Can I sell fake GHDs just as straightners - no brand?

bossymommy

My boyfriend bought me fake ones for xmas last year. Luckily he got his money back from debit card company, and went and bought me the real ones. They fake set were sat in a cupboard for months, until he mentioned it to someone at work, and they bought them off him for £30. They knew they were fake, so i cant see the problem with selling them on! As long as they know they are not the real deal

soolin

bossymommy wrote: »

My boyfriend bought me fake ones for xmas last year. Luckily he got his money back from debit card company, and went and bought me the real ones. They fake set were sat in a cupboard for months, until he mentioned it to someone at work, and they bought them off him for £30. They knew they were fake, so i cant see the problem with selling them on! As long as they know they are not the real deal

Some people though are less happy to break the law and risk having legal issues though.

cyberbob

bossymommy wrote: »

Mso i cant see the problem with selling them on! As long as they know they are not the real deal

Well for one it's illegal. Fake ones also have not been through UK safety standards so if they caught fire and hurt someone or burnt a house down would your £30 be worth it?

el_gringo_3

theonlywayisup wrote: »

Fake is FAKE. Selling fakes is unlawful. Even if you try to sell them as fakes.

Could probably circumvent this by removing anything that breaks the trademark, which on a pair of straighteners I'd imagine goes no further than the logo.

soolin

el_gringo wrote: »

Could probably circumvent this by removing anything that breaks the trademark, which on a pair of straighteners I'd imagine goes no further than the logo.

I think you 'think' wrong. A trademark is not the only thing a company can safeguard. Look it up, they can even own terms in common usage, the way something works, the actual item even without a mark. They can even own things that look similar if there is an intention to deceive, that's why you would find it difficult to buy a legitimate bottle of 'channel no 5'.

The other problem would be that an unbranded set of straigheners second hand would be worth what, £1? at most. They had some generic ones in Argos for less than a fiver brand new. Is it worth pushing the letter of the law to gain a single pound?

el_gringo_3

soolin wrote: »

I think you 'think' wrong. A trademark is not the only thing a company can safeguard. Look it up, they can even own terms in common usage, the way something works, the actual item even without a mark. They can even own things that look similar if there is an intention to deceive, that's why you would find it difficult to buy a legitimate bottle of 'channel no 5'.

The other problem would be that an unbranded set of straigheners second hand would be worth what, £1? at most. They had some generic ones in Argos for less than a fiver brand new. Is it worth pushing the letter of the law to gain a single pound?

I'm well aware of what a company can and can't protect thanks.

In this case however, without being an expert on the particular market or spending a few hours on research, I can't see any obvious way in which selling this item, logo removed as unbranded straigtheners, would contravene the law. What makes me 'think' this is that GHD don't appear to have any ownership whatsoever over the term 'straighteners', so much so that they don't use the term themselves (preferring to go with 'stylers'), nor do they appear to have actually actually changed the standard product enough to come close to being able to claim any sort of ownership over parts or design.

Which, when you stop and think about it, is EXACTLY why theres so many fakes of this kind.

I could be wrong however, there may be some crazy element that stops overheating in a GHD which these tongs try and copy, or these straightners could also infringe on a pattern used by GHD, I really have no way of knowing, and as I'm not interested in buying or selling a pair, I'm not willing to go out of my way at 2am on a Sunday morning to find out FOC for the OP, as I'm sure you'll understand.

In addition, if you hadn't already guessed, I also 'think' you could maybe try and be a little less patronising :beer:

theonlywayisup

el_gringo wrote: »

I'm well aware of what a company can and can't protect thanks.

Then you undertstand it is not just the logo. So you should also understand none of us have actually seen the GHD lookalikes the op refers to. GHD have a specific look and style, much like some famous brand handbags. The fake aspect can be an attempt to copy a bags lining, zip or shape etc. The same applies to the straighteners. GHD are very specific.

cyberbob

el_gringo wrote: »

Could probably circumvent this by removing anything that breaks the trademark, which on a pair of straighteners I'd imagine goes no further than the logo.

el_gringo wrote: »

I'm well aware of what a company can and can't protect thanks.

You obviously don't with your first reply

el_gringo wrote:

I can't see any obvious way in which selling this item, logo removed as unbranded straigtheners, would contravene the law.

Are you a Patent Solicitor have you done all the appropriate searches to find this out? I very much doubt it?

It makes no difference really these items are illegal even if you ignore the copyright and patent infringements they will not adhere to UK and EU safety standards so will be dangerous. SO in that way they are illegal also.

el_gringo wrote:

In addition, if you hadn't already guessed, I also 'think' you could maybe try and be a little less patronising :beer:

Have you read your own posts?

el_gringo_3

cyberbob wrote: »

You obviously don't with your first reply

Are you a Patent Solicitor have you done all the appropriate searches to find this out? I very much doubt it?

It makes no difference really these items are illegal even if you ignore the copyright and patent infringements they will not adhere to UK and EU safety standards so will be dangerous. SO in that way they are illegal also.

I am led to believe that GHD only own the rights specific to the naming and branding, and possibly the ceramic plates. How come? The same factory manufactures other brands to the same standard, for sale under different names (SHE, KODO), all of which seem to be fine for UK sale, on the proviso that they do not in any way associate it with the GHD brand nor their trademarks.

And boy do GHD seem to be tight - it seems to be fine to sell these products, but mention that they come from the GHD factory or that they are the same parts as GHD's and it's instant lawsuit.

If you'd like to prove me wrong and help the OP out a bit you could find and provide us with the relevant trademarks, patents, copywrites etc which are being broken.

toffe

something is only fake or counterfeit if it purports to be something it is not.

therefore if the fake packaging is discarded and any branding/logo/trademarks are removed they are no longer counterfeit.

if sold as unbranded i don't see a problem, except that the realistic sale price would be very low.