应对基于英国注册外观设计的亚马逊下架通知：最佳实践考量

亚马逊等在线市场在很大程度上依赖自动化或半自动化流程来处理知识产权投诉。当卖家收到声称侵犯英国注册外观设计的下架通知时，其商业影响可能是即时且严重的：产品列表被移除、广告被暂停、账户健康受损、以及库存滞留在物流中心。由于英国知识产权局（与许多其他国家的知识产权局一样）在注册前并不对设计进行有效性审查，因此确实存在针对现有产品进行恶意注册的可能性。近年来，此类注册有所增加，我们怀疑其中许多注册的目的是为了在在线平台上发出下架通知。

Online marketplaces such as Amazon rely heavily on automated or semi-automated processes to handle intellectual property complaints. When a seller receives a takedown notice alleging infringement of a UK registered design, the commercial impact can be immediate and severe: listings removed, advertising suspended, account health damaged, and stock stranded in fulfilment centres. Because the UK Intellectual Property Office (in common with many others) does not examine designs for validity before registration, there is a real possibility of bad faith registrations for existing products. In recent years we have seen an increase in such registrations, with a suspicion that many are registered for the purposes of use in take down notices on online platforms.

本文阐述了卖家企业在面临下架通知时需要考虑的关键法律和实际问题，尤其侧重于注册外观设计看似无效、通用或存在恶意注册的情形。本文以亚马逊这一知名在线零售商为例，但类似考量同样适用于其他平台。

This article sets out key legal and practical considerations for seller businesses faced with takedown notices, with particular focus on situations where the registered design appears invalid, generic, or registered in bad faith. We use Amazon as a well-known example online retailer in this article, but of course similar considerations will apply to others.

亚马逊的外观设计侵权处理流程并非法院诉讼程序。它不涉及对证据进行详细的法律分析，亚马逊也不具备就权利无效等问题作出裁决的能力，尤其是在双方存在争议的情况下。

Amazon’s design infringement process is not a court process. It does not involve detailed legal analysis of evidence and Amazon is not equipped to make a determination on issues such as invalidity of rights especially where there is a dispute between the parties.

需要牢记的关键点：

Key points to bear in mind:

• 亚马逊通常会基于已注册权利的存在采取行动：只要该外观设计处于有效状态并登记在册，亚马逊就不会也无法独立评估其法律效力。

  Amazon generally acts on the existence of a registered right: if the design is in force and on the register Amazon does not and cannot assess its merits independently.

  
  

• 该平台通常会先移除产品列表，后再解决争议。

  The platform typically removes listings first and resolves disputes later.

  
  

• 仅仅断言“该设计无效”或“这是通用设计”往往是不够的。

  Mere assertions such as “the design is invalid” or “this is generic” are rarely sufficient on their own.

总之，卖家应将下架通知视为程序性的行政操作，而非法律责任的判定。同时，卖家还应假设处理此类问题的亚马逊工作人员不一定具备法律资质，因此简洁明了、逻辑清晰的论证效果远好于详细的法律论证和法律条文引用。

In summary, sellers should treat takedown notices as procedural administrative actions, not determinations of legal liability. They should also assume that the Amazon personnel dealing with the issues are not necessarily legally qualified and therefore straightforward logical and intuitive arguments will work much better than detailed legal arguments and references to legal texts.

在与亚马逊或投诉人交涉之前，务必收集证据并保存所有相关文件。这包括：

Before engaging with Amazon or the complainant, it is critical to gather evidence and preserve all relevant documentation. This includes:

• 保存被移除产品列表的截图（包括ASIN码（亚马逊商品编码）、图片和描述）

  Saving screenshots of the removed listing (including ASIN (Amazon’s reference number), images, and description)

  
  

• 保存下架通知及亚马逊的任何通信记录

  The takedown notice and any correspondence from Amazon.

  
  

• 提供产品首次上市或销售的证据。事实上，这可能是说服亚马逊相信下架请求毫无根据的最佳且最直接的工具之一：如果卖家在注册外观设计申请日之前就已经开始销售相同或外观上非常相似的产品，那么这清楚地表明投诉是毫无根据的

  Evidence of first marketing or sale of the product. Indeed this can be one of the best and most straightforward tools to convince Amazon that there is no merit to the takedown request: if the seller has been selling the same or very visually similar products since before the date if the registered design, then this is a clear indication that the complaint is baseless.

  
  

• 收集供应商文件、发票或生产记录

  Gather supplier documentation, invoices, or manufacturing records.

  
  

• 如果卖家自己的产品在注册外观设计申请日之前没有上市，则提供在注册日期之前已有的第三方现有类似设计示例（产品目录、网站、存档页面、交易清单）。

  In the absence of the seller’s own products having been available prior to the date of the design, examples of third-party prior designs showing similar designs before the registration date (catalogues, websites, archived pages, trade listings)

无论采取何种策略，所有这些材料对于挑战下架通知都至关重要。

All of this material will be essential to challenging the takedown notice regardless of the strategy adopted.

如果该产品至关重要，尽早寻求法律咨询将是明智之举。我们Marks & Clerk在这一领域拥有丰富的经验，能够协助制定最佳策略，以最快捷、最经济的方式解决问题。我们还可以协助准备不侵权法律意见书，亚马逊及其他平台通常会接受此类意见书，作为对下架请求提出异议的依据。

If the product is of sufficient importance, it would be wise to seek legal advice at an early stage. We as Marks & Clerk have significant experience of assisting clients in this area and can help formulate the best strategy to resolve the matter in the quickest and most cost-effective way. We can also assist with preparing legal opinions on non-infringement, which Amazon and others will often accept as a part of any challenge to a takedown request.

并非所有注册外观设计都具有同等效力，有些外观设计明显弱于其他外观设计。

Not all registered designs are equal, and some are significantly weaker than others.

卖家至少应该：

At a minimum, sellers should:

• 确认注册号、申请日及所有人信息

  Confirm the registration number, filing date, and proprietor

  
  

• 查阅提交给英国知识产权局的设计图（附图或照片）

  Review the representations (drawings or photographs) filed with the UKIPO

  
  

• 将注册外观设计与被控侵权产品进行比对

  Compare the registered design to the accused product

如果投诉人不是注册所有人，如果外观设计的申请日晚于卖家的销售日期，或者如果注册外观设计与产品之间存在显著差异，这些都是需要提出的关键点

If the complainant is not the registered proprietor, if the design post-dates your sales, or if there are significant differences between the design and the product these are all key points to be raised.

常见问题包括：

Common issues include:

• 外观设计涵盖基本形状或常见配置

  Designs covering basic shapes or common configurations

  
  

• 视觉表现非常宽泛，缺乏独特性

  Very broad visual representations with little distinctive character

  
  

• 注册申请在维权活动开始前不久才提交

  Registrations filed shortly before enforcement activity begins

此类问题的存在并不能自动解决亚马逊的下架问题，但它可以为采取最佳策略提供依据。

The existence of such issues does not automatically resolve the Amazon takedown, but it informs the best strategy to adopt.

面对下架通知，并没有唯一的"正确"回应方案。最佳策略往往是多管齐下，既要力求快速解决问题，又要确保问题的可持续性。

There is no single “correct” response to a takedown notice. The best strategy often involves parallel tracks, seeking to achieve a quick resolution of the matter but also a sustainable one.

亚马逊针对下架通知提供的选项之一是，允许提交一份由英国知识产权专业人士出具的、解释不侵权的合理意见书。结果因情况而异， 但如果成功，这无疑是恢复商品信息最快捷、最经济的方式。

One of the options that Amazon offers in response to a takedown notice is the opportunity to submit a reasoned opinion from a UK IP professional explaining non-infringement. Outcomes vary but this if successful this route is by far the fastest and most cost-effective way to re-instate listings.

我们可以与您合作，根据上文第1点所述收集的材料和证据准备此类意见书。由于亚马逊要求提供“不侵权”意见书，我们可以协助您尽可能地将无效性论点构建为不侵权论点。

We can work with you to prepare such an opinion based on the materials and evidence gathered under point 1 above. Since Amazon requires “non-infringement” opinions, we can work with you to frame invalidity arguments as non-infringement ones as much as possible.

如上所述，根据我们的经验，虽然是一份法律意见书，但通常直白、简单的论证能使亚马逊员工有理由恢复产品列表，效果最佳。

As indicated above, in our experience, although a legal opinion, simple, straightforward argument that enable the Amazon personnel to justify re-instatement are usually best.

如果法律意见不成立，另一种耗时更长、成本更高的选择是申请宣告注册外观设计无效，这可以直接解决问题的根源。无效理由可能包括：

A slower and more costly option if the legal opinion is unsuccessful is to apply to invalidate the registered design directly addresses the root of the problem. Grounds may include:

• 缺乏新颖性——即相同外观设计在注册外观设计申请日之前已经存在

  Lack of novelty – i.e. the same design was available prior to the registered design

  
  

•  缺乏独特性——注册外观设计申请日之前已有的外观设计与该注册外观设计本身之间的差异并不显著，且该注册外观设计与现有外观设计具有相同的整体印象

  Lack of individual character – the differences between the designs available prior to registration of the design and the design itself are not significant, and the registered design has the same overall character as the prior designs.

  
  

• 外观设计完全由其功能决定——外观设计的形状之所以如此，是因为产品旨在实现的技术功能。

  The design being exclusively dictated by its function -the shape of the design is what it is because of the technical function the product is designed to achieve.

虽然此过程耗时较长（至少数月），但它能提供最终的解决方案，并防止重复维权。

While this process takes longer (many months at the very), it can provide a definitive resolution and prevent repeated enforcement.

当恶意下架造成重大商业损害，或是更广泛的滥用模式的一部分时，则可能需要提起诉讼。特别是，英国法律为收到“无理威胁”的注册外观设计侵权诉讼的当事人提供了救济措施。基于恶意注册或毫无根据的侵权指控而在在线市场上下架产品的请求，已被认定为构成无理威胁，法院可以发布禁令，并判令投诉人赔偿因无理下架通知造成的财务损失。

Where bad faith takedowns cause substantial commercial harm or are part of a broader pattern of abuse, court proceedings may be appropriate. In particular, UK law provides remedies for recipients of “unjustified threats” of registered design infringement procedures. Takedown requests from online marketplaces on the basis of bad faith registrations or otherwise meritless accusations of infringement have been found to amount to unjustified threats and the courts can impose injunctions and award damages payable by the complainant for losses caused by unjustified takedown notices that cause financial harm.

这些程序可能成本高昂，因此通常只适用于经济损失最严重且屡次发生的案件。此外，能否准确识别恶意投诉者也至关重要。但在造成重大损害的情况下，这些程序可能非常有效。

These procedures can be costly so are reserved from the most financially damaging and repeated instances. They also depend on being able to properly identify the bad-faith complainant. But in cases of significant harm they can be effective.

一些投诉人会对卖家的反击作出如下回应：

Some complainants respond to pushback by:

• 提交额外的外观设计注册申请

  Filing additional design registrations

  
  

• 提交更多下架通知

  Submitting further takedown notices

  
  

• 针对相关的ASIN码或产品变体

  Targeting related ASINs or product variations

这一风险应告知：

This risk should inform:

• 与投诉人通信的语气和内容

  The tone and content of correspondence with the complainant

  
  

• 无论信息是直接发送还是通过法律代表发送，都可能造成沟通障碍

  Whether communications are sent directly or via legal representatives

  
  

• 是否需要启动正式诉讼程序，或者能否与投诉方达成某种协议，这些都是需要考虑的问题。如果该行为看似是一场旨在扼杀竞争的蓄意行动，那么可能不可避免地需要通过法院和知识产权局的程序来解决问题。

  Whether formal proceedings are needed or whether some agreement with the complainant can be reached. If the action appears to be a concerted campaign to stifle competition, then court and intellectual property office procedures may become inevitable to resolve the issue.

实践中，收到下架请求的卖家可能会立即遭受业务上的重大影响。最快捷、最经济的解决方法是与您的法律顾问合作，与亚马逊交涉，争取恢复商品。但如果此方法无效，那么采取法律程序，包括必要时提起诉讼，可能成为唯一的补救措施。Marks & Clerk 律师事务所可以协助您处理所有这些事宜。

In practice, sellers subject to takedown request can suffer immediate and often significant impact to their businesses. The fastest and most cost-effective means of resolution is to work with your legal advisors to engage with Amazon to seek reinstatement. But if that is unsuccessful then engaging with legal procedures, including court action where necessary may become the only remedy. Marks & Clerk can help you will all aspects of these approaches.

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联系作者 Contact the author

dbevan@marks-clerk.com