Trademark Use in Refurbished-Goods Marketplaces: What Remains After the Original Mark Is Removed ?

Introduction : Refurbished goods lie between the ordinary resale of genuine goods and counterfeiting. An authentic item might go back into commerce after laboratory testing, reconditioning, software updating, remanufacture, rebranding, and a new warranty. Trademark law safeguards source-identifying signs, but generally does not give owners indefinite monopoly over all subsequent sales. This arose in the context of the end of life hard drives manufactured by Western Digital and Seagate. On 09...