BlkKnight

If I own the trademark for Product X and someone else was selling product Y.

Product X & Y are made by the same manufacture, and packaging aside are identical

Can they say in their advert that:

"I am selling product Y which is the same as product X but for less money"

gallois

as long as it is true then yes you can. the product must be identical to call it the 'same as', (including warranty and guarantee periods and backup service) and also your product must be cheaper during the period in which you say it is cheaper.

boxst

Although it appears to be done very little in the UK. In America it is all over the place. They JUST about stop at saying "Product x will kill you, use my product instead.. "

Steve

Freak

I laugh at the US adverts that do this....very common.

Brit_in_Japan

They do tend to stay away from that type of advertising in the UK, usually only implying what the other product is and letting the consumer guess.

How will the manufacturer of both X & Y react if you upset his other customer? They might make more profit from the other company and won't want you to stir things up. Have you got an alternative supplier if the current manufacturer decides not to sell to you any more? All things to think about.

BlkKnight

It's a bit wired.

We buy the product through an American company, and it is branded. That brand is a registered trademark which we have the rights to over here in the UK.

The product is packaged & branded with the trademark.


The other company is buying them in directly from the manufacture in China. He is providing his own packaging & calling them something else.

In his adverts, he's effectively saying - buy mine, it's the same a product X but cheaper.

We have spent time & money building up the brand for him to go ahead and make money off our hard work.

Brit_in_Japan

I can understand why you're upset. What control does the American company have over the manufacturer in China? Does the American company have world-wide rights to the product which the Chinese manufacturer is breaking by selling it to other companies?

If there is nothing unique about the product and there is no exclusive contract with the Chinese supplier about who he makes it for then the other company is not breaking any laws or contracts by importing it to the UK and selling it. If the product is identical and he can prove it then I'm not sure he is doing anything wrong. If the product is different, even by a small amount, then I'm sure you can go to advertising standards and get the adverts withdrawn (or threaten to sue them, whichever is your cup of tea). If the other company can't say "it's the same" then they lose a big part of their sales pitch. If you can make changes to your product, market the "new improved" product and prevent the other firm from getting hold of the same thing, all they can compete on is price (but of course yours is improved, so it devalues their offering as well). I would think the American rights holder will be pretty unimpressed by this as it harms your business and what the branded product is actually worth. See if they have any ideas, they've probably come across this sort of thing before.