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I buy 2nd hand tshirts from goodwill/thrift stores and turn them into dresses for children
Anonymous2 views3 answers
i dont remove the tags or logos i simply alter it and resell it. Is this trademark infringements. Also, when a customer sends me a shirt they own already and have me alter it - is that a violation and if so, is it legal for thrift shops to sell licensed clothing? Thank you
I have a different take than my colleagues.
There are only two situations that I know about where modifying used clothes into some other clothing design would be unlawful: (1) when the garment is made with a fabric design that's copyrightable and (2) when the modified garment displays the brand insignia of the original garment manufacturer [displayed on the clothes proper, not on the hang tag].
Putting those situations aside leaves an awful lot of used clothes out there that you can use as raw material [no pun intended] to make your modified "new" clothes.
I think that the "material alteration" test of which my colleague speaks applies only when a re-seller is offering a NEW branded product for sale. There is a whole other body of law that deals with the legality of selling used "refurbished" products under the original manufacturer's mark. In your case, I don't think either analysis applies.
Clothing designs are not, for the great part, protected under any intellectual property law [the exceptions are a few clothing design patents and some ornamental designs affixed ONTO clothes -- like the Levi's trademarked gold thread pocket designs].
In any event, before you start your business you need to sit down with an intellectual property attorney and discuss your plans. There is probably a way you can lawfully do what you want to do. Good luck.
The sale of materially altered goods violates the federal trademark law under the Lanham Act as the resale of a trademarked product that differs from the genuine product may confuse the consuming public and erode the goodwill associated with the mark. This issue has been litigated in the case of Davidoff & CIE, SA v. PLD International Corp., 263 F.3d 1297 (11th Cir 2001) see
http://caselaw.findlaw.com/us-11th-circuit/1481...
In the case of thrift shops, if they are not "materially altering" the goods. Accordingly, their sale would not be "likely to confuse" the consuming public so there would be no infringement.
Disclaimer: This answer does not establish an attorney-client relationship and does not constitute legal advice. It is for general information purposes only.
The answer to your question is rutted in logic (an law). If you alter the thrift store clothing and sell it, would a reasonable consumer know/be confused that the original company did make the product? If so then you are "passing off" the product as made by the original manufacturer, as the consumer has a doubt as to its source. If however the transformed product has not relation to the original use, such as you are selling cleaning rugs made from the clothing, then no problem.
