Amazon operates a private patent enforcement system — called Patent Evaluation Express (APEX) — as an expedited process for utility patent owners to seek removal of allegedly infringing listings on Amazon's platform. A recent investigation reported by Bloomberg Law details how the system functions, and why its design raises due-process concerns for online sellers and patent litigants.

How APEX Works

A patent owner files an APEX complaint asserting one claim from a single utility patent against up to 20 listings. A neutral third-party evaluator decides only whether infringement is likely. If yes, Amazon delists the challenged listings. What sellers cannot do:

  • Raise validity or unenforceability — often the strongest defenses in federal court — which are generally unavailable in the APEX evaluator proceeding except where an asserted claim has been held invalid by a court or the PTAB.
  • Review the evaluator's full reasoning: multiple decisions were examined consisting of just one sentence that failed to address the seller's arguments.
  • Learn evaluator identities, applicable standards, overall case volume, or win rates.
  • Appeal within Amazon; the finding is treated as final absent a conflicting court order.

A single APEX success can support delisting of the targeted listings, and examples of non-practicing entities (NPEs) — including offshore entities — were reported using the process against multiple sellers. Federal lawsuits tied to APEX surged more than 200% from 2022 to 2025, with some sellers alleging anticompetitive use.

Courts Push Back

The courts are responding. In SnapRays, LLC v. Lighting Defense Group, LLC, 100 F.4th 1371 (Fed. Cir. 2024), the Federal Circuit held that initiating an APEX proceeding can subject the patent owner to personal jurisdiction in the seller's home state — opening the door to declaratory judgment actions where patent validity can be fully litigated. The PTAB has invalidated patents in cases involving APEX-triggered delistings. Yet relief often arrives too late for sellers who have already lost sales.

As AI drives more patent filings and platforms adopt faster, automated enforcement, APEX previews the risks of opaque private adjudication at scale. Due-process gaps become more problematic, not less, as these systems grow.

Guidance for Amazon Sellers

Don't wait to be targeted. Conduct thorough freedom-to-operate analyses before launch, maintain documented non-infringement positions, and obtain invalidity opinions backed by prior art searches where needed. Be prepared to pursue parallel IPR or declaratory judgment actions if accused of infringement — where validity defenses can be adjudicated. AI-assisted prior art searches now make this foundational work faster and more affordable.