You’ve found a winning product, finalized your design, and are ready to manufacture. But a lurking patent infringement claim can destroy your business overnight. Manually navigating patent landscapes is slow, expensive, and fraught with risk. For Amazon FBA sellers, this is a critical bottleneck.
The Go/No-Go Framework: A Systematic AI Approach
The core principle is moving from vague fear to structured, documented analysis. You transform complex legal documents into a simple, actionable checklist. The goal is a unanimous "GO" verdict based on evidence, not gut feeling. This framework systematizes what expert attorneys do, making it scalable with AI.
One specific tool to operationalize this is a Claim Comparison Matrix. This is where AI automation shines. An AI agent can ingest a patent's claims and your product specifications to generate a preliminary, side-by-side comparison, flagging potential overlaps for your review.
Mini-Scenario: Imagine analyzing a patent for a "lantern with a magnetic base." Your AI tool highlights that Claim 1 specifies a "15N strength magnet." Your design uses a 10N magnet. This is a clear, documented design-around.
Implementing Your Automated Assessment
Here are three high-level steps to build this process:
Structure Your Inputs. AI needs clear, unambiguous data. Prepare a consolidated specification document with: your product's core function, key materials, and crucially, visuals like CAD drawings or supplier images. This becomes the source truth for all analysis.
Automate the Initial Screening. Use an AI agent configured for patent analysis. Its task is to process your specification against shortlisted patent documents to populate a Claim Comparison Matrix. It doesn't give legal advice but efficiently surfaces where claims and your design might intersect, assigning preliminary confidence scores (High/Medium/Low).
Execute the Human-Led Protocol. The AI's output is your starting point. Your mandatory action is to implement design-arounds for any "Low Confidence" matches and, most importantly, secure an attorney consult for any "Medium Confidence" areas before finalizing your design spec. The AI handles the volume; you and your lawyer make the final risk-calibrated decisions.
Key Takeaways
Shifting to a structured Go/No-Go framework de-risks your product launch. By using AI to automate the labor-intensive parts of patent analysis—like creating initial comparison matrices—you gain speed and consistency. Remember, the outcome is a documented, defensible process that prioritizes attorney review for ambiguous findings, turning a complex legal threat into a managed business workflow.
