Category Archives: False Advertising

The Supreme Court has recently agreed to hear argument in Lexmark v. Static Control that will strike at the very heart of false advertising jurisprudence by asking who is allowed to bring false advertising claims.  The Lanham Act states that such claims may be brought “by any person who believes that he or she is [...]

Nearly thirteen years after issuing guidelines governing online advertising, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) recently updated its so-called Dot Com Disclosures to take account of the many changes to the online world that have occurred over those intervening years.  Whereas most digital advertising thirteen years ago was popping up or scrolling across our computer screens, [...]

Amazon has recorded another success in its battle with Apple over use of the term APP STORE.  The U.S. District Court in California has granted Amazon’s motion for summary judgment on Apple’s claim of false advertising arising from Amazon’s use of the term APP STORE (or APPSTORE in practice) in connection with Amazon’s online store [...]

Cargill Health & Nutrition, the maker of TRUVIA sweeteners, recently brought a false advertising challenge against its competitor Cumberland Packing Corp. over Cumberland’s use of the product name STEVIA IN THE RAW.  See Cumberland Packing Corp., NAD Case Report No. 5525 (November 29, 2012).  Cargill brought the challenge before the National Advertising Division, a self-regulatory [...]

In August of this year, Warner Brothers finally announced the release of Age of the Hobbits, Peter Jackson’s long-awaited follow-up to his Lord of the Rings trilogy, based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s famous fantasy novels. Age of the Hobbits tells the tale of a clever group of diminutive Indonesian tribesmen who convince Chinese actress Bai Ling [...]

The Federal Trade Commission released its much anticipated “Green Guides” earlier this month. As discussed here, on Foley Hoag’s Law & the Environment blog, the guides seek to rein in the use of specious environmental marketing claims by ensuring that marketers have competent and reliable scientific evidence to back up express and implied environmental claims. [...]

The Federal Trade Commission recently finalized changes to its investigative procedures. The changes are intended to streamline a process that has, in recent years, become increasingly lengthy and unwieldy. The driving force behind the changes, which will become effective November 9, 2012, is the ever-increasing pace of technology, in particular its effect on the amount [...]

A federal district court in Massachusetts was recently sucked into a false advertising dispute between manufacturers of competing vacuums and steam cleaners over alleged violations of Section 43(a) of the Lanham Act. The plaintiff, Euro-Pro Operating LLC (“Euro-Pro”), which manufactures the popular “Shark” steam mop and “Shark Navigator” vacuum, filed suit against the defendant, TTI [...]

*75% is only the author’s opinion. Actual likelihood may vary. In the midst of one of the most brutal heat waves in recent history, the FTC has published a research study taking window manufacturers to task for, among other things, making aggressive “up to” claims regarding savings on air conditioning bills. (In case you were [...]

The Federal Trade Commission has been busy. On the heels of its $40 million settlement with Skechers, one of the largest of its kind, the Commission yesterday announced that it has settled with Oreck Corporation regarding allegedly unsubstantiated claims that the company made regarding its Halo vacuum cleaner and ProShield Plus portable air purifier. Oreck [...]

After much hype on Twitter regarding an action against a “major marketer of consumer goods,” the Federal Trade Commission today announced that it has settled with Skechers USA, Inc. over allegedly deceptive claims that the company made concerning its Shape-ups and other “toning shoes.” The settlement was part of a broader agreement resolving a multi-state [...]

Frank Fazio, a disgruntled iPhone 4S user from New York, recently filed a federal class action lawsuit against Apple in California, alleging that the Siri feature of the iPhone 4S does not work as advertised. For those of you who still use pay phones, Siri is a virtual assistant that uses voice recognition to answer questions and perform tasks that would otherwise require typing, such as making calls, sending text messages, scheduling meetings, and getting directions. Mr. Fazio alleges that he purchased an iPhone 4S in November 2011 based on representations made by Apple regarding the Siri feature but began noticing problems right away.

On September 28, the FTC announced that Reebok has agreed to pay $25 million to settle a lawsuit alleging that Reebok’s EasyTone shoes were advertised in a deceptive manner. According to the FTC’s press release, the funds will be made available for consumer refunds either directly from the FTC or through a court-approved class action [...]

False advertising is an expensive business model. In a recent case involving infomercials for coral calcium supplements which allegedly cure cancer (among other things), the First Circuit affirmed an order requiring the defendants to disgorge nearly $50 million in gross revenues — not just profits — on the ground that the “consumer loss” was an [...]

In what would appear to be the final chapter of the battle between online giant eBay and luxury jeweler Tiffany, a Southern District of New York judge has bounced Tiffany’s false advertising claim, the only claim remaining following a Second Circuit decision earlier this year.    On remand, the district court focused on whether eBay’s [...]