<snip> I'm an authorized
<i>&gt; dealer for a software company. I use their brochures and marketing</i>
<i>&gt; material all the time with their and my name on it.</i>
No problem here. Manufacturers often support their dealers with marketing
materials and encourage them to imprint their contact information.
<i>&gt; They recently</i>
<i>&gt; put a home page on the net and I downloaded them and changed them</i>
<i>&gt; slightly and put my name and phone number on them so people can order</i>
<i>&gt; from me instead of the software company directly (YES, they are in</i>
<i>&gt; the Dark Ages and compete against their dealers!!!).</i>
Two potential problems here.
First: copyright violations. Unless the software company specifically granted
permission for you to capture their code, sales copy and graphics -- and to
use them any way you like -- you may be open to a lawsuit. Rest assured that
their lawyers have already printed out your modified pages and opened a file,
just in case it's needed. (BTW, product photos used in the Web site, if any,
probably belong to the photographer, not the software company. You may also
be violating his/her rights.)
Second: breach of contract. Your dealership agreement may limit your sales
territory. Manufacturers often grant dealerships in selected areas and
reserve others for themselves. Since the Internet is global, you may be
infringing on territories held by other dealers and the software company.
&lt;snip&gt;
<i>&gt; Today I got another firmer email demanding that I change my pages</i>
<i>&gt; because I offer a discount and the software company doesn't and they</i>
<i>&gt; are telling me that they have calls coming in to them asking for "MY"</i>
<i>&gt; discount!!! (hehe, nice to know my site is having an effect).</i>
The software company has a right to control the distribution of its product,
just as you have a right to set the price on products you resell. They may be
testing a variety of prices and marketing techniques in different areas. They
may even be planning to do away with dealers altogether.
<i>&gt; I'm interested in opinions about what I should do.. on the one hand</i>
<i>&gt; since I'm a dealer and selling their product ( I don't offer any</i>
<i>&gt; other competing brands) I think they should leave me alone and</i>
<i>&gt; encourage my business, besides, they let me use all their other</i>
<i>&gt; marketing materials!!</i>
It is reasonable for a dealer to want to be left alone, just as it is
reasonable (understandable) for a manufacturer to control distribution. I
doubt that an invitation to use brochures in sales presentations would be
construed by any court as an invitation to expand sales territories globally
and reconfigure copyrighted materials at will. Then again OJ does walk free.
<i>&gt; On the other hand, I don't want to do something that is illegal</i>
<i>&gt; and causing problems.</i>
You might want to consult with one of the lawyers who frequent this list
regarding the copyright situation.
Ken Sethney
businessVISION Consulting Group
ksethney@sethney.com rkenneth@aol.com
author: "CEO's Guide to Effective Marketing"
<a href="<a href="http://www.deltanet.com/users/ksethney/">http://www.deltanet.com/users/ksethney/</a>">http://www.deltanet.com/users/ksethney/</a>
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