Legal Question in Product Liability in Florida

A company has discontinued a certain product and not interested in selling the mold or producing the item for me to market. I have thought about producing something very similar but not exactly the same. The item would be injection molded plastic. How different would my item have to be so as not to infringe on the original? I don't know if the original item was patented, it doesn't say so on the item. Would it be enough to add a couple of holes thru the item that did not appear in the original? If it were a spatula and the new design was exactly the same as the original,except mine has a hole cut in the middle of it, would that be infringement and illegal or not?

If it is not patented, does it matter at all?


Asked on 7/24/09, 9:47 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Sarah Grosse Sarah Grosse, Esquire

You can produce anything that is not patented or under a contractual trade secret agreement.

If the original is patented, what is 'a little different' is a very complex analysis which requires that you hire an attorney to analyze the particular situation and render an opinion.

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Answered on 7/25/09, 3:59 am


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