COMPARATIVE ADVERTISING
| Article L121-8 | |
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Any advertisement that compares goods or services by identifying, implicitly or explicitly, a competitor or goods or services offered by a competitor is only lawful if: 1 ° It is not misleading or likely to mislead; 2 ° It relates to goods or services meeting the same needs or having the same objective; 3 ° It objectively compares one or more essential, relevant, verifiable and representative characteristics of these goods or services, of which the price may be part.
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Comparative advertising of health products, Gorny, Alain, La Gazette du Palais, n ° 329, 25/11/2001, pp. 39-42Comparative advertising between two publications, n. under Court of Cassation, Commercial Chamber, June 14, 2000 , Appeal number 98-10.689, Société Optipress v Société Éditions La Rivière, Derieux, Emmanuel, Légipresse, n ° 176, 01/11/2000, pp. 180-181
Court of Cassation, Criminal Chamber May 23, 2000, Phillipe L against Public Ministry, n. Pottier, Isabelle, La Gazette du Palais, n ° 301, 27/10/2000, pp. 44-45 Note under the Paris Court of Appeal, March 25, 1999, 13th Chamber B, Txxxx, Revue de Jurisprudence de Droit des Affaires (RJDA), n ° 10, 01/10/1999, pp. 911-913 |
| Article L121-9 | |
| (Ordinance n ° 2001-741 of 23 August 2001 art. 2 Official Journal of 25 August 2001)Comparative advertising may not: 1 ° Take undue advantage of the notoriety attached to a trademark, trade or service, a trade name, other distinctive signs of a competitor or the appellation of origin as well as the protected geographical indication of a competing product; 2 ° Cause the discredit or denigration of the brands, trade names, other distinctive signs, goods, services, activity or situation of a competitor; 3 ° Generate confusion between the advertiser and a competitor or between the brands, trade names, other distinctive signs, goods or services of the advertiser and those of a competitor; 4 ° To present goods or services as an imitation or a reproduction of a good or a service benefiting from a trademark or a protected trade name. |
Ordinance of 23 August 2001 transposing community directives on consumer law, Raymond, Guy, JCP E Semaine Juridique (corporate edition), n ° 51, 20/12/2001, pp. 2025-2027 |
| Article L121-10 | |
| ( Ordinance n ° 2001-741 of 23 August 2001 art. 3 Official Journal of 25 August 2001)
For products with a designation of origin or a protected geographical indication, comparison is only permitted between products each with the same designation or the same indication. |
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| Article L121-11 | |
| It is forbidden to include comparative advertisements as defined in Articles L. 121-8 and L. 121-9 on packaging, invoices, transport tickets, means of payment or tickets for access to shows. or in places open to the public. | |
| Article L121-12 | |
| (Ordinance n ° 2001-741 of 23 August 2001 art. 4 Official Journal of 25 August 2001)Without prejudice to the provisions of Article L. 121-2, the advertiser on whose behalf the comparative advertising is disseminated must be able to prove within a short time the material accuracy of the statements, indications and presentations contained in the advertising. .
Article L121-13 The insertions made in the press for an advertisement defined in articles L. 121-8 and L. 121-9 do not give rise to the application of article 13 of the law of July 29, 1881 on freedom of the press and of article 6 of law n ° 82-652 of July 29, 1982 on audiovisual communication. Article L121-14 Without prejudice to the application of Article 1382 of the Civil Code, breaches of the provisions of Articles L. 121-8 to L. 121-12 are, where applicable, punishable by the penalties provided for, on the one hand, in Articles L. 121-1 to L. 121-7 and, on the other hand, to articles L. 716-9 and L. 716-12 of the intellectual property code.
A Council of State decree specifies, as necessary, the methods of application of Articles L. 121-8 to L. 121-13. |
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