patent question

[ettab]

I live in Washington State. There is a company in Canada that manufactures a line of hair products. The ingredients in these products are commonly found in other hair products and some of them have been proven to clear up a common scalp problem. I've done research and found there is huge untapped market for this here in the states. I would like to create a similiar line of my own using some of the ingredients in the exiting product, but in an all natural version.

How much do you have to 'tweak' an existing product so that you are not infringing on their patent/copyright? (Example: there was once a patent for the 'shoe', yet there are a bazillion shoe companies today that all hold many patents each on 'their shoes').

 

[ALawyer]

Are you sure that there is a patent -- and that patent is valid in the US? If not, then you don't have to worry about an attempt to circumvent what does not exist.