Unfair Competition in Business and Advertising

In the modern world, where the business environment is becoming increasingly competitive, companies and enterprises often face the problem of unfair competition. These are dishonest and unlawful practices that can seriously harm business and disrupt fair competition. In such situations, timely consultation with experienced lawyers can be a decisive step in protecting the rights and interests of the company.

The law firm DextraLaw is ready to provide competent support and protection against unfair competition, helping clients stay at the pinnacle of success in a volatile market.

What is Unfair Competition?

Unfair competition is a practice where companies or business individuals undertake actions that do not comply with ethical and legal standards, with the aim of gaining undue advantages over their competitors. This can include illegal actions, deceiving consumers, spreading false or manipulative information, violating intellectual property rights, lowering prices to push competitors out of the market, and other dishonest methods.

Unfair competition is a serious problem as it can distort market conditions, harm companies’ reputations, and cause significant losses. It also violates the principles of fair competition for customers and undermines trust in the business environment.

The regulatory bodies and law enforcement agencies of Ukraine are actively working to combat unfair competition and are trying to protect the legitimate rights of companies and consumers.

How does Unfair Competition Threaten Your Business?

Enterprises that encounter problems of unfair competition suffer greatly from its negative consequences, namely:

• Reputation damage. Unfair competitors may disseminate false information about the company, its products, or services. It is evident that this negatively affects reputation and consumer trust.
• Loss of customers. By applying aggressive and unfair methods of sales or advertising, unfair competitors divert clients away from the company, leading to reduced sales volumes and loss of profit.
• Violation of intellectual property rights. At the legislative level, the copyright, patent, or other intellectual property rights of the company are violated, which in turn causes significant losses and threatens further operations.
• Legal problems. Aggressive actions of competitors violate the laws on competition and trade. This leads to legal issues and sanctions from law enforcement agencies.
• Economic instability. Unfair competition creates market imbalance, lowers prices to unprofitable levels, threatening the economic stability of the company.

Therefore, ending unfair competition is the top priority for ensuring fair and ethical competition in the market. Combating unfair competition not only helps protect the interests of specific companies but also promotes healthy market relationships, fostering business development and creating better conditions for consumers.

Spread of Misleading Information. Examples.

The dissemination of false information about a competitor company is one of the most common unfair practices, which is used to gain false advantages. Such actions distort market competition, violate consumer rights, and damage the reputation of other companies.

Let’s consider a few examples of the dissemination of misleading information:

• fake news – spreading false news or information about the company or its products with the aim of undermining its reputation and spoiling relations with customers;
• manipulated reviews – creating fake or manipulated reviews about the company’s products or services with the aim of attracting new customers or undermining trust in competitors;
• fake documents – using counterfeit documents or certificates to verify the quality of goods or services, with the aim of attracting more customers;
• false statements from competitors – disseminating false statements or information about competitors with the aim of undermining their reputation and attracting their clients.

Particularly harmful to companies is unfair competition in advertising, which negatively affects almost all aspects of business, leading to serious consequences, namely:

• loss of consumer trust;
• negative impact on reputation;
• decreased sales volumes;
• violation of intellectual property rights;
• reduced competitive advantage;
• legal issues.

Unfair Use of Designations. Examples.

Unfair use of designations includes the use of trademarks, logos, names, designs, or other identification elements of a company without the consent of the owner of these designations. This leads to a violation of intellectual property rights and causes significant losses to the company.

Let’s list a few examples of unfair use of designations:

• Counterfeiting trademarks. In this case, the competitor manufactures a product that has the same trademark or is extremely similar to the logo of the competitor company. This leads to loss of customers and losses for the owner of the original trademark.
• Fake packaging. Use of counterfeit packaging or labels that are extremely similar to the packaging or labels of the trademark owner.
• Unfair comparative advertising. Conducting comparative advertising in which the designations or characteristics of a competitor’s products are unfairly compared with the products of their own company, distorts the image of the competitor and causes significant damage to them.
• Use of intellectual property designations without permission. Using logos, designs, or slogans that are subject to the intellectual property rights of the company, without obtaining the necessary permission or license.
• Counterfeiting licensed products. Manufacturing or selling counterfeit products that bear a licensed logo or designation, without the proper permission of the license owner.

How to Protect Yourself from Unfair Competition

The following steps will help effectively protect against unfair competition:

• Registering your intellectual property. Registering trademarks, copyrights, patents, and other intellectual property provides legal protection and legal status to your designations, products, or ideas. This makes them more secure in the event of attempts of counterfeiting or unlawful use by competitors.
• Monitoring competitor activities. It is necessary to constantly monitor the advertising, products, packaging, and other actions of your competitors. Such monitoring allows identifying illegal activities and responding to them in a timely manner.
• Cessation of infringement through filing a complaint. Filing a complaint about the violation of unfair competition protection legislation to regulatory bodies or antitrust agencies is an effective way to draw attention to the unfair actions of competitors. This helps initiate an investigation process and apply appropriate sanctions to the violators.

What We Offer

The legal company DextraLaw offers a wide range of legal services and comprehensive subscription legal support for businesses regarding protection against unfair competition:

• Analysis and identification of unfair actions. Our lawyers thoroughly investigate the activities of competitors to identify unlawful actions that may harm your business.
• Preparation and submission of infringement complaints. We prepare professional complaints about violations of unfair competition protection legislation to the respective regulatory and antitrust bodies with the goal of stopping the unlawful actions of competitors.
• Representation in court. If necessary, our attorneys will provide representation in courts and other legal bodies in cases of unfair competition, ensuring effective protection of your rights and interests.
• Development of defense strategy. We collaborate with clients to develop an individual strategy to protect against unfair competition, taking into account the specifics of the business and the legal context.
• Legal consultations and support. Our team provides professional legal consultations and support on issues of protection against unfair competition, so that you can make informed decisions and respond timely to unlawful actions.

Other benefits of collaborating with DextraLaw:

• deep knowledge of various business sectors;
• operational efficiency;
• individual approach;
• long-term partnership built on trust and effective relationships;
• affordable cost of legal services.

Questions and Answers

What types of unfair competition exist?

Unfair competition can include various practices such as false advertising, counterfeiting of goods, lowering prices to a loss-making level with the aim of pushing competitors out of the market, spreading false information about competitors, disclosing confidential information, and so on.

What legal measures can be taken to combat unfair competition?

Various legal measures can be used to combat unfair competition, such as filing complaints about violations to regulatory bodies, initiating legal proceedings to recover compensation for damages, appealing to antitrust bodies, registering intellectual property rights, and other legal measures that provide lawful protection of the company’s rights and interests.

Why is it important to effectively combat unfair competition?

Timely and effective combat against unfair competition is important as the unlawful actions of competitors can inflict serious financial and reputational damages on your business. Unfair competition can lead to the loss of clients, weaken the competitiveness of the company, and disrupt the overall market operation.

Are there any legal standards or legislation regulating unfair competition in Ukraine?

One of the key laws in this area is the “Law of Ukraine on Protection Against Unfair Competition,” which was adopted with the aim of ensuring the competitive development of the market and protecting consumer rights. This law sets rules for enterprises to avoid unlawful actions, such as false advertising or violation of intellectual property rights. If you encounter such a problem, you can file a complaint with the antitrust body about the violation of the law on protection against unfair competition.