Question

Wholesome Bread, Inc. advertised that its honey wheat bread had 25% fewer calories than a competing brand, Valley Grains. In fact Wholesome's bread had the same amount of calories as Valley Grains' bread. Wholesome Bread's conduct:
a) Does not violate the Lanham Act because of the First Amendment freedom of speech.
b) Does not violate the Lanham Act because Wholesome did not act with actual malice.
c) Does not violate the Lanham Act because comparative ads are exempt from the law.
d) Violates the Lanham Act.

Answer 1

Answer: d)

Explanation: Trademark law protects a trademark owner's exclusive right to use a trademark when use of the mark by another would be likely to cause consumer confusion as to the source or origin of goods. Trademark law is a federal issue, and as such, the Lanham Act is the federal statute which governs trademarks. Section 43(a) of the Lanham Act (15 U.S.C 1125(a)) creates a federal cause of action for what has traditionally been called unfair competition: a false designation of origin or other misleading information used in connection with the sale of a good or service, or misleading advertising. The Lanham Act prohibits trademark infringement and false advertising-conduct that is often immediately apparent because it occurs out in the open in the public forum of advertising. With the surging popularity of the internet over the last decade, new Lanham Act issues have arisen including whether website metadata-information that consumers never see-can infringe a trademark and violate the Lanham Act.