Adding a substance to a bought product to make another product can I sell it?

[AndyW]

Hi
I have developed a product to use in the events industry. It involves using a widely available product (most supermarkets) to which I add another product. Can I sell it legally? The finished product is not for the same use as the bought product.

[AndyJ]

Hi AndyW,

I can obviously understand why you need to be vague in how you have worded your question, but unfortunately I can't really advise you based on what you have said. If the product you want to adapt is a practical one, like a kitchen utensil for example, copyright won't apply to it. It may well be protected by design right and trade mark law; it may even be covered by a patent. You would need to explain what you mean by 'add'. If it is done in a way which permanently modifies the first product, while the first product remains identifiable, then you also run into problems over passing off and possibly invalidating any warranty in the first product (and possibly the second product also).

If this is the start of a business venture then you really ought to get proper legal avice before going much fiurther with your business plan, as without specific advice tailored to your circumstances, you could be taking on a major financial risk.

.

[AndyW]

Hi
Thanks for the reply. The product is a liquid very safe to use. I will add some other liquid to it to achieve my product. I hope this helps a little more.
Regards Andy

[AndyJ]

Hi Andy,

That sounds OK. As long as there are no safety implications in combining the two liquids (which would be outside the remit of this forum in any case), then there should not be any implications as far as intellectual property rights are concerned, provided that you don't market the 'new' product in connection with any existing trade marks belonging to either of the base products. If you need to list the ingredients of the new product, using the trade names of the two base liquids would be permissible, but in that limited context only.