Reselling refurbished branded goods is lawful — but strip off the original trademark and you lose the defence that makes it lawful. An Indian court drew that line for refurbished hard drives, and set out guidelines refurbishers must follow.
The facts
Original manufacturers supply hard disk drives to OEMs worldwide. After warranties expire, OEMs resell the working drives to refurbishers, who remove the original labels, rebrand the drives, and sell them with their own extended warranties.
The legal question
Does reselling refurbished drives after removing the original brand and repackaging amount to trademark infringement under the Trade Marks Act, 1999?
The two sides
- Manufacturers relied on Section 30(4) — that removing labels, refurbishing, reformatting and repackaging altered the condition of the goods, so the “exhaustion” defence did not apply and the resale infringed.
- Refurbishers relied on Section 30(3) — which lets a non-owner lawfully resell goods that bear a registered mark where they were put on the market with the owner’s consent. They argued refurbishment improved the goods (health testing, new serial numbers, affordability), so nothing was impaired.
What the court decided
Section 30(3) protection has conditions: the goods must bear the registered trademark, be lawfully acquired, and be sold with the original mark intact. Because the refurbishers had removed the original trademark, they could not claim Section 30(3) — and lost the exhaustion defence.
The guidelines for refurbishers
To resell lawfully, the court set out that packaging and marketing must:
- Clearly identify the original manufacturer — disclosed clearly but not dominating the get-up.
- Reference only the word mark, not the device/logo mark.
- State that there is no original-manufacturer warranty.
- Carry a prominent “Used and Refurbished” statement.
- Make clear that any extended warranty is the refurbisher’s, not the manufacturer’s.
- Describe features accurately, with no misleading claims.
- Apply these to all materials — packaging, websites, e-commerce listings, brochures and manuals.
The takeaways
- Keep the original mark to keep the defence. Removing it forfeits Section 30(3).
- Transparency is the price of resale. Clear “refurbished” labelling and honest warranty and source disclosures are mandatory.
- Word mark, not logo. Refer to the maker by name, not by their device mark.
Frequently asked questions
Can I resell refurbished branded goods in India? Yes, if you meet Section 30(3) — the goods bear the original registered mark, were lawfully acquired, and are sold with that mark intact and honest disclosures.
What happens if I remove the original trademark? You lose the Section 30(3) exhaustion defence, and the resale can amount to infringement.
How must refurbished goods be labelled? Prominently as “Used and Refurbished,” identifying the original maker by word mark, stating there is no original warranty, and clarifying that any warranty is the refurbisher’s.
Can I use the manufacturer’s logo? No — reference the word mark only, not the device/logo mark.
Legislation referred to
- The Trade Marks Act, 1999