E-commerce is big business in China. Last year e-commerce sellers in China sold $2.3 trillion U.S. dollars of goods online, up from $1.8 trillion U.S. dollars in 2019. This amount was forecasted to reach $3.57 trillion U.S. dollars in 2024. 

电子商务在中国是一项重要产业。去年，中国电子商务经营者的网络销售额达到 2.3 万亿美元，高于 2019 年的 1.8 万亿美元，预计在 2024 年将达到 3.57 万亿美元。

Online sales in China make up 1/3 of total global e-commerce. E-commerce in China now makes up 25% of total retail sales in the country, compared to 14% in the US. Alibaba, JD.com, and Pinduoduo are some of the biggest online marketplaces in China. Together, their marketplaces dominate e-commerce in China with a combined market share of 89.4%. Many businesses operate entirely online, and e-commerce is becoming an increasingly greater percentage of sales even for sellers that have a brick and mortar presence.  

中国的互联网销售额占全球电子商务总额的 1/3。中国的电子商务现在占全国零售总额的 25% ，而美国只占 14% 。阿里巴巴、京东和拼多多是中国最大的电商平台。它们的总市场份额为 89.4%，在中国电子商务市场中占主导地位。许多企业完全在线经营，电子商务在销售额中所占的比例越来越大，即使对于那些有实体店的卖家来说也是如此。

Counterfeit goods and intellectual property infringement have historically been problematic online, even before the recent explosion in e-commerce. In 2017, an estimated $1.7 trillion U.S. dollars of counterfeit goods were sold online globally. Unlike brick and mortar sellers, counterfeit goods and intellectual property infringement online are more difficult to identify and remove. The International Trademark Association explained why counterfeit sellers prefer to operate online:

[counterfeit sellers] can hide behind the anonymity of the Internet  —with the Dark Web even their IP addresses can be hidden. The Internet gives them the reach to sell to consumers globally—outside of the national limits of law enforcement. This international reach forces brand owners to prosecute cases outside of their local jurisdictions. Counterfeiters can display genuine goods on their site and ship counterfeit goods to the consumer. This makes it difficult for brand owners to even determine if a site is selling counterfeits without making costly purchases from the site. 

网络销售带来的假冒商品和侵犯知识产权问题由来已久，甚至可以追溯到最近电子商务爆炸性增长之前。2017 年，预计价值 1.7 万亿美元的假冒商品通过网络被销售到全球。与实体店不同， 网络上的假冒商品和侵犯知识产权行为更难识别和清除。国际商标协会解释了为什么假冒商品销售商更喜欢在网上经营:

(假冒销售商)可以隐藏在互联网的匿名性背后，即使他们的 IP 地址也可以隐藏在暗网中。互联网使他们能够在国家执法范围之外向全球消费者销售产品。这种国际化的影响力迫使品牌所有者在本地司法管辖范围之外起诉案件。假冒者可以在他们的网站上展示真货，并将假货运送给消费者。除非花费重要资源从网站购买商品，否则品牌所有者很难确定一个网站是否在销售假冒产品。

Online marketplaces have taken steps to combat counterfeit goods and intellectual property infringement. For example, Amazon has a brand registry for intellectual property owners.  According to Amazon, enrolling in Amazon’s Brand Registry “unlocks a suite of tools designed to help you build and protect your brand, creating a better experience for customers.” Benefits include proactive brand protection. For example, with the information a seller provides, Amazon uses automated tools to proactively remove suspected infringing content.

在线市场已经采取措施打击假冒商品和侵犯知识产权行为。例如，亚马逊为知识产权人建立了一个品牌注册系统。据亚马逊称，加入亚马逊的品牌注册中心“可以开启一系列工具，这些工具能够帮助你建立和保护自己的品牌，为消费者创造更好的体验。”好处包括具先见性的品牌保护措施。例如，凭借卖家提供的信息，亚马逊使用自动化工具主动删除可疑的侵权内容。

Recently, some significant online sellers have been removed from online marketplaces such as Amazon in China. If you had goods removed from Amazon because of a wrongful accusation of patent infringement, Amazon’s Utility Patent Neutral Evaluation procedure (“UPNE”) is a relatively quick, fair, and cost effective way of getting your goods back online. If both parties agree to participate, your goods will be re-listed until the end of the process. In 2019, Amazon introduced the UPNE as a pilot. The trial appears to have been successful, and Amazon is continuing the UPNE.

最近，一些重要的在线卖家已经被电商平台，如亚马逊中国(Amazon China)清理。如果你的商品因为遭到错误的专利侵权指控而被亚马逊下架，那么亚马逊的发明专利中立评估程序(UPNE)是一个相对快速、公平且成本效益高的方法，可以让你的商品重新上线。如果双方同意参与，你的商品将被重新列入商品清单，直到该程序流程结束。2019 年，亚马逊将 UPNE 作为试点推出。这次尝试似乎取得了成功，亚马逊正在继续使用 UPNE。

The UPNE proceedings are confidential, and the accused infringer can only challenge one claim from one unexpired U.S. patent. For example, let’s say you sell wireless charging devices, and are accused of infringing the Apple, Inc. patent for wireless charging devices, U.S. Patent Number 11,165,273 (“Apple Patent”). The Apple Patent has eighteen (18) claims that define the scope of the invention. Each claim is a little different. Some build on previous claims and each may claim a different aspect of the invention. Even infringing one claim could be problematic. Alternatively, invalidating one claim does not necessarily invalidate the entire patent. To streamline the process, Amazon requires focusing on only one claim (chosen by the patent owner).     

UPNE 的程序是保密的，被指控的侵权者只能对一项未过期的美国专利的一个权利要求提出质疑。例如，假设你销售无线充电设备，并被指控侵犯苹果公司的无线充电设备专利，美国专利号11,165,273(“苹果专利”)。苹果公司这项专利共有 18 个权利要求。这些权利要求定义了这项发明的保护范围，而同时每个权利要求都有一些不同。比如有些权利要求是建立在其它编号在前的权利要求之上的，再比如每一个权利要求都可能针对相关发明的一个独特方面要求保护。即使仅侵犯一个权利要求也可能会造成重要影响。与之相对，宣布一项权利要求无效并不必然导致整个专利无效。为了简化程序，亚马逊要求只专注于一项权利要求(由专利权人选择)。 

This is the basic structure:

该程序的基本结构如下:

· The patent owner requests to participate in the UPNE.

专利权人请求参与 UPNE。

· The patent owner at that time submits a statement identifying the accused infringing products by their Amazon Standard Identification Number (or ASIN) and explains how the products infringe the patent. The number of products a patent owner may accuse is limited to 50 products.在提出请求时，专利权人提交了一份通过被控产品的亚马逊标准识别号码(即ASIN)确定被控侵权产品的声明，并解释了这些产品如何侵犯专利权。一个专利权人可指控的产品数量不能超过 50 种。

· Upon receipt of the patent owner’s request and the list of accused products, Amazon sends a neutral patent evaluation agreement to the patent owner and the allegedly infringing seller(s). Both must complete and execute the agreement, if they want to move forward.

在收到专利权人的请求和所指控产品的清单后，亚马逊向专利权人和被控侵权卖家发送一份中立专利评估协议。如果他们想该程序继续进行，双方都必须完成并签署上述协议。

· If the seller decides to participate, they have three weeks to notify Amazon.

如果卖家决定参与，他们可在三个星期内通知亚马逊。

· If the seller agrees to participate, its listings remain active until the conclusion of the process.

如果卖家同意参与，他的商品链接将继续保持可用状态，直到整个程序结束。

· If the seller does not agree to participate or comply with the agreement, the listings for the accused products are removed from Amazon.

如果卖方不同意参与或不遵守协议，被指控产品的链接将从亚马逊网站上删除。

· If both parties agree to participate and execute the agreement, Amazon selects a neutral third-party patent lawyer and requires each party to pay the evaluator a $4,000 deposit.

如果双方同意参与并签署协议，亚马逊将选择一名中立的第三方专利律师，并要求每一方向评估人员支付 4000 美元的押金。

· After both parties pay the evaluator, the evaluator establishes a schedule for the submission of written arguments. The patent owner has twenty-one (21) days to submit initial arguments, the seller has fourteen (14) days to respond, and the patent owner has seven (7) days to reply. The reply is optional. The evaluator issues a decision within fourteen (14) days of the reply deadline. The parties cannot modify the schedule.

在双方付款给评估人员之后，评估人员建立一个提交书面论点的时间表。专利权人有 21天的时间提交初始论点，卖方有 14天的时间作出答复，专利权人有 7天的时间再对此作出答复。最后的专利权人答复是可选的。评估者在回复截止日期的 14 天内发布决定。当事人不能修改时间表。

· The evaluator’s decision is limited to whether the patent owner is or is not likely to prove that the accused product infringes the asserted claim. The evaluator only provides reasoning if they decide in favor of the seller. Reasons may include: (1) the accused product does not infringe (i.e., it does not include all elements of the asserted claim); (2) a court has found the patent invalid or unenforceable; or (3) the accused products (or physically identical products) were on sale more than one year before the earliest effective date of the patent.

评估者的决定仅限于专利权人是否有较大可能证明被指控的产品侵犯了其所主张的权利要求。评估人员只有在他们做出有利于卖方的决定时才会阐述原因。原因可能包括: (1)被指控的产品没有侵权(即没有包括所主张的权利要求的所有限制要素) ; (2)法院已裁定该专利无效或不可执行; 或(3)被指控的产品(或实际上相同的产品)在专利最早生效日的一年前就已经进行了销售。

· If the evaluator determines that the accused product infringes the patent, Amazon will take down the listings for the accused products.

如果评估人员确定被指控的产品侵犯了专利权，亚马逊将撤下被指控产品的链接。

· If the evaluator decides in favor of the seller, the accused products will remain listed on Amazon. The decision is confidential, and the parties agree to keep it confidential. 

如果评估者做出有利于卖家的决定，被指控产品的链接将在亚马逊上保留。这个决定是保密的，且双方同意对此保密。

· The prevailing party in the UPNE is refunded the $4,000 deposit. The evaluator keeps the losing party’s $4,000 deposit. If there are multiple sellers who paid the $4,000 deposit but did not prevail, a total of $4,000 is retained by the evaluator. The remaining amount in excess of the $4,000 deposit is donated to an Amazon Smile charity of the patent owner’s choice. Amazon does not retain any portion of the deposit.

在 UPNE 中获胜的一方将被退还 4,000 美元的押金。评估者保留失败方的 4000 美元押金。如果有多个卖方支付了4,000美元的押金，却没有在程序中获胜，那么评估人仍然共保留4,000美元。超过 4000 美元押金的其余部分将被捐赠给专利权人选择的“亚马逊微笑”慈善机构。亚马逊不获得任何一部分押金。

· There is no appeal or request for reconsideration, but the parties can file actions in federal court for patent infringement or non-infringement.

该程序中没有上诉或要求重新审议，但当事人可以在联邦法院起诉侵犯专利权或确认不侵犯专利权。

In order to take full advantage of Amazon’s UPNE, it is highly recommended to engage an experienced patent attorney. Although the UPNE is limited in its scope of claims and arguments that can be raised, the evaluator applies U.S. patent principles, including claim construction, prosecution history estoppel, and the “all elements” rule. For example, according to one attorney who helped an accused seller with the process, the evaluator applied the U.S. Federal Circuit’s claim construction principles in order to reject a patent owner’s infringement argument. The proposed claim construction would also have excluded the asserted patent’s preferred embodiment. The evaluator did not accept the patent owner’s arguments, abiding by Federal Circuit principles that claims cannot be construed one way in order to obtain their allowance and in a different way against accused infringers.  

为了充分利用亚马逊的 UPNE，我们强烈建议聘请一位经验丰富的专利律师。尽管在UPNE 中可以提出的权利要求数目和允许提出的论点都受到限制，但评估人员适用的仍然是美国专利原则，包括权利要求解释、与申请历史相关的禁止反言和“所有技术要素”原则。例如，根据一位帮助被指控侵权的卖家参与诉讼程序的律师的说法，评估人员应用了美国联邦巡回上诉法院的权利要求解释原则，以驳回专利权人的侵权论点。专利权人所提出的权利要求解释将会排除所主张专利中已描述的最佳实施例。评估人员遵循联邦巡回上诉法院的原则“不能为了获得专利授权以一种方式解释权利要求，而为了指控侵权人又对权利要求进行另一种不同的解释”，拒绝接受专利权人的论点。

If a company receives a notice from Amazon that its products were removed due to accused infringement, it is very important to consult counsel with experience in handling patent disputes and respond to the notice. Failure to take some action will likely result in the product involved being removed, and could have consequences for the company’s online account generally. Most online marketplaces suspend accounts if there have been multiple IP violations. You should reply to the notification you received with specific reasons as to why you believe a mistake was made. You may also provide a court order demonstrating that your product is non-infringing or that the asserted patent is invalid or unenforceable. Alternatively, you could try contacting the patent owner to resolve the matter. But in any event you should not simply ignore the notice.

如果一家公司收到亚马逊的通知，称其产品因被控侵权而被下架，那么在面对这种情况时咨询在处理专利纠纷方面有丰富经验的律师并对通知作出回应是非常重要的。如果不采取行动，很可能会导致相 关产品被下架，并可能对公司的线上账户产生更大的影响。如果某账户多次出现知识产权侵权行为，大多数电商平台会冻结该账户。公司应该回复其收到的通知，具体说明己方认为通知存在错误的原因。公司也可以提供一份法院命令（禁令），证明自己的产品不侵权，或者对方所主张的专利是无效或者不可执行的。或者，你可以尝试联系专利权人来解决这个问题。在任何情况下，公司都不应该简单地忽视这个通知。

Selling counterfeit products and intellectual property infringement is not the only way to be removed from online marketplaces. Studies have shown that positive consumer reviews lead to consumer trust, and an increase in customers. According to one study, 88% of consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations, and customers are likely to spend 31% more on a business with excellent reviews. Online marketplaces remove sellers for consumer reviews that violate the marketplaces’ consumer review policies. For example, online marketplaces generally prohibit “fake” reviews posted by bots, the seller, or non-customers. Some marketplaces also prohibit any attempt to manipulate reviews. This includes incentivizing consumers to post positive reviews, or change the consumer’s own negative reviews, by offering gift cards or cash. One online marketplace recently began cracking down on sellers who violated its review policy by removing 3,000 online merchant accounts in China. 

销售假冒产品和侵犯知识产权并不是商品从电商平台上下架的唯一原因。研究表明，正面的消费者评论会带来消费者对产品的信任，以及更多的购买者。一项研究表明，88% 的消费者信任网络评论，就像信任个人推荐一样，而且消费者可能会在有良好评论的企业上多进行 31% 的消费。电商平台对于消费者评论制定了相关政策并会清理那些违反平台政策的卖家。例如，电商平台通常禁止由机器人、卖家或非消费者发布的“虚假”评论。一些电商平台也禁止任何尝试操纵评论的行为。这包括通过提供礼品卡或现金来激励消费者发布正面评论，或者改变消费者自己的负面评论。一个电商平台最近通过清理 3000 个中国线上商户的账户开始打击那些违反其评论政策的卖家。

Unfortunately, in the case of removal for violating the review policy, there is no streamlined process similar to UPNE. Getting back online generally involves contacting the marketplace. If you have been removed due to a violation of a marketplace’s consumer review policy, you should consider contacting an attorney who is familiar with the process. This may be the quickest way to get your account restored.

不幸的是，在违反评论政策而遭清理账户的情况下，没有类似 UPNE 的简化程序予以救济。重新上线通常需要联系电商平台。如果你因为违反了平台的消费者评论政策而被清理，你应该考虑联系一个熟悉这个程序的律师。这可能是恢复你账户的最快方法。

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本文作者：Gary Hnath, Jing Zhang, and Todd Davidovits, Mayer Brown LLP。

文章来源：本文由GDOIP海外战略合作单位——孖士打（Mayer Brown ）律师事务所供稿。仅供学习交流，不代表本站观点。

孖士打(Mayer Brown)是一家全球性律师事务所。其独特定位是专为世界领先企业和金融机构在极为复杂的交易和争议方面提供法律咨询。孖士打的网络覆盖四大洲，在世界三大国际金融中心 - 纽约、伦敦和香港 - 同时分别拥有约二百名律师的综合律所，在《钱伯斯与合伙人》、《法律500强》和其他全国性和全球性机构及出版物所做的客户调查和律所业务排名中经常名列前茅。