Legal Question in Business Law in Nebraska

I have a food website business. I sold my home made bread to a restaurant; they repackaged it and sold it for profit. The customers will not know where it originally came from. Can this restaurant legally do that?


Asked on 8/23/10, 11:10 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Kevin B. Murphy Franchise Foundations, APC

As a manufacturer, you have a right to control who resells your branded products downstream. So, the first issue is whether you branded the bread - did the packaging, etc. contain your trademark? There is an exception known as the "first sale doctrine" which traditionally allowed a consumer buying an article for personal use to re-sell the article as "used" via a garage sale, to a pawn shop, as part of an estate, and so forth. This doesn't appear to apply here, as it wasn't a consumer or for personal use. Consult with an attorney in your area for specifics.

Kevin B. Murphy, B.S., M.B.A., J.D. - Mr. Franchise

Franchise Attorney

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Answered on 8/28/10, 4:49 pm


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