User:Kteah/False advertising

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Comparative advertising
In the world of advertising, companies employ a gamut of marketing techniques in order to assert their products as the best available on the market. One of the most common marketing tactics in this space is known as 'comparative advertising' where “the advertised brand is explicitly compared with one or more competing brands and the comparison is obvious to the audience.” The laws surrounding comparative advertising have changed immensely over the history of law in the United States. The most drastic change occurred with the creation of the Lanham Act in 1946. The Lanham Act has served as the backbone, and official canon, for all cases that reference or involve false advertisement. Over the years, marketing strategies have become progressively more aggressive, and the limitations of the Lanham Act became outdated.

In 2012, USCA §1125 was passed as an addition to the Lanham Act, and clarified questions about comparative advertising. Under §1125, anyone who, in commerce, uses words, symbols, or misleading descriptions of fact that are either likely to cause confusion within consumers about their own product, or in commercial advertising misrepresents the nature, characteristics, or qualities of their own or another's product is liable under a civil action by anyone who is damaged by the act. USCA §1125 resolves some of the gaps in the Lanham Act, but it still does not suffice as a perfect remedy for every case that may arise. For now, advertisements that present false descriptions of fact are considered deceptive with no additional evidence required. When an advertisement makes a factual but misleading claim, further evidence of the actual confusion of an average consumer is needed.