As discussed previously on the New York City Business and Commercial Law Blog, any form of false advertising, including charging hidden fees, is prohibited under the Lanham Act. According to this, companies and businesses cannot make any misleading claims about qualities, geographical origin or nature of the product.
False advertising can be done two ways in New York by businessmen. The first scenario is if a competitor uses your product and makes false comparisons between their product and yours, you may be able to take action under the Act. This means if a competitor makes a false statement about its product that would give it an unfair advantage in the business, it may be possible to force them to stop making unfounded claims.
Secondly, false advertising also exists when a competitor uses packaging or descriptions that can confuse consumers about the origin of the products. That means a new manufacturer cannot design their packaging in the same manner as an existing competitive product.
False advertising is an act prohibited by law and when New York residents either want to file a claim against someone who is engaging in false advertising or defend themselves when accused of it, they should know that they have multiple options that lawyers at our firm can discuss with them. We have more than 30 years of experience that we use for our clients’ benefit and, depending on the situation, can either move forward through the legal system or through negotiated settlements. For more on business torts and false advertising, visit our page.