Youngtown, AZ asked in Trademark for Arizona

Q: if i am producing a product that uses another product, do I have to get the permission from the product I am using ?

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1 Lawyer Answer
Bernard Samuel Klosowski
Bernard Samuel Klosowski
Answered
  • Trademarks Lawyer
  • Greenville, SC

A: Maybe. If the other product is patented, it might act as a "blocking" patent against your product. This can occur if a claim of the patented product "reads on" your end-product (e.g., if your product has each and every element, or substantial equivalent, of one of the related product's patent claims, regardless of your additions). So, if you were to employ a patented product without permission under that scenario, it might lead to a claim of patent infringement.

Also, if you promote your product using the other product's name or trademark, you'd likely need a license. For instance, if I created a new household cleaner by adding lemon juice to Comet® (if that works, you heard it here first!) and advertised it without permission as "Ben's Lemon Cleaner using Comet®," I'd expect a call from the Spic & Span company.

State laws may also affect whether and how you have to disclose ingredients or components.

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