I would like to sell my own toilet paper rolls, but having done some google searches, there seems to be a lot of patents on it, many of which are held by Kimberly Klark. Is it possibly for me to buy wholesale toilet paper from over seas and sell in at home legally?
1 Answer
That depends on a lot,and this isn't enough information to figure that out. Infringement covers anyone who sells, attempts to sell, imports or attempts to import any infringing products, but there's more to it than this.
Which patents specifically do you think you'd infringe? Most of the basic elements of toilet paper patents expired long ago.
If you import the paper and then use it for an infringing purpose, then yes, of course, you can get sued for infringement. Where you source the paper doesn't matter.
If the paper itself is infringing, then again, yes, you are infringing.
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Alright, I am not asking for you to do any research or anything, but off the top of your head what are the chances of me getting sued if I sell this type of toilet paper in my own packaging? [link] (sc01.alicdn.com/kf/HTB1EseJIpXXXXXIXVXXq6xXFXXX8/…) Sep 1, 2016 at 17:59
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Like you said the basic elements of toilet paper patents have expired, but is the easy tear element patented? Sep 1, 2016 at 18:04
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The first few pages of Google Patent (with a filter going as far back as 2000) show no patents related to the perforations - google.com/… But that's not to say that perfs are definitely not covered by an active patent. First, there are probably multiple patents related to the perfs. Are the perfs on yours the same as perfs on others? I imagine there are different ways to cut it and different cuts that affect its performance. Check manufacturing too. Sep 1, 2016 at 19:49
