Misleading advertising meaning

Checklist This Checklist covers key points practitioners should weigh up when reviewing price promotions. Such activity could include free extra volume or money-off offers, among other common mechanics. It reflects requirements set out in the Competition and Market’s Authority guidance, Price transparency: CMA209 (Price Transparency Guidance). For more detail, see Practice Note: Promotional marketing and price claims. As you progress through the Checklist, the third column can be used to note observations or comments. Basic issues to consider for price and value promotions Is the promotion a bona fide price reduction or an increase in volume running for a specified period? Marketers and traders should retain relevant evidence to show the claim is authentic. Is the promotion presented clearly and not misleading? Include all qualifications, restrictions or other limitations that affect availability. Link to relevant terms and conditions for further detail, but do not rely on them for any material pricing information or restrictions; these must be stated clearly within the promotion...

It is vital for proprietors of trade mark registrations to ensure correct use, so the public recognises them as badges of origin for the relevant goods and/or services, and to lessen the risk of third-party challenges claiming the marks have become generic or misleading, or that they lack distinctiveness. For more information, see: Trade mark transactions and management-overview Practice Note: Managing a trade mark portfolio Practice Note: Removal of UK trade marks from the register-expiry, surrender, invalidity and revocation To assist, clear guidelines on trade mark usage should be created, with training provided to internal teams and to third-party users of trade marks such as distributors, advertising agencies and retailers, covering correct usage. A checklist of points to include in such guidance is set out below. Only use the trade mark as registered, without variations and abbreviations This applies to both written and spoken use of the trade mark. Distinguish the trade mark from the surrounding text A...

In this issue: Advertising, marketing and sponsorship Contracts International Public procurement Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Dates for your diary Trackers Latest Q&A Commercial Highlights 2025/2026 Advertising, marketing and sponsorship ASA rulings—17 December 2025 The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) received six objections about adverts for weight-loss medicines and services, covering promotion of prescription-only medicines, irresponsible body-image messaging and gender stereotyping, plus assertions that a medicine assists beyond its authorised indication. The ASA upheld the complaints. See: LNB News 17/12/2025 20. Which? finds budget airlines’ cabin bag fees far higher than advertised Consumer's Association (Which?) carried out research into budget airline bag pricing, finding that major carriers such as RyanAir and Easyjet routinely fail to include in the advertised total the realistic cost of baggage. Which? has referred its findings to the ASA for misleading 'from' price claims and the ASA is investigating. See: LNB News 15/12/2025 14....

In this issue: Advertising, marketing and sponsorship Consumer protection E-commerce International Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Dates for your diary Trackers Advertising, marketing and sponsorship ASA rulings—14 August 2024 The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) is continuing to address promotions claiming to treat menopausal symptoms. Drawing on a complaint and its own intelligence, the ASA examined specific TikTok ads to determine whether they asserted medicinal properties for an unlicensed product. The complaint was upheld. See: LNB News 14/08/2024 21. Consumer protection CMA secures final commitments from Worcester Bosch to change marketing practices The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has confirmed it obtained final commitments, in the form of undertakings, from Worcester Bosch to amend its marketing practices. This follows the CMA opening a formal investigation in October 2023 into whether Worcester Bosch breached consumer protection law by making potentially misleading claims to shoppers about its ‘hydrogen-blend ready’ home boilers...

Key changes DMCCA 2024, Part 3 confers fresh, direct enforcement powers on the CMA in respect of specified consumer regulations. Those powers will apply under the new framework introduced by Part 4 of DMCCA 2024 (effective from 6 April 2025), while the predecessor Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 (CPUTR 2008), SI 2008/1277, will continue to govern relevant actions—such as misleading statements and omissions—that took place before that date. The CMA may investigate suspected breaches of consumer protection law and, where a contravention is identified, direct companies to comply with remedial steps (for example, removing offending statements from public materials or communications) and/or levy a penalty of up to 10% of a company’s worldwide turnover, including the turnover of any parent company and subsidiaries. In addition, throughout an investigation, the CMA can require undertakings from a business, such as commitments prohibiting it from making particular statements or from engaging in practices that may amount to an infringement under the relevant consumer protection law framework...

This Practice Note is chiefly intended for brands seeking to collaborate with social media influencers (or other talent) on targeted social marketing campaigns and advertising promotions in Canada... Applicable regulations, codes and guidelines In Canada, the relationship between influencers and brands is largely governed by the federal Competition Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. C-3, together with relevant regulatory and industry guidance. The Act broadly prohibits representations that are false or misleading in a material respect. These misleading advertising provisions apply to influencer activity in the same way as any other marketing, and extend to statements made by influencers to the public. Under the Competition Act, the federal Competition Bureau oversees influencer marketing, including deciding what constitutes a ‘material connection’ between an influencer and a brand and the related disclosure obligations, which are discussed in detail below. The Competition Bureau may seek administrative remedies for misleading advertising as a civil offence, or pursue prosecution where misrepresentations are made knowingly or recklessly as a criminal offence. The criminal misleading advertising...

Regulatory regime overview Advertising in the UK is governed by legislation alongside self-regulatory industry codes, chiefly the UK Code of Non-broadcast Advertising and Direct & Promotional Marketing (CAP Code) and the UK Code of Broadcast Advertising (BCAP Code) (outlined below). Self-regulation plays a central role in the UK; however, broadcast advertising operates within a statutory framework under the Communications Act 2003 (CA 2003). Marketers should also be mindful of sector-specific rules and codes. The principal laws addressing unfair or misleading commercial practices, which also inform the CAP and BCAP Codes, include: Chapter 1 of Part 4 and Schedule 20 to the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 (DMCCA 2024) The Business Protection from Misleading Marketing Regulations 2008 (BPR 2008), SI 2008/1276 Consumer protection from unfair trading From 6 April 2025, Part 4, Chapter 1 of the DMCCA 2024 largely repealed the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 (CPUTR 2008), SI 2008/1277, save for certain transitional provisions concerning a...

Advertising and marketing-Brazil-Q&A guide [Archived, 2021 edition] This Practice Note provides a jurisdiction-specific Q&A on advertising and marketing in Brazil, issued within the Lexology Getting the Deal Through series by Law Business Research (October 2021). Authors: IWRCF-Luiz Werneck; Talita Sabatini Garcia. 1. What are the principal statutes regulating advertising generally? the Brazilian Federal Constitution; the Consumer Protection Code (Federal Law No. 8,078/90); the Statute of the Children and Adolescents (Federal Law No. 8,069/90); the Brazilian Advertising Self-Regulation Code; Federal Law No. 5768/71; Decree No. 70,951/1972; Federal Law No. 5,768/71 and Decree No. 70,951/1972 regulate commercial promotions and sweepstakes; National Health Surveillance Agency resolutions. 2. Which bodies are primarily responsible for issuing advertising regulations and enforcing rules on advertising? How is the issue of concurrent jurisdiction among regulators with responsibility for advertising handled? In Brazil, rule-making for advertising is led by the National Advertising Self-Regulation Council (CONAR) and by the government, represented by the House...