Q: Hello, Is there a patent for this product: https://www.amazon.com/Scratch-Off-World-Map-Poster/dp/B01IIF4L9Y
Hello,
I would like to produce and sell a scratch-off world map poster and sell it on Amazon in the USA. I want to be sure that I won't get issues with this product because of trademarks and/or patents. I hope that you can give advice.
Are there patents for the scratch layer of a world map?
Thank you in advance for your advice.
Kind regards
A:
From a quick search of other Amazon offerings, my suspicion is no. Please see: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B075K3G8XF/ref=dp_cerb_2 and https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07G3DPJMF/ref=dp_cerb_3 Further, a quick search of various patent databases doesn't show any obvious hits. That's just a guess, of course, and none of that is conclusive.
To really find the answer, you would need a freedom to operate analysis. Patents are granted on inventions, not products. So, there could be a couple of patents that apply to this map. You would need someone to determine who actually produces this map (it seems there are multiple sellers of the same map) and if the producer is relying on any patents in producing the map (e.g., any patents that are owned by the producer or licenses from other sources ). My advise would be to consult with a patent attorney on this privately before starting to sell look alike products.
Trademarks are a separate issue and I'd need to ask what you mean on that before I could answer.
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