Legal Question in International Law in Texas

Re: copyright las

Brand names are not protected by copyright but rather by trade or service marks. The answer to your question will depend on the countries involved so we can determine to what expent the relevant countries follow the laws that relate to them. We also need to know where the brand is protected and how. You should consult a lawyer so they can get all the relevant information. This is not the type of question most attorneys could answer without research relating to the brand and countries.

But if you are the wholesaler, then your contract should have required the brand name to be removed before resale anywhere, especially in the US because removing the brand name is probably not possible.

Re: copyright las

Hmmm. This sounds kind of like like a law-school final exam. A lot would depend on which law applies -- the Uniform Commercial Code ("UCC"), or the Convention on International Sale of Goods ("CISG").

Generally, under the UCC if a buyer wrongfully refuses acceptance of the goods, the buyer has the right (among others) to sell the goods to someone else and to sue the buyer for damages. It's been awhile since I checked the CISG, but I believe the CISG has similar provisions.

The rub here, as you point out, is the existence of the copyrighted (trademarked?) brand name on the goods. If the buyer is the copyright holder, then -- notwithstanding his (presumed) wrongful rejection of the goods, he theoretically has the right to prevent the resale of the goods bearing his brand name.

Thus, unless the brand name is easily removable, the goods are essentially unsellable. Under these circumstances the goods would be considered "specially manufactured" and the seller would have the right to sue the buyer for the entire contract price plus incidental and (possibly) consequential damages. Again, I am pretty sure the CISG has similar provisions.

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