False advertising - sustany/dvg GitHub Wiki

False advertising is an actionable civil claim under Section 43(a) of the Lanham Act. A party who successfully sues for false advertising may be entitled to either damages or injunctive relief.�

To bring a claim for false advertising, the plaintiff must show:

• The defendant made false or misleading statements as to their�own products (or another�s);
• Actual deception occurred, or at least a tendency to deceive a substantial portion of the intended audience;
• The deception is material in that it is likely to influence purchasing decisions;
• The advertised goods travel in interstate commerce; and
• There was a likelihood of injury to the plaintiff.

Notably, the plaintiff does not need to show that they suffered actual injury from the defendant�s allegedly false advertising. That said, puffery, or claims a person could not reasonably rely upon, are not grounds for a false advertising claim.