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splash0321

Officially Licensed Products

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So, my company is growing at a manageable rate but one thing I have wanted to try and incorporate into my product line was offering officially licensed products (GM, Ford, Jeep, etc.). I see companies that appear to be at my level and they offer the officially licensed products....how?

I've sent in inquiries and applications multiple times with no reply back....I havnt gotten any denials, I just dont even get a reply back from them. Do any of you have advice on how to accomplish this? I've ordered several officially licensed products from these people to install for a customer or a friend and the quality is identical or inferior to what I already offer so it would be nice to be able to increase sales by adding OL products. Any advice would be appreciated.

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lawyer up, because if those companies ever get around to responding in the positive, you're going to want that in writing anyway.

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They may be buying from a third party vendor who actually IS licensed and just retailing the product which I THINK is legal or could be arranged possibly with some small discount from the vendor to allow a modest profit.

I tried to see what it would take to get licensed with a local university (that my kid was attending at the time) and the department that handles that stuff basically lined out the specifics that are major quotas and some sort of accounting/inventory program that tracked everything that had to be running so there were no "lost or missing" items etc... It was in the tune of tens of thousands of dollars up front. I just wanted to make a hoodie for my kid rather than fork over their exorbitant price. The cool part was that they told me that if it was for my own use (ie. my family) that I was not breaking any copyright or trademark law. They went as far as to "ask" that I refrain from making something that did not properly express their Brand. It was a surprising and enlightening conversation. I followed up with an attorney pal about this and he confirmed that they hold trademark on the brand and obviously the copyright as well but that in the US there are no restrictions on what someone can make for themselves if they have the ability. Cannot sell it or even give it away as that would be diluting their market and a breach of trademark law. That long winded story does little to help you but I feel better. :P

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2 hours ago, Wildgoose said:

.. in the US there are no restrictions on what someone can make for themselves if they have the ability. Cannot sell it or even give it away as that would be diluting their market and a breach of trademark law. That long winded story does little to help you but I feel better. :P

I don't think that many people know that; or if they do, most do want to sell or gift.

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On 11/4/2020 at 9:02 PM, hotrodz0321 said:

So, my company is growing at a manageable rate but one thing I have wanted to try and incorporate into my product line was offering officially licensed products (GM, Ford, Jeep, etc.). I see companies that appear to be at my level and they offer the officially licensed products....how?

I've sent in inquiries and applications multiple times with no reply back....I havnt gotten any denials, I just dont even get a reply back from them. Do any of you have advice on how to accomplish this? I've ordered several officially licensed products from these people to install for a customer or a friend and the quality is identical or inferior to what I already offer so it would be nice to be able to increase sales by adding OL products. Any advice would be appreciated.

wondering if you ever got the license for those?

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Well, its just as everyone says. If you can even get a response from any of these companies they want proof that you have a substantial online presence. By substantial I mean your revenue is 7 figures or above and have monthly traffic numbers in the 5 digit range. They are looking to partner with companies rather than provide opportunities for a smaller company to boost sales.

Just as Wildgoose stated, you might be able to form an agreement with a company who is licensed already...the problem with that is I feel I make a better product and would outsell the products they make so it isnt likely they'd agree to something like this unless you sold completely different products.

I have learned that dealerships have licensing that allows them to use the specific manufacturer's logos on products and advertising. I'd need to look in to that more but that might be a potential loophole to this whole thing. I have relationship with local car dealers already so I might start talking to them about what their licensing allows. 

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