{"id":24983,"date":"2017-01-31T10:45:29","date_gmt":"2017-01-31T10:45:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.markhamlawfirm.com\/mystaging\/dev\/?page_id=24983"},"modified":"2025-03-29T02:15:36","modified_gmt":"2025-03-29T09:15:36","slug":"false-advertising","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.markhamlawfirm.com\/mystaging\/practice-areas\/business-litigation\/false-advertising\/","title":{"rendered":"False Advertising"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>[et_pb_section fb_built=&#8221;1&#8243; custom_padding_last_edited=&#8221;on|desktop&#8221; admin_label=&#8221;Inner Top Banner and Title Section&#8221; module_class=&#8221;inner-banner-sec&#8221; _builder_version=&#8221;4.27.0&#8243; background_image=&#8221;https:\/\/www.markhamlawfirm.com\/mystaging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/court-header-2.jpg&#8221; custom_padding=&#8221;120px||20px||false|false&#8221; custom_padding_tablet=&#8221;80px||20px||false|false&#8221; custom_padding_phone=&#8221;50px||||false|false&#8221; background_last_edited=&#8221;on|phone&#8221; collapsed=&#8221;off&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;][et_pb_row module_class=&#8221;pstatic&#8221; _builder_version=&#8221;4.16&#8243; custom_padding=&#8221;||||false|false&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;][et_pb_column type=&#8221;4_4&#8243; module_class=&#8221;pstatic&#8221; _builder_version=&#8221;4.16&#8243; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;][et_pb_text admin_label=&#8221;Title&#8221; module_class=&#8221;leftborder&#8221; _builder_version=&#8221;4.27.4&#8243; text_font=&#8221;|900|||||||&#8221; text_text_color=&#8221;#ffffff&#8221; header_font=&#8221;|700||on|||||&#8221; header_text_align=&#8221;left&#8221; header_text_color=&#8221;#303030&#8243; header_font_size=&#8221;40px&#8221; header_line_height=&#8221;1.3em&#8221; header_2_font=&#8221;|700|||||||&#8221; header_2_text_align=&#8221;left&#8221; header_2_text_color=&#8221;#ffffff&#8221; header_2_font_size=&#8221;27px&#8221; header_2_line_height=&#8221;1.25em&#8221; header_3_font=&#8221;|700|||||||&#8221; header_3_text_color=&#8221;#ffffff&#8221; header_3_font_size=&#8221;27px&#8221; header_3_line_height=&#8221;1.2em&#8221; max_width=&#8221;700px&#8221; module_alignment=&#8221;left&#8221; custom_padding=&#8221;||||false|false&#8221; custom_padding_tablet=&#8221;&#8221; custom_padding_phone=&#8221;||||false|false&#8221; custom_padding_last_edited=&#8221;on|phone&#8221; hover_enabled=&#8221;0&#8243; text_font_size_tablet=&#8221;&#8221; text_font_size_phone=&#8221;20px&#8221; text_font_size_last_edited=&#8221;on|phone&#8221; header_text_align_tablet=&#8221;left&#8221; header_text_align_phone=&#8221;left&#8221; header_text_align_last_edited=&#8221;on|desktop&#8221; header_font_size_tablet=&#8221;36px&#8221; header_font_size_phone=&#8221;30px&#8221; header_font_size_last_edited=&#8221;on|desktop&#8221; header_line_height_tablet=&#8221;1.3em&#8221; header_line_height_phone=&#8221;1.3em&#8221; header_line_height_last_edited=&#8221;on|desktop&#8221; header_2_text_align_tablet=&#8221;left&#8221; header_2_text_align_phone=&#8221;left&#8221; header_2_text_align_last_edited=&#8221;on|phone&#8221; header_2_font_size_tablet=&#8221;32px&#8221; header_2_font_size_phone=&#8221;24px&#8221; header_2_font_size_last_edited=&#8221;on|phone&#8221; header_3_font_size_tablet=&#8221;27px&#8221; header_3_font_size_phone=&#8221;21px&#8221; header_3_font_size_last_edited=&#8221;on|phone&#8221; text_orientation_tablet=&#8221;&#8221; text_orientation_phone=&#8221;&#8221; text_orientation_last_edited=&#8221;on|phone&#8221; header_2_text_shadow_style=&#8221;preset1&#8243; header_2_text_shadow_horizontal_length=&#8221;2px&#8221; header_2_text_shadow_vertical_length=&#8221;2px&#8221; header_2_text_shadow_blur_strength=&#8221;2px&#8221; header_2_text_shadow_color=&#8221;#303030&#8243; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221; custom_css_main_element_last_edited=&#8221;on|desktop&#8221; sticky_enabled=&#8221;0&#8243;]<\/p>\n<h1>False Advertising In Violation Of The Lanham Act<\/h1>\n<p>[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=&#8221;1&#8243; admin_label=&#8221;Main Content Section&#8221; module_class=&#8221;inner-content-sec&#8221; _builder_version=&#8221;4.27.0&#8243; collapsed=&#8221;on&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;][et_pb_row _builder_version=&#8221;4.16&#8243; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;][et_pb_column type=&#8221;4_4&#8243; _builder_version=&#8221;4.16&#8243; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;][et_pb_text admin_label=&#8221;Main Text&#8221; _builder_version=&#8221;4.27.0&#8243; text_font=&#8221;||||||||&#8221; text_text_color=&#8221;#000000&#8243; header_font=&#8221;|900|||||||&#8221; header_font_size=&#8221;48px&#8221; header_2_font=&#8221;|700||on|||||&#8221; header_2_text_align=&#8221;left&#8221; header_2_text_color=&#8221;#000000&#8243; header_2_line_height=&#8221;1.2em&#8221; text_line_height_tablet=&#8221;&#8221; text_line_height_phone=&#8221;&#8221; text_line_height_last_edited=&#8221;on|desktop&#8221; header_font_size_tablet=&#8221;36px&#8221; header_font_size_phone=&#8221;27px&#8221; header_font_size_last_edited=&#8221;on|desktop&#8221; header_2_text_align_tablet=&#8221;left&#8221; header_2_text_align_phone=&#8221;&#8221; header_2_text_align_last_edited=&#8221;on|desktop&#8221; header_2_font_size_tablet=&#8221;&#8221; header_2_font_size_phone=&#8221;27px&#8221; header_2_font_size_last_edited=&#8221;on|desktop&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;]<\/p>\n<p>False advertising occurs when one competitor makes a false statement in an advertisement or promotion about a product or service that it sells or that a supplier or competitor sells. When this occurs, a harmed competitor (or in some cases a harmed supplier) can bring suit for false advertising under the Lanham Act, which is codified at 15 U.S.C. \u00a7\u00a7 1051 <em>et seq<\/em>.<em>\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<p>To prevail on a claim, the following matters must be proved by the victim of false advertising (usually a harmed competitor, but sometimes a harmed supplier): (1) the false advertiser ran or displayed an advertisement or promotion that stated or implied one or more false facts about its own offerings or those of a competitor or supplier; (2) the false advertisement misled or had a tendency to mislead a significant share of the prospective purchasers to whom it was shown\u2014which can be proved by customer surveys, expert testimony, and customer testimony; (3) the misleading statement in the false advertisement likely affected the purchasing decisions of those misled by it (proved by the same evidence listed directly above); (4) the harmed competitor or supplier therefore lost sales to the false advertiser or suffered harm to its goodwill, <em>i.e<\/em>., its sales and profits were &#8220;diverted&#8221; to the false advertiser\u2014which can be proved under a relaxed standard; and (5) the advertisement affected interstate commerce\u2014a requirement that can usually be satisfied under the modern definition of interstate commerce.<\/p>\n<p>A harmed competitor can also seek related redress under California Business &amp; Professions Code Section 17500 if the false advertising deceives customers or harms a business located in California.<\/p>\n<p>We have substantial experience litigating claims for false advertising on behalf of plaintiffs and defendants. Recognized for his experience, Mr. Markham was recently <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vice.com\/en\/article\/jgmdg7\/can-fans-really-sue-for-five-million-dollars-over-ana-de-armas-getting-cut-out-of-yesterday\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">interviewed at length<\/a> by Vice Media about about a prominent false advertising case.<\/p>\n<p>[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>False Advertising In Violation Of The Lanham ActFalse advertising occurs when one competitor makes a false statement in an advertisement or promotion about a product or service that it sells or that a supplier or competitor sells. When this occurs, a harmed competitor (or in some cases a harmed supplier) can bring suit for false [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":26569,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"<div id=\"content-left\">          \r\n                <div class=\"maincontent\">\r\n                                <p>False advertising occurs when one competitor makes false statements in an advertisement or promotion about its own product or service or those of a competitor. When this occurs, a harmed competitor can bring suit for false advertising under the Lanham Act. To prevail, the harmed competitor must show that (1) the advertiser ran or displayed an advertisement that stated one or more false facts about its own or a competitor\u2019s offerings; (2) the advertisement actually misled or had a tendency to mislead a significant percentage of the target audience; (3) the misleading statement likely affected the purchasing decisions of those whom it reached when they purchased the product or service at issue; (4) the harmed competitor either lost sales to the false advertiser or suffered harm to its goodwill; and (5) the advertisement affected interstate commerce \u2014 a requirement that can usually be satisfied under the modern definition of interstate commerce. A harmed competitor can also seek related dress under California Business & Professions Code Section 17500 if the false advertising deceives customers or harms a business located in California.<\/p>\r\n<p>We have substantial experience litigating claims for false advertising on behalf of plaintiffs and defendants.<\/p>\r\n                     \r\n                <\/div>\r\n            <\/div>","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-24983","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v24.8 (Yoast SEO v24.8.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>False Advertising - LAW OFFICES OF WILLIAM MARKHAM, P.C.<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Harvard-trained attorney William Markham litigates claims for false advertising under the federal Lanham Act.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"False Advertising\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Harvard-trained attorney William Markham litigates claims for false advertising under the federal Lanham Act.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.markhamlawfirm.com\/mystaging\/practice-areas\/business-litigation\/false-advertising\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"LAW OFFICES OF WILLIAM MARKHAM, P.C.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/LawOfficesofWilliamMarkhamPC\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-03-29T09:15:36+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.markhamlawfirm.com\/mystaging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/sandiego-harbor-2.webp\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1917\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1074\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/webp\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.markhamlawfirm.com\/mystaging\/practice-areas\/business-litigation\/false-advertising\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.markhamlawfirm.com\/mystaging\/practice-areas\/business-litigation\/false-advertising\/\",\"name\":\"False Advertising - 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