Legal Question in Business Law in Pennsylvania

Re: fake designer handbag

You asked about selling fake trademarked bags at a thrift store.

Grey area. Thrift stores, and many retailers are not necessarily prohibited from selling trademarked goods unless they are doing so in a manner that they know or should know is illegal. If they are selling new knockoffs then yes, they should be stopped from doing so. If they are selling used bags that may be knockoffs, then they may be in the clear.

But in no case would a consumer have a claim for fraud unless the consumer were sold the good at a price that approximated a true trademarked good value AND the good was not a properly licensed good.

If I find a Rolex and pay only $10 for it then either I know I've bought a knockoff or should have known. But if I pay $1,100 for a slightly used Rolex then maybe I have a claim for fraud if it's a knockoff. Now if I buy a "Faulex" for $800 the claim could go either way depending on the circumstances.

Regards,

Roger