Legal Question in Intellectual Property in Arizona
adding to a product and reselling as a new product
I want to sell a new product by adding to another companies product. For example, buy a brand name briefcase then add information, references and supplies to it. Then sell it. Lets say, I want to include a couple of cocktail recipes. There are thousands of recipes on-line. Is there any legal responsiblity to the brand name company for reselling their product? And, are the recipes non-copyrighted because they are everywhere on the web and printed in numerous books?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: adding to a product and reselling as a new product
Let's strip the easy one first: recipes are not copyrightable subject matter, so you get a free pass on that. As to goods sold in ordinary channels of trade, the intellectual property rights of their owner are exhausted at the first sale, so you can resell as you please. This is not true for goods first sold outside the US (so-called "grey market goods"), if that matters to you.
Best wishes,
LDWG
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