COMPARATIVE ADVERTISING

Law of Trade Marks and Brand Names (Comparative Advertising)



Law of Trade Marks and Brand Names (Comparative Advertising)

Comparative advertising

Comparative advertising is advertising in which the performance of competitors is with a range of the advertising company's products. Comparative advertising is any advertising which explicitly or by implication identifies a competitor or goods or services offered by a competitor (Pendleton, Garland and Margolis, 1994, Pp 210-240). In UK and Europe, comparative advertising has been a serious concern under certain guidelines and the Law against Unfair Competition, which is being regulated. In most European countries, comparative advertising is legal. Thus, it is allowed to the UK, and there are no proposals to change the law in this regard. The emphasis of legal actions is on misleading advertising, which is false or misleading, or likely to mislead the public. There is always the possibility that integration into the European Community could affect long term legislative position in the UK (Annand and Norman, 1994, Pp158). It is essential to keep in mind that when the companies or the adverts do not miss- lead the customer in any way, trademarks maybe used with out legal issues.

Risk

Comparative advertising is a complex topic which has complex uses and outcomes. Many companies use this form of advertisement because of the positive effects it has on their business, and helps the consumers have a better understanding of different products as the adverts give a straightforward comparison. The problem here is that there is always a party, brand or company that suffers because of comparative form of advertising (B. Mills, 1995, Pp. 417-430). Comparative advertising is a controversial area of commercial law, which can easily come to legal disputes. This is a useful way of advertising, especially when there are only a few large, but well-known competitors in the consumer ...