me they will send the patent piece anyway and will not refund me

Hi Andy – Patents are always a needle in the haystack and often you don’t find out about someone having a patent until you get the cease and desist :-( I’m not sure of any great ways to know if your product potentially infringes on someone else’s patent except for extensive market research to see if there’s a similar product on the market or paying a patent attorney a very exorbitant fee.

My name is Andy, a small business owner that mainly focus on selling fashionable jewelry on Shopify and Amazon. We usually import jewelry like Necklace, Rings, Earring, and Bracelet from Alibaba. The question that we are concern with is about patent infringement, first of all we arent sure did the manufacturer company in china copy any designs from USA or other parts of the country that they have patent the jewelry design. If they did, how would I know which jewelry design is illegal to resell? Due to the fact that there are millions of jewelry design each year, its difficult for us to determine which jewelry design is patented or not. Also, we have noticed that other website (third party) has been selling the same jewelry design that was seen on Alibaba. In our case its like a needle in the haystack, there are too many similar jewelry design out in the market and we arent sure which jewelry design did the manufacturer company in china took the design from, and if they did; did they took it from a company that has patented the design or not? What should I do to protect our self from potently being sue in the future?

Thank You

Anyone can send you a cease and desist. There’s no legal requirement. Now whether it can be enforced is a question to complex for this blog.

Not sure what the comment is here but a Chinese copy identical to the patented product would still violate the patent (but many sellers ignore this anyways)