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This is the patent:

https://patents.google.com/patent/US10155479B2/en?oq=10%2c155%2c479

It appeared in an episode of Shark Tank.

This is the actual product sold on amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/Rightline-Gear-100660-Original-Shark/dp/B07JMTVP9N/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=moki+doorstep&qid=1663728680&sprefix=moki+%2Caps%2C101&sr=8-3

This is one knockoff that I can find:

https://www.amazon.com/Foldable-Breaker-Safety-Hammer-Universal/dp/B09Q2ZT6BV/ref=sr_1_4?keywords=moki+doorstep&qid=1663728680&sprefix=moki+%2Caps%2C101&sr=8-4

The only real difference between the Moki Doorstep and the knockoff is that the knockoff is foldable.

Why isn't the knockoff infringing upon the Moki Doorstep?

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    Do you know that it is not a licensee of the patent ?
    – George White ♦
    Sep 21, 2022 at 4:12
  • I do not know that. However, why license out your invention when you are already manufacturing and selling it yourself?
    – Bear Bile Farming is Torture
    Sep 21, 2022 at 4:19
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    @BigCatPublicSafetyAct If the foldable would cost more, or substantially the same, I'd say: Maybe because it's cheaper to sign a piece of paper and get free money than deal with manufacturing, sale administration, shipping, implied warranties, returns, refunds etc. But the more compact solution is 3 times less. I'd find it extremely unlikely the patent holder would have licensed for say, $2 a unit for the mockup company to manufacture for a dollar or two, then turn maybe a dollar profit while cannibalizing the original product that could probably turn +$10-15 profit each sale.
    – PatentosPite
    Sep 21, 2022 at 6:47
  • Amazon is the new flee market...
    – PatentosPite
    Sep 21, 2022 at 6:47

1 Answer 1

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It is an infringement. However, unless a patent infringement notification is served on Amazon and the mockup company (or less plausibly the buyers), the infringement would not provide for a basis of a suit unless the fact is established by the of-jurisdiction court that the infringer knew about the invention, and willfully infringed. (see also the question: "Can you safely do anything without infringing patents?")

Although the mockup company may obtain a patent on the improvement if filed for, and found non-obvious, but that would not protect them from the infringement of the cited U.S. patent (#10,155,479 B2). It would merely mean that if the manufacturer of the original also wanted to start a foldable one, now they would need to deal with getting a license from the mockup company if they would have obtained a patent on the foldable invention.

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    This is a good answer, but perhaps you could try to avoid using legalese.
    – Eric S ♦
    Sep 21, 2022 at 21:08
  • @EricS Thank you for the feedback; I'll include a less legalese summary from now on.
    – PatentosPite
    Sep 22, 2022 at 2:17
  • Even though the answer is accepted, there is nothing keeping you from editing it if you want to add some polish. Thanks for the contribution.
    – Eric S ♦
    Sep 22, 2022 at 18:46

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