What Amazon's APEX Program Actually Changes for Sellers
Last updated: June 25, 2026
Amazon's Patent Evaluation Express (APEX) lets a U.S. utility patent owner remove a seller's listings in roughly seven weeks, for about $4,000, without a courtroom, a judge, or discovery. For sellers, APEX changes three things that matter. First, the defenses are narrow: a single neutral evaluator decides only whether your product likely infringes one patent claim, and most invalidity and bad-faith arguments you would raise in federal court are off the table. Second, the clock is brutal: you have roughly three weeks to respond to the notice, then days, not months, to brief your case. Third, the consequences are immediate: lose, and Amazon delists your ASINs within about ten business days, often while your funds are already frozen. The program was built for legitimate patent owners, but its speed and limits are increasingly exploited against sellers. If you receive an APEX notice, treat it as litigation, because it effectively is.
What APEX actually is
APEX stands for Amazon Patent Evaluation Express. Amazon launched it in 2022, out of the Utility Patent Neutral Evaluation pilot that began in 2019. A U.S. utility patent owner registered in Brand Registry can name one patent claim and up to 20 ASINs they believe infringe it. Amazon appoints a neutral evaluator, an experienced patent attorney, who decides one question on the briefs: is it more likely than not that the accused product infringes that claim. Each side wires roughly $4,000 to the evaluator, refunded to whoever prevails. There is no judge, no jury, no discovery, no depositions, and no damages. And it is limited to U.S. utility patents, not design patents, foreign patents, or pending applications.
What APEX changes for sellers
This is the part I spend most of my client time on, and it comes down to three structural shifts that catch sellers off guard.
- Your defenses shrink. In federal court you could attack the patent's validity, raise inequitable conduct, or argue the owner is acting in bad faith. In APEX the evaluator looks at one thing: does your product likely infringe the asserted claim. Most invalidity and bad-faith defenses simply are not heard. The narrow openings are showing your product was on sale more than a year before the patent's earliest effective filing date, or pointing to a prior court ruling that the patent is invalid.
- Your options are four, and the window is short. When Amazon sends the notice you have roughly three weeks to choose: participate, sign the agreement, wire the deposit, and brief the case; do nothing and let Amazon remove your ASINs; settle directly with the patent owner; or file a declaratory judgment action of non-infringement in federal district court. Miss the window and removal is the default.
- The briefing is compressed and the result is final. The patent owner opens, you respond, the owner replies, and the evaluator rules, all on a schedule measured in weeks. Lose and Amazon delists within about ten business days. APEX decisions are effectively final unless a court issues a conflicting ruling. There is no APEX appeal.
Why We told Bloomberg Law this system gets abused
The reporting backs up what we see day to day. Bloomberg reviewed 140 federal lawsuits filed from 2019 through 2025 by sellers fighting APEX, and in roughly 88.5% of them, sellers accused competitors of anticompetitive conduct. One smart-lock company said an APEX delisting cost it as much as $70,000 a day in lost sales. In another matter, an evaluator reportedly resolved a dispute with a one-line ruling that never engaged the seller's arguments, and the products came down anyway. There are no public dockets for these cases, and Amazon does not disclose who its evaluators are or what they decide. Speed and secrecy are a feature for a legitimate patent owner and a real danger for a wrongly accused seller.
The jurisdiction twist most sellers miss
There is a strategic wrinkle worth knowing. In SnapPower v. Lighting Defense Group, the Federal Circuit held that filing an APEX complaint can subject the patent owner to personal jurisdiction in the accused seller's home state. In plain terms: if you are wrongly targeted, filing a declaratory judgment action in your own backyard may be on the table, and the patent owner may have to come defend it there. In the right case, that flips the leverage entirely.
What to do if you receive an APEX notice
- Calendar the deadline the day it arrives. The election window is short and the default outcome is losing your listing.
- Do not assume silence is safe. Not responding means removal, not dismissal.
- Get the claim chart analyzed by someone who actually practices patent law. The evaluators are patent attorneys; you should not walk in without one.
- Weigh the declaratory-judgment route. Sometimes the better fight is in district court, where the full range of validity defenses lives, not inside APEX.
- Consider whether the USPTO is the better venue. For some patents, a reexamination attacks the patent itself rather than just defending a single ASIN.
That is exactly what our APEXFix™ work is built around: triage the deadline, analyze infringement on the merits, and choose the venue that gives you back the real defenses APEX strips away.
Frequently asked questions
What is Amazon's APEX program?
APEX (Amazon Patent Evaluation Express) is Amazon's private process for resolving U.S. utility patent infringement claims against listings without going to court. A neutral patent-attorney evaluator decides whether an accused product likely infringes a single patent claim, usually within about seven weeks, for a refundable $4,000 deposit from each side.
What are my options if I receive an APEX notice?
You have four options: participate in the evaluation and brief your case, do nothing and let Amazon remove your listings, settle directly with the patent owner, or file a declaratory judgment action of non-infringement in federal court. You generally have about three weeks to choose, and missing the deadline results in removal of your listings.
Can I argue the patent is invalid in APEX?
Usually no. APEX evaluators decide only whether your product likely infringes, so the broad invalidity and bad-faith defenses available in federal court are not considered. The narrow exceptions are showing your product was on sale more than one year before the patent's earliest effective filing date, or pointing to a prior court ruling that the patent is invalid.
How long does APEX take and what does it cost?
An APEX evaluation typically concludes in about seven weeks, and each party pays a $4,000 deposit to the evaluator that is refunded to the prevailing side. Attorney fees are separate. If you lose, Amazon usually removes the listings within about ten business days, and there is no APEX appeal.
Do I need a patent attorney for APEX?
You are not required to have one, but APEX turns on patent claim construction and infringement analysis, and the evaluators themselves are experienced patent attorneys. Going in without registered patent counsel puts you at a structural disadvantage in a fast proceeding whose result is effectively final.
Facing an APEX notice, or thinking about using APEX to enforce a patent?
Kenneth Eade is an Intellectual Property Attorney and Michael S. Brandt is a USPTO-registered patent attorney (Reg. No. 39119), admitted in Washington and California, with AMZ Sellers Attorney® (Amazon Sellers Attorney, Ltd.) in Beverly Hills. The firm is listed first among Sermondo's Top 10 E-Commerce Lawyers and defends sellers in APEX, Schedule A TRO, arbitration, and IP litigation. Call +1-888-806-2440 or email [email protected].
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