Can I legally resell products after transferring the product into another bottle with my company logo on it?
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Can I legally resell products after transferring the product into another bottle with my company logo on it?
I have started a resell on-line business but I have one dilemma. What is the best way to legally sell products on my site without the consumer going straight to my resource’s website for future orders? I Really want to purchase the products and simply transfer the product into another bottle with my logo on the label. In no way would I be altering any of the product ingredients, simply wanting to avoid losing return customers.
Asked on May 16, 2011 under Business Law, Arkansas
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 12 years ago | Contributor
You almost certainly can *not* do this. What you suggest is passing off someone else's product as your own; you could possibly run afoul of various intellectual property and unfair competition laws. The way to do this is to private label instead--assuming that the formula is in the public domain, or that you can fairly easily come up with a similar formulation, make the stuff yourself (or hire some manufacturer to make it to your specs) and then put it into your bottle withh your label. That's how, for example, supermarkets and pharmacies put out "house brands" of popular products. They don't repackage another's product, but instead have their own product made. Just be careful that if the formula is itself patented, not to violate patent.
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