Any time you want to manufacture something that "resembles" what someone else has done, you have to tread v-e-r-y carefully. Depending on how close the resemblance, you could be deemed in violation of the other company's trademarks or trade dress. And that's an ugly and expensive lawsuit waiting to happen.
Why? For the very reason that you want your purses to look like the designer's: The designer has the cache, has the popular design, and "what it takes" to sell and make the line profitable. You'd be trading off it unfairly. Consult with a trademark attorney to get the guidance on avoiding what could be a nasty situation, if the designer ever got wind of it.
Nina L. Kaufman is an award-winning business attorney, author and speaker. For more than 15 years, she has successfully navigated thousands of small businesses through the legal hurdles they face in starting and running their companies. Under her
AskTheBusinessLawyer.com brand, she reaches thousands of entrepreneurs and small business owners with her legal services, professional speaking, information products, and
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