Earlier, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) announced a recall of up to 62,700 Gel BlasterSURGE Model 1.0 toy guns because the lithium-ion battery pack in the handle could overheat and ignite, creating a fire hazard.

Sellers of gel water guns should be no strangers to Gel Blaster, which has appeared on the best-selling list many times. The hot-selling water gun has attracted many sellers to enter the market. Entering a keyword search on Amazon found that there are 2000+ listings for sale, and many of them are on the Best Seller list.

Nowadays, some products have been recalled due to safety issues, which has sounded the alarm for sellers who sell similar products. They should pay attention to self-examination and make sure that the products meet the safety requirements, otherwise they will face consequences such as withdrawal, refund or even compensation.

In addition to safety issues, the potential risk of patent infringement with water guns should not be underestimated. At the end of August this year, the US International Trade Commission (USITC) launched a Section 337 investigation into products related to gel water guns, and 10 companies were prosecuted, including Gel Blaster, Inc.

specific case

According to the USITC website, the investigation is based on complaints filed by Hasbro, Inc. and Spin Master, Inc. The complaint alleges that the imported goods violated Section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930 by entering the United States and selling certain soft-bullet launch devices, their components, ammunition, and products containing these devices, infringing the patents claimed by the complainants.

Mainly related to the US invention patent Soft-projectile launching device soft projectile launching device , a device for projecting soft projectile made of super absorbent polymer, the device includes a device designed to accommodate a A holder for a soft bullet; a firing mechanism operatively arranged to accelerate the retainer from a firing position.

Patent No. US8371282B2, US8640683B2:

The patent has no specific requirements on the shape of the launching device , which can be in the shape of a gun, or in the shape of a bow and arrow, a crossbow, etc. In addition, the firing principle can also be varied, and soft projectiles can be fired using air pressure, springs, rubber bands, or other suitable firing systems.

In general, the scope of protection of this patent is relatively large, and the risk of infringement is relatively high. As long as the product sold falls within the scope of protection, even if the appearance of the product is changed, there is still the possibility of infringement . Sellers who sell related products need to compare carefully to avoid stepping on thunder.

In this Section 377 investigation, the complainants asked the USITC to issue a limited exclusion order and a restraining order. This means that if the final investigation result is infringement, the infringing products of the company under investigation will be banned from entering the United States, and the infringing activities such as sales and inventory must also be stopped.

▼377 Investigate common remedies

In addition to the above-mentioned invention patents, the water gun also has the risk of appearance patent infringement. The inquiry found that Gel Blaster applied for the corresponding US design patent, which was authorized in August this year. The possibility of rights protection is high, and sellers should pay attention to self-inspection and avoidance.

Patent name GEL BALL BLASTER, patent number USD959570S:

write at the end

Amazon has always been strict with compliance requirements, whether it is a security issue or an infringement issue, as long as it steps on the thunder, it will face the risk of delisting or even suspension of sales. Therefore, sellers must pay attention to avoid paying a heavy price.

If you want to know whether your product is at risk of infringement, or if you encounter an infringement problem and do not know how to solve it, please contact Jite for consultation~