Shenzhen Taimao Seeks a Declaratory Judgment on an Electric Scooter Design Patent After a Walmart Notice.

The parties and the court

Shenzhen Taimao Import and Export Co., Ltd. v. Shenzhen Yingfeinuo Technology Co., Ltd., No. 5:26-cv-05311 (W.D. Ark., Fayetteville Division), is a declaratory judgment complaint filed November 5, 2026. The complaint describes Taimao as organized under the laws of the People's Republic of China, with its principal place of business in Shenzhen, China, operating the MIHOVER storefront on Walmart Marketplace under Seller ID 10002638981. It says Taimao is a wholly owned subsidiary of a Shenzhen company that owns a scooter brand and developed the C1 family of seated electric scooters, and that Taimao offers the accused MIHOVER scooter with that company's authorization. It alleges, on information and belief, that Yingfeinuo is organized under the laws of the People's Republic of China, with a registered address in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, China, and is identified in USPTO records as the assignee of the patent. Subject-matter jurisdiction is pleaded under 28 U.S.C. §§ 1331 and 1338(a) and the Declaratory Judgment Act, 28 U.S.C. §§ 2201 and 2202. Personal jurisdiction is pleaded under Rule 4(k)(2), including the allegation, on information and belief, that Yingfeinuo is not subject to personal jurisdiction in the courts of general jurisdiction of any state. Venue is pleaded under 28 U.S.C. § 1391(c)(3), and the complaint says it was filed in the Fayetteville Division because that division covers Benton County, Arkansas, where Walmart has its corporate headquarters. The court's docket record lists the case as assigned to Judge David Clay Fowlkes.

The patent and the Walmart notice

The complaint says U.S. Design Patent D1,066,138, titled "Electric Scooter," issued March 11, 2025 from Application No. 29/966,121, filed September 30, 2024, and contains a single claim for "[t]he ornamental design for an electric scooter, as shown and described," illustrated in FIGS. 1-9. It says that on November 3, 2026, Walmart notified Taimao that Yingfeinuo had made a patent claim asserting that the accused product, Walmart Item ID 1441881880, infringes the patent, required Taimao by November 5, 2026 to confirm its defense and indemnity obligations and furnish supporting documentation, and warned that failure to respond would result in removal of the listing and restrictions on relisting.

The counts

Count I seeks a declaratory judgment of noninfringement. The complaint alleges that the claimed design and the accused product create materially different overall visual impressions, pointing among other things to an exposed head tube and front-frame contour on the accused product that it says differ from the patent drawings, and asks for a declaration that the MIHOVER scooter has not infringed the single claim. Count II seeks a declaratory judgment that the single claim is invalid under 35 U.S.C. §§ 102 and 103, as applicable to design patents under 35 U.S.C. § 171(b). It points to public disclosures of the parent company's C1 scooter in a July 29, 2023 online video and in an October 30, 2023 review video published on the brand's official YouTube channel, both before the patent's September 30, 2024 filing date, and alleges that the accused scooter closely resembles that C1 scooter. It also cites U.S. Design Patent D1,040,701, issued September 3, 2024 from an application filed January 11, 2024, as prior art, and U.S. Design Patent D1,080,476, issued June 24, 2025 from an application filed January 12, 2022, whose disclosure it says constitutes prior art under 35 U.S.C. § 102(a)(2) to the extent the relied-upon subject matter was disclosed in the earlier-filed application and satisfies the applicable statutory requirements. It pleads anticipation by each video in the alternative, if Yingfeinuo's infringement theory treats the ornamental differences between the patent and the accused product as immaterial to their overall visual impressions, and obviousness over the videos and the D1,040,701 patent.

Relief sought

The prayer asks the court to declare that the MIHOVER scooter identified by Walmart Item ID 1441881880 does not infringe and has not infringed U.S. Design Patent D1,066,138; to declare that the single claim is invalid under § 102 or § 103; to find the case exceptional under 35 U.S.C. § 285 and award reasonable attorneys' fees to the extent warranted; to award taxable costs; and to grant further relief under 28 U.S.C. § 2202. The complaint demands a jury under Rule 38.

Docket

Through November 5, 2026, the docket shows the civil cover sheet, the complaint, a corporate disclosure statement, an initial patent report, a summons request, and a magistrate notice and consent form. Watch for issuance and service of a summons, the defendant's answer, counterclaims, or a Rule 12 motion, and any further Walmart enforcement steps tied to the November 3 notice. The case can end at any time, including by settlement or voluntary dismissal.