Recently many online marketplaces have been under the scanner for cases of patent infringement. It has become a common occurrence for manufacturers to file a case against an online marketplace for listing products that are patented under someone else’s name. eBay is one of the largest, multinational e-commerce corporations that has recently faced numerous charges of patent infringement. The primary goal of this e-commerce business is to facilitate consumer-to-consumer and business-to-business sales. But, in the midst of so many cases of patent infringement this question frequently comes up,” Can eBay be sued for patent infringement?”
eBay, like Amazon and Alibaba, is a marketplace. It is a platform where buyers and sellers meet. So, it is hard to make a claim that eBay is responsible for patent infringement when it is solely an intermediary and not a seller of the products in concern. But, the answer to this question is much more complicated than the problem. It is, therefore, recommended to consult an Intellectual Property Agent or Lawyer in Edmonton to understand this issue better.
Let’s take a closer look at what the law says –
What does the Canadian Patent law say?
According to the Canadian Patent law, registration of a patent grants an inventor the right to sole ownership of the invention and enables him to prevent others from making, using or selling the invention from the day the patent is granted to a period extending to 20 years post the filing of the patent application.
What is patent infringement?
A patent is considered to be infringed when someone makes a copy of, uses or sells the invention without the permission of the patent owner. The patent owner then reserves the right to sue the person or the group of individuals responsible for the infringement. If your patent is used without purchase of due licensing rights and then sold online through the medium of different e-commerce sites such as Amazon and eBay, then you can file a legal action against the seller of the product. Your Intellectual Property lawyer in Edmonton can help you with the litigation and seek due compensation for the infringement.
Can eBay be sued for patent infringement?
Online marketplaces have been facing charges of patent infringement from individuals across different nations. Keeping the scope of this discussion within the Canadian law, it is likely that online marketplaces such as eBay are not directly responsible for infringement. In most cases, there is a third party who is directly responsible for the infringement. Online marketplaces merely collate the data from their vendors and display it online for consumers. Therefore, eBay in most probability cannot be sued for patent infringement.
If you wish to learn more on this subject and IP litigation, consult an Intellectual Property lawyer in Edmonton today.