Governed by common law, state statutes, and the federal Lanham Act, unfair competition is a deceptive business practice that confuses and misleads consumers as to the source of the product and causes economic harm. Our attorneys have nearly 50 years of experience vigorously protecting consumers and businesses, both in and out of court, against competitors from stealing their business using unsavory methods. Further, our attorneys advise clients on sophisticated issues under § 43(a) of the Lanham Act, such as false advertising, misappropriation of trade secrets, “bait and switch,” and false representation.
In relation to unfair competition, trademark law is intended to protect businesses from unfair practices that use infringing marks. Unfair competition also exists as false advertising or misleading advertising. False advertising is when the statements of the advertisements are deceptive or untruthful. Whereas, misleading advertising is when the statements of the advertisements can be literally true, but are misleading to the average consumers resulting in an incorrect understanding of the product the consumer is interested in using or purchasing. A challenging competitor may prevail for unfair competition on either false or misleading advertising.