Selling A Product that is similar?

[ChrisS60]

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

I am interested to know about laws that have to do with selling a product that is similar to another. Basically I am in the automotive industry and I found a company in china that sells there version of Volvo bumpers. They do not claim that they are Volvo bumpers but they are very similar to the OEM Volvo part. They manufacture the parts themselves but are similar. My question is, is it legal for me to see this version of the Volvo bumper. I would not obviously sell it as a OEM volvo bumper but more as a OEM alternative.


Thoughts?

 

[quincy]

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

... My question is, is it legal for me to see this version of the Volvo bumper. ...

Yes, it is legal for you to "see" that version of the Volvo bumper.

If Volvo has either a design patent or a utility patent on the bumper, however - and I'd have to check to see if they do - then it would not be legal for you to sell a bumper with the same functional characteristics or visual design.

 

[ChrisS60]

Sorry about the typo. How would one go about seeing if there is such a patent on there bumpers?

 

[quincy]

... How would one go about seeing if there is such a patent on there bumpers?

You can go to the United States Patent and Trademark Office website and do an online search for Volvo patents (there are over 2500 ). To narrow your search, you can put in specifics (e.g., Volvo and bumper). Volvo holds 98 bumper-related patents. You can narrow this search further, depending on what you are looking for.

The website: http://www.uspto.gov/patents/process/search

Good luck.