Forum

OEM Branding
 

So, I have decided to go down a different route.

OEM / Branding my own products for re sale in the UK.

I have a few questions -

If my items are branded and its MY brand and customs were to stop roughly £2000 worth of these items coming through customs with tags etc on would they actually be seized? Or would they start asking questions to me?

Anyone ever done anything like this before?

Does it work?

All help is much appreciated

Thanks

Bump?.......

Just prove it's your brand if/when the time comes. Pretty simple solution.

Depends on the product.

If you are blatantly ripping off and just adding your own label - well - what do you think?

I know what you think because that's why you asked

:ranger:

unknown5454 - Thanks for stating the obvious. How can I prove its my brand? There are no legalities to it yet as its not big enough. If it was N I KE or something big, whomever bought the goods would have invoices with their logos etc. I wont for my brand they would be just plain invoices from China & I know customs wouldnt accept that. Would I have to create any legal documents / branded paperwork to prove this?

Ripping off and adding my own? Totally confused....

Im looking at branding products that are currently unbranded and have NO ties to any brand.. nothing to do with ripping off and adding my own.

Thanks

I think GrannyT meant imitating a brand leader in style/design/look etc etc.

Correct

:ranger:

Oh, sorry I thought you meant ripping the label off and sticking my own on!

No, totally unique designs. Basing it around a niche style, attracting a certain type of customer with a niche outset.

still need some info on legalities when proving I own the brand. I assume I would need to register the brand under my name

Registering a brand or trade name is fraught and expensive and is only really viable if you are going global. Are people likely to copy your designs? Be realistic and then weigh up the pros and cons and do the maths

:ranger:

You wont have any trouble doing this. If customs DID seize it, then you would easily be able to get it back.

You completely missed my point. If this is YOUR brand, then you have the legal documents to prove it. Not silly invoices from some random foreign manufacturer.

If you still have no clue, then clearly you have done nothing to legally establish and register this brand and anything related to it in your name.

Have to agree with that unknown

No I havent done anything yet, thats why this post is here.

GrannyT said it is stupidly expensive to register etc. now youre saying it has to be done... which is it?

It is actually both.

Ideally to sell your own brand on whatever platform you intend, you need legal paperwork to cover yourself.

Such paperwork covers licences, consents and rights.

It is not simply a matter of picking an item from any supplier, and putting a brand label on said item. That would only be the case if you were the designer of the item.

:peace:

You can not bring any items into the UK without the correct paper work that has the correct value of the items for duty to be charged. An importation of goods that appear to have a street value of £2000, minus paper work, will see the consignment held. My expectation would be phone calls and/or letters.
I am basing this on importing manufactured jewellery from Thailand. A typo was made on the consignment note.

It is expensive in most countries. Perhaps you are getting yourself into something that is much more than you can handle. People generally seek lawyers and apply for business loans when doing this sort of thing. You don't just wake up one day and decide you are a company with a product.

Im NOT sure how it works in the UK,,,But Im fairly sure it is VERY similar to here in the US,,

If im correct, you have 2 Routes both legal,

First Register your Trademark/Logo, then Import your product with the Proper Import Licence (This is Determined by the Catagory of Product that you are importing), and also pay the Proper VAT (Tax)

the other way is to Import without Registering the Trademark. Because there are TENS OF THOUSANDS of products that have Logos/unique designs comming into this country Legally EVERY Day, the ONLY ones that have problems are the ones that are copied,,the chances of your particular unique logo/design getting siezed are VERY small, and if they do going down and showing them a few peices if ID will get them released, But you MUST pay your VAT, you cannot easily explain 2000 "Samples",,after all you could be like me,,,Im in the restaurant Business, I have a High Volume Operation in Manhattan, I just ordered 5000 Mouse Pads with my stores Logo on them to give away durring the holidays, there are a LOT of Small Companies the do the SAME thing, (Pens, Key chains, Magnets, ect, ect,)

The category would be under clothing / accessories etc.

At first I wouldnt want to register the trademark as I would be 'testing the water' with my branded products.

No, all these designs are ones I have requested from a very bland, original base and will be customised into my design with tags and logo I have designed.

So you think if they were to be seized by customs, how would I actually PROVE to them that this is in fact my brand and no one elses, if I had no paperwork of a registered trademark?

I will be looking to import in quantity so its essential I dont stumble across this issue.

slapped speaks to your issue to a degree.

Regardless of registering anything, you will need to present a professional case when dealing with Customs. Everything needs to be in order:juggle:
There's a lot of groundwork to do & heaps outside of this forum
Have you looked at the HMRC site regarding importation?
HM Revenue & Customs: Home Page

GB - Thanks for the reply.

Yes, have been reading over it the last couple of days. I dont see anything that is relevant to myself, LVBI is not applicable to me as this is to do with low valued items under £135.

Cannot see anything that is in relation to importing a brand product.

When you mention presenting a professional case, you mean I need all my paperwork in order before all of the items are sent over.

Exactly that - research some more and ask questions. Search button, and Google are your friends right now

It outlines how to import goods.

It outlines how to ensure you, as the importer, are conforming to current legislation. Knowing the info there is the basis of forming your future plans when this project gets going.
One of your earlier posts said what do I do should Customs seize £2000 worth of goods.
What do you do? You make the deal in order in the 1st case.
It's complex stuff
:juggle:

Establish your own copyright - pay the fees - get the license.

Establishing my own copyright - I have been looking at this as would be simpler for me to supply Customs with the letter proving I own the brand but can't see anything on pricing for this.

You do realize it is a couple hundred bucks to apply for a patent/trademark.

Nope, I didnt realise - I thought due to the nature it would be a LARGE sum!

Thanks for that, solves my issue if its that cheap. Makes sense to do it, and only have to produce the paperwork when necessary

sounds from what you say, your own logos on a bland base, seems ok, no need to register anything just yet, I expect you want to see how it sells first, but if it went well I would definately trademark it, or someone else will!

I have imported OEM before BUT always 100 pieces or less at a time, never had issues, no seizures or extra duty. These were similar/OEM versions of certain JML products, possibly some IP issues there, with regard to design etc but that was never a customs issue, as you are not talking anything immediately recognised and no well known logos.

Yes, plain base and building from there. Definately need to test the water however, don't see why it wouldnt hit a market. Have some good marketing ideas besides selling just on platforms.

oompah - any other info you have would be good to know, with regards to how OEM seems to sell etc.

oem, getting more and more difficult on ebay as the traffic goes to the branded items, oem fights for the leftovers and lower prices, you know how it is, but I get some sales. Without knowing what you sell exactly cannot gauge. my products are in health and beauty catagory. really helpful to have a word in title that draws attention but is not a copyrighted word eg 'epilator' gets traffic.

I do not logo or customise though, others are selling same thing as me usually...

OEM can be excellent - there is only one problem and that is if it is a blatant copy of something. As an example my step-daughter has started selling her petticoats under the Petticoat Dreams label. She has no copyright and the brand is just hers. If she decided to bring them in from China she would have no problems as she is the one trading as Petticoat Dreams.

Therefore it follows that if you are importing products that bear your label, and that are not blatant rip offs (Nikee instead of Nike as an example) then I cannot see why you personally will have any problems.

The reason to go for trademark protection is that you fear someone else will cash in on your design and your ideas to the extent it could seriously damage your endeavours.

Be realistic - first of all how likely is that, secondly how damaging would it be to you.

Pragmatism is very important here

Remember a week in politics is a long time and the same goes for a week in business. What's hot this week can be stone cold next week