If I had a nickel for every time someone asked me, “I want to take someone else’s product and put it to a different use. Do I have to get their permission?” . . . well, I might still be writing this blog, but I’d be doing it from a beach in Bora Bora. It’s asked with the same (seemingly) innocent, wide-eyed pleading my little brother used when he was in his “I want a puppy” phase and a stray happened to wander into our backyard. “Can we keep him, Mom? Please? PLEEZ??”
Well, by gum, I’ve actually turned into my mother (”We mock the thing we are to become,” she used to say, quoting Mel Brooks) and the answer is a definitive “NO.” Said with hands on hips and a stern expression to boot.
Unless . . . you want to build your business on a risky proposition that you just might fly under the radar and get away with it. But if you’re going to go into business with the intent that all you’ll do is fly under the radar, that’s not a very grand plan for a business, nor are the prospects for the future particularly bright. Because you might not fly under the radar and get caught for copyright or trademark infringement. And unless you have a spare $100,000 (or more) just sitting around with no meaningful purpose except to pay an attorney to litigate the issue, you could find yourself up to your eyeballs in lawsuits.
A better approach: Do some original thinking. Create your own product. Or legitimately license the product from the manufacturer. And speak to an attorney who knows your industry to make sure you minimize the risks involved.
This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 23rd, 2008 at 2:44 pm and is filed under Intellectual Property. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.Leave a Reply
