Cider Bellies to Open New Location At Sawyers Dairy Bar!

[jeffk]

Originally Posted by SteveA

Well, it may not be that clear..

It's easy to see how easy it is, in reality, to "copy" a product.

Example: WalMart sell the "equate" brand of all sorts of products. They simply have a disclaimer on the packaging. They sell knockoffs of just about every type of OTC medicine made.

"Compare to NyQuil (R) Cold & Flu Active Ingredients*"

The little * leads you to this in tiny print on the back of the bottle..

* this product is not manufactured or distributed by Proctor&Gamble, distributor of NyQuil(R)

I would bet, that if Walmart wanted to "copy" Annalee Dolls, and I doubt they would, they could.

Yup, if the dolls themselves are not patented I could put a statement saying, "Compare to Annalee dolls". Compare but NOT the same thing. The reason that Walmart, and many others, can make knock-offs is that the components are so common (like cider doughnuts) that they cannot be protectively patented, or the patents have expired. So all sorts of people can sell Acetaminophen, but only McNeil can label it "Tylenol". And if there is a problem with Walmart's knock-off brand, McNeil has NO liability. The public has to decide if a knock-off really does "compare" to a Name Brand.

As I expressed, we don't know if this was a vendor, B&G, switching brands or a vendor falsely labeling their products. The first case is normal business. If someone is upset about it, it's silly. The second case is illegal and a sleazy business practice.

Quite a difference and we on this forum just don't know.