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Can I make a competing item without infringing on patent?
Stacy A. twotrees	Boppy is a baby/nursing pillow. It is a pillow form with a removable cover. There are many people who make covers for these pillows and sell them locally, online (Etsy, Ebay), etc under the name “nursing pillow covers”. Boppy does have patents for their items, and they are very broad (for example, they basically claim all body support pillows, made of cloth, with a cover, with an opening, with a closure of any kind). If I make covers for this and other nursing pillows to sell, but I don’t market them as having anything to do with Boppy or even mention that they are for the Boppy, is that patent infringement? It would be similar, in my mind, to Target making an item as their store brand vs. the brand name, or like Ford vs. GM – competing products. How do companies comete with each other and not infringe on each other’s patents? I am new to this, so I hope this question isn’t too basic! Thank you! posted September 12, 2009 21:50 ( ) Tweet

Susan E. sillysue 10,750 Insider Points	Hi Stacy, You can find a listing of Boppy’s patents here: http://www.patentgenius.com/assignee/TheBoppyCo... Have you heard of the baby blankets called Taggies? Taggies are blankets with little tags that stick out from the edges. I’ve seen knock-offs all over the internet and at craft shows for years. Etsy actually has a forum thread concerning the sale of these types of items at http://www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id.... (The manufacturer is obviously doing what they can to protect their rights under their Patent.) Because Taggies (and their knock-offs) have a distinct feature, they’re easy to identify. When it comes to pillow slipcovers, I personally don’t feel you’re going to see any huge crack-downs. You can always look at Boppy’s patents and try to design something a little different. posted September 12, 2009 23:03 ( )
Stacy A. twotrees	Thank you, Susan! posted September 13, 2009 08:44 ( )

Can I make a competing item without infringing on patent?

Stacy A.
twotrees

Boppy is a baby/nursing pillow. It is a pillow form with a removable cover. There are many people who make covers for these pillows and sell them locally, online (Etsy, Ebay), etc under the name “nursing pillow covers”.

Boppy does have patents for their items, and they are very broad (for example, they basically claim all body support pillows, made of cloth, with a cover, with an opening, with a closure of any kind).

If I make covers for this and other nursing pillows to sell, but I don’t market them as having anything to do with Boppy or even mention that they are for the Boppy, is that patent infringement? It would be similar, in my mind, to Target making an item as their store brand vs. the brand name, or like Ford vs. GM – competing products. How do companies comete with each other and not infringe on each other’s patents? I am new to this, so I hope this question isn’t too basic! Thank you!

posted September 12, 2009 21:50 ()

Susan E.
sillysue

10,750

Insider Points

Hi Stacy,

You can find a listing of Boppy’s patents here: http://www.patentgenius.com/assignee/TheBoppyCo...

Have you heard of the baby blankets called Taggies? Taggies are blankets with little tags that stick out from the edges. I’ve seen knock-offs all over the internet and at craft shows for years. Etsy actually has a forum thread concerning the sale of these types of items at http://www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id.... (The manufacturer is obviously doing what they can to protect their rights under their Patent.)

Because Taggies (and their knock-offs) have a distinct feature, they’re easy to identify. When it comes to pillow slipcovers, I personally don’t feel you’re going to see any huge crack-downs. You can always look at Boppy’s patents and try to design something a little different.

posted September 12, 2009 23:03 ()

Stacy A.
twotrees

Thank you, Susan!

posted September 13, 2009 08:44 ()

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