Legal Definitions - reverse palming off

Reverse Palming Off refers to a deceptive practice where an individual or company acquires a competitor's genuine product or service, removes the original manufacturer's or creator's identifying marks (such as trademarks, logos, or branding), and then sells or presents that product or service as their own.

Essentially, instead of trying to pass off one's own inferior goods as those of a superior competitor (which is "palming off" or "passing off"), "reverse palming off" involves taking a superior competitor's genuine product or work and falsely claiming it as one's own. The deception lies in misrepresenting the origin of the goods or services, taking credit for another's innovation or quality.

Here are some examples to illustrate this concept:

• Example 1: Branded Components

  A small electronics company, "TechInnovate," develops a highly efficient and unique power supply unit. A larger competitor, "Global Devices," purchases a batch of these units, carefully removes TechInnovate's branding and serial numbers, and then integrates them into their own line of computers, marketing the power supplies as "Global Devices' proprietary technology."

  This illustrates reverse palming off because Global Devices is taking TechInnovate's genuine product, stripping it of its original identification, and presenting it as their own creation to consumers.

• Example 2: Creative Services

  A freelance graphic designer, Sarah, creates a distinctive logo and brand identity for a local bakery. Later, a larger design agency, "Elite Designs," sees Sarah's work and, without permission, presents a slightly modified version of that logo and brand identity to a potential new client (a different bakery chain) as an example of their own original portfolio work, omitting any mention of Sarah's involvement.

  This is reverse palming off because Elite Designs is taking Sarah's genuine creative work, removing its original attribution, and falsely claiming it as their own to secure new business.

• Example 3: Software Development

  A software development firm, "CodeMasters," specializes in creating custom database solutions. They discover an advanced, open-source data encryption library developed by an independent programmer, "CryptoGenius." CodeMasters integrates CryptoGenius's library into their proprietary database software, removes all of CryptoGenius's attribution and licensing information, and then sells the complete package to clients, claiming the encryption technology was developed entirely in-house by their team.

  This demonstrates reverse palming off as CodeMasters is incorporating CryptoGenius's genuine software component, removing its identifying marks and creator credits, and presenting it as their own original work to their clients.