Here is a legality question for you :

[[BV]]

I am sure some of you get fan mail (and sometimes hate mail.)

If someone emails me and explains how much they like www.mysite.com better than www.mycompetitors-site.com, and I quoted this on my site somewhere, are there any laws against that?

We all see this sometimes here and there in mainstream advertising and I wonder how they can say that and use their competitors name, then on the other hand, sometimes you see the opposite. (like when you see blurred out logos and such)

Discuss >

[Kinky]

not sure about legal issues but you are giving free advertising to your competitor, people are gonna check them out to see if it is true or not

[[BV]]

Originally Posted by Kinky Jones

not sure about legal issues but you are giving free advertising to your competitor, people are gonna check them out to see if it is true or not

Yes quite true and a good point, could be considered a traffic leak.

Do you think that's what's going on when you see a mainstream advertisement do that? both parties involved maybe?

[Kinky]

Originally Posted by [BV]

Yes quite true and a good point, could be considered a traffic leak.

Do you think that's what's going on when you see a mainstream advertisement do that? both parties involved maybe?

I haven't really seen it so I have no idea but just substitute "all the other INSERT NICHE HERE sites" for "mycompetitorssite.com" and the potential leak is gone along with any legality issues

[[BV]]

Originally Posted by Kinky Jones

I haven't really seen it so I have no idea but just substitute "all the other INSERT NICHE HERE sites" for "mycompetitorssite.com" and the potential leak is gone along with any legality issues

yes, i agree with you
but for arguments sake let's just say i don't want to do that

let's hypothetically say that coke's website had a testimonial page where they they showed something like:

"Hi my name is joe and I've been drinking Diet Pepsi all my life until I tried your new Diet Coke formula. It's the best. Way better than that Pepsi's Diet cola. Thank You!, John Doe, Miami, FL."

Would that be legal?

[Kinky]

well I could tell you.... but then I would have to charge you legal consultation fees

on a serious note maybe Chad (our un-official GG&Jim lawyer) will see this thread and could give you all the legal info on the subject, i failed the Bar exams due to "a serious lack of effort on my part"

[Simon]

Here's some info that may help a little, though it would be better to get a real legal opinion before you actually use comparative advertising, even in testimonials from customers.

Fair comparative advertising has long been permitted under U.S. law. A summary of the law regarding comparative advertising can be found online at http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/policystmt/ad-compare.htm. Comparative advertisements must comply with the same rules for accuracy, fairness, and substantiation as other types of advertisements. Failure to properly substantiate comparative advertisements can lead to defamation or disparagement claims. However, assuming the comparison in the advertisement is accurate and fair, it is appropriate to identify the product or service to which you are comparing your product or service by using its trademark or service mark. However, you should use only the name of the compared product or service and refrain from using any stylized logo, design, or slogan. You should also avoid using the competitor’s mark more than is necessary to make the comparison.

These searches will get you some of FTC regulations/guidelines you have to consider too...

http://www.google.com/search?q=using...dvertising+FTC

http://www.google.com/search?q=using...estimonial+FTC

[[BV]]

Originally Posted by Simon

Here's some info that may help a little, though it would be better to get a real legal opinion before you actually use comparative advertising, even in testimonials from customers.



These searches will get you some of FTC regulations/guidelines you have to consider too...

http://www.google.com/search?q=using...dvertising+FTC

http://www.google.com/search?q=using...estimonial+FTC

Google is great isn't it? Thanks

So far looks good, finding some interesting stuff:

Can I mention a competitor’s product by name or show the product in my ad?

Yes, so long as your ad is truthful and does not mislead or deceive consumers. You should avoid subtleties that may be viewed as misleading. For example, if you and your competitor make "regular" and "extra" strength cleaning products, you should be sure to compare like products. And when comparing your detergent to a competitor, you should not exaggerate the relative ineffectiveness of the competitor by darkening a stain so that it appears more clearly on TV or in a photo.

[Jim]

Yeah, you see it on TV commercials all the time. I remember the Coke and Pepsi challenge. And a little closer to what we do, look at how the different cable news shows treat each other. MSNBC bashes Fox and Fox bashes MSNBC. It seems as if you can say what every you want to say as long as it's true.

But, as said before, I would never mention another site that was a direct competitor to the surfer unless it was a fair trade.

[lassiter]

Originally Posted by Jim

Yeah, you see it on TV commercials all the time. I remember the Coke and Pepsi challenge. And a little closer to what we do, look at how the different cable news shows treat each other. MSNBC bashes Fox and Fox bashes MSNBC. It seems as if you can say what every you want to say as long as it's true.

But, as said before, I would never mention another site that was a direct competitor to the surfer unless it was a fair trade.

The trick would be to also own your "competitor's" site as well - then there's no traffic leak. |badidea|

[DJilla]

IMHO, I'm a little surprised by these posts becasue the answer in law is the same one in common sense. The reason that people use testimony by "Betty Boob" and "Joe Dick" is because they either don't exisit or are inconsequential people who aren't going to be pissed off.

Did you ever see a commercial for Bud that used the CEO of Heiniken's as an endorsement? Of course not because they'd get their pants sued off. If they do its because a) they're trying to be provacative and b) they have iron cold subjective proof like a video of the CEO of Heiniken's choosing a Bud at a party and saying something like I hate that crap I make. Absent proof, I'd forget using a quote. I'd pass the idea even with proof.

However, you can make side by side factual comparisons between two products or brands on things like price, performance, and cost etc. but don't think you can get away with actual quotes out of someone's mouth who is well known unless you're prepared to meet them in court.

[Useless]

Originally Posted by DJilla

Did you ever see a commercial for Bud that used the CEO of Heiniken's as an endorsement?

I think you're off track here. BV isn't going to claim that the owner of othersite.com prefers mysite.com over his own. He's working off of a customer testimony and that's completely legit.

I wouldn't want to mention a competitor's name/trademark, even if I had the legal right to, just because I wouldn't want the hassle. You know they are going to lawyer up, whether they have a fruitful claim or not. And the danger of that in this industry is that hosts, sponsors, and now registrars - all react in such a knee-jerk manner, and they will shut you down the moment they receive a letter from your competitor's attorney. They'll say "Oh, what pretty and official letterhead! I better close this account right now."

[SirMoby]

For the legal issues, it's all about what your lawyer tells you to do. All it takes is for one company to spot the comment, copy it and have their lawyer sue and the next thing you know, you've eaten up all your new sales and more in legal fees. Spenind $10,000 to prove you did nothing illegal is still $10,000 wasted.

Personally I would never mention a competitors name on my sites because it does provide them with advertising and can make my site look bad. When I see TV ads where one company is putting down another I usually think "afraid of a better product".

[DJilla]

Originally Posted by Useless Warrior

I think you're off track here. BV isn't going to claim that the owner of othersite.com prefers mysite.com over his own. He's working off of a customer testimony and that's completely legit.

OH! NEVERMIND (Rosanna Dana Dana).

But seriously I got the impression he was referring to a personality at a competitor's company for the endorsement. Re-reading it I don't see how I got that out of what he said (just got up, coffee wasn't ready, it was a long hard party night).

You're right of course, if you have the letter on file there is no problem whatsoever in using it as an endorsement. Ehhh however, I would still try and get a release/permission for this purpose though... standard form. Some people might not want their names used in connection with an adult site endorsement.

IMHO, If you're going to just sign the endorsement: "Buddy B" (and not the whole name) then why bother in the first place! Just make the shit up to begin with and then in 5pt type at the bottom write = "Typical Customer Comments"

[DJilla]

Originally Posted by SirMoby

... have their lawyer sue and the next thing you know, you've eaten up all your new sales and more in legal fees. Spenind $10,000 to prove you did nothing illegal is still $10,000 wasted.

Of course you are soooooo right on that point. Which I think is another endorsement of the "make it up to begin with" school of marketing. Because unfortunately you have people who sue just to do it and if that ever were to happen to you, you'd be able to end the matter quickly by producing the notes and creatives of how you made the whole blurb up to begin with.

[[BV]]

After hashing it out for a while I will just edit out the other sites names and the senders when I add the testimonial page to this new site.
Using the other sites name seems like a cheesy way to advertise anyways. (even though I love to receive such compliments)

I would never "make up" testimonials to display. To me that would be even cheesier and deceptive.

I've had real testimonials on one of my other sites for years with no problems. I just replaced the senders name with initials. None of them ever referred to any other sites though.

In todays "sue happy" world it's probably money saved.

[teenytricia]

always better to not to mention other competitors name... makes your viewers curious and would want to check them out...