?Unfair, deceptive, untrue, or misleading advertisement
One of the more prevalent types of unfair competition is misleading advertisement. Both consumers and business owners would do well to understand what is considered as false advertising.
Advertising is regulated by both state and federal law. It does not matter what your intentions were, what matters in the eyes of the law is that advertisements must not mislead customers. The California state law states ?it is immaterial under [Section 17200] whether a consumer has been actually misled by an advertiser's representations. It is enough that the language used is likely to deceive, mislead or confuse.?
As a business owner, how do you make sure that your advertisements will not constitute unfair competition? Here are a few things that you might want to keep in mind:
?Accuracy is the key ? check the facts of your advertisements to make sure that they are correct. Do not mislead your customers. Do not put photographs of an old model of a product just because it looks almost the same as the current model. Be sure that your consumers know what to expect from your product. Do not say that your soap will kill 99.9% of germs if it doesn't do exactly as you said.
?Do not violate intellectual property rights or privacy ? if your ad will include the photograph of a person or (even indirectly) another product, make sure that you ask the parties involve for their permission. The same rule applies for materials quoted from another source, names of institutions, and other similar situations.
?Be careful how you use the word ?free? ? if you do offer any service or product ?free?, be sure that it really is free, and that the customer will not need to buy anything to get this ?free? service or item. If you used the word ?free? but mean for it to have certain limitations, then state so in ways that will not leave mislead the buying public. Remember to disclose any terms, limitations, or other conditions. What will matter to the court is the over-all impression that the advertisement gives the public, not the legal soundness of the footnote that's barely readable at the bottom.
?Be careful when referring to ?good deals? and savings ? selling a can of paint at $2 discount but then watering it down or changing the quality is considered false advertisement. Be sure that your customers and the viewers of your advertisement will really be able to save what you promise they will save from purchasing your product.
When you think about it, it is good business to avoid this aspect of unfair competition. Customers who are truly satisfied with your advertisement and who do not feel conned into buying something are more likely to become repeat customers.
If you are a consumer and you feel that you have been victimized by unfair competition, attorneys that have experience in handling such cases will be able to help you claim damages for being unfairly treated.
