Is this considered derivative copyright infringement?

[10foil]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? California

I want to start a business; it's a new idea for a niche market, so to prevent me revealing too much, I've come up with an analogy that I think will covertly illustrate my product.

Let's say:

My business is customized bottle caps. They are the same shape and size and color schema of snapple bottle caps, and they can be used on any array of similar beverages or just used as decorating materials. The design on the bottle cap is similar only in color (let's say red lettering on white background, glossy) but makes no reference to snapple. An avid snapple drinker might think it looks familiar.

We will use original art drawings/images that we design and put these on the bottle caps. This is the main draw - a unique and cohesive art style. These bottle caps will be called "topz," which we will register, and sell individually on our topz website. We will advertise them as decorations for anything from bottles to walls to jewelry.

Should we be worried about snapple filing suit??What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?

 

[divgradcurl]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? California

I want to start a business; it's a new idea for a niche market, so to prevent me revealing too much, I've come up with an analogy that I think will covertly illustrate my product.

Let's say:

My business is customized bottle caps. They are the same shape and size and color schema of snapple bottle caps, and they can be used on any array of similar beverages or just used as decorating materials. The design on the bottle cap is similar only in color (let's say red lettering on white background, glossy) but makes no reference to snapple. An avid snapple drinker might think it looks familiar.

We will use original art drawings/images that we design and put these on the bottle caps. This is the main draw - a unique and cohesive art style. These bottle caps will be called "topz," which we will register, and sell individually on our topz website. We will advertise them as decorations for anything from bottles to walls to jewelry.

Should we be worried about snapple filing suit??What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?

You really need to sit down with a local attorney, who can review all of the actual details of your proposed business and advise you accordingly.