Legal Question in Business Law in Louisiana
selling replicas online
I will be opening an online store very soon. I searched for designer wholesalers and several came up that state they are not affiliated with the designers and designers are not authorized to view the site....The clothing items have designer tags and logos and look extremely real.Some shoes have designs that are ''unreleased'' and also feature a company logo with custom never before seen designs. They are not being sold at an unreasonable price. I have been unsuccessful in attempts to reach the designers directly so how do i know what to pay them ?Do i set money aside for them? Is this legal?
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: selling replicas online
it does not sound like you are looking to do something that is legal. If the designer's labels are on the product, and the products are not the products of the designer - all signs point to the products illegally capitalizing on the designer's designs.
The designers do not likely encourage the sale of replicas of their products, nor would they likely be satisfied with a commission from the sale of said replicas. The designers would likely, instead, require that you discontinue any sale of these items.
However, this is just my impression after reading the description of your activities. I do not know about the specific products and the specific designers, nor do I know if any arrangements have been made between the designers and the wholesaler. If you want to go forward with this online store, I suggest you get further legal advice by employing an attorney to carefully review the products you will be selling, the designer labels and whether you will be infringing any trademarks and other intellectual property by selling these items.
Re: selling replicas online
You must have missed the recent post by someone asking for help because they're being sued for selling knock-offs. You should retain an attorney to advise you on what is legal for you to do and what is not. Scott and I are both competent to do that for you.
DavidWNance.com
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