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Illegal to Badmouth Someone's Product on Sales Page?

by The Oilman
26 replies
Someone is ripping on a product of mine on their sales page.

Is this legal to do?

I thought it was, but sometimes I see commercials doing this too (Coke vs Pepsi, etc).

What should I do? Send a cease and desist?
#badmouth #illegal #page #product #sales
  • Profile picture of the author MichaelAppleton
    I don't think I have ever seen coke mention pepsi in there adverts, I am sure pepsi would sue.

    Depending on how far you are willing to take this other website owner depends on wether you would be able to do anything about this. You will need to spend money on legal proceeding or you could simply email them and threaten them with legal action.
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  • Profile picture of the author HeySal
    Depending on what they are saying it could be either defamation, slander, or libel.

    It could also just be something unpleasant but true - in which case you might not have anything you can do about it. You can use it to your advantage by giving a rebuttal on your own site or blog. I've seen marketers make out like bandits because some dork is stupid enough to go a defamatory route on their site and it ends up giving the defamed product lots of traffic and attention, and subsequently, sales.
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  • Profile picture of the author John Durham
    I would bury my head in the sand and keep walking toward the prize.

    Ps. "Hey Sal".
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  • Profile picture of the author nicholasb
    this is not legal advice..

    but it is my understanding that you can say for example pepsi tastes better than coke, but you cannot say buy pepsi and don't buy coke.
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  • Profile picture of the author Michael Mayo
    Originally Posted by The Oilman View Post

    Someone is ripping on a product of mine on their sales page.

    Is this legal to do?

    I thought it was, but sometimes I see commercials doing this too (Coke vs Pepsi, etc).

    What should I do? Send a cease and desist?
    Define ripping?
    All depends on ...
    Um, I'm not a lawyer so...

    Good Luck!
    Michael
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  • Profile picture of the author impact-productions
    It's not illegal.

    For instance, you see it all the time on sales pages for pieces of software, where they run a table of features showing which ones their software offers compared with all the competitors. Now, these are of course carefully selected features, but if the information is being presented accurately this seems to be fair game.

    Thom
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  • Profile picture of the author CDarklock
    Originally Posted by The Oilman View Post

    Is this legal to do?
    In general, it is legal if what they are saying is true or an opinion.

    It is not legal for them to say something factually incorrect about your product.

    Coke can say "more people buy Coke than Pepsi" if this is true and they can back it up.

    Coke can say "Coke is better than Pepsi" because it's just an opinion.

    Coke cannot say "there are dead babies in Pepsi" because it's simply not true.
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    • Profile picture of the author Steven Wagenheim
      Originally Posted by CDarklock View Post

      Coke cannot say "there are dead babies in Pepsi" because it's simply not true.
      I've tasted Pepsi. Could have fooled me.
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    • Profile picture of the author Michael Mayo
      Originally Posted by CDarklock View Post

      Coke cannot say "there are dead babies in Pepsi" because it's simply not true.
      Now how the ןןǝɥ would you know if it's true or not? :p

      Have a Great Day!
      Michael
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      • Profile picture of the author Kay King
        Plagiarism? Don't think so.

        I've seen sales pages that have tables comparing competitor products with the sale page product - no problem there as long as info is accurate.

        Are they giving a bad review based on faulty info? Outright lying? Or putting down competition to pump up their product? Is the info given factual/truthful...or not.

        You are getting answers - but there are no facts to base answers on.

        How detailed is the "put down" - how sharp the criticism? Are the comments based on opinion, as a comparison with another product or are they vicious and untrue?

        kay
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      • Profile picture of the author CDarklock
        Originally Posted by Michael Mayo View Post

        Now how the ןןǝɥ would you know if it's true or not?
        Because dead babies aren't kosher for Passover.

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        • Profile picture of the author mcmahanusa
          If the competitor is accurately pointing out some flaws in your product or system, take a hard look, and fix the flaws, then advertise: "New and Improved"

          After all the "I'm a Mac" and "I'm a PC" ad was turned around by Microsoft and used quite effectively to battle Apple.

          If he's just slamming you because he's an unprincipled jerk, challenge him to a duel.
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  • Profile picture of the author Ryan UK
    If they are accusing you of a crime or displaying content that is incorrect, you can prosecute them for slander if you have the evidence to back it up with. However, if they are giving your product a "bad review" I suppose it's free speech.
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  • Profile picture of the author Owen Smith
    You can prosecute for plagerism, although I would consult a lawyer prior to sending any communication to the person.

    One letter would probably get them to remove the content.

    Regards
    Owen
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  • Profile picture of the author WickedIM
    "Concentrate on your customers not your competitors" was a great quote by someone and seems appropriate here. There will always be good and bad reviews online. As long as you know the claims are not true and there is no substantial damage to your earnings I would not waste time time chasing it.
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  • Profile picture of the author NicoleBeckett
    I'm not a lawyer (and I don't play one on TV!), but what are they saying? Are their comments libelous? Slander doesn't apply in this case, because it's all in writing, BTW.

    Unfortunately, if they just say your product "sucks", there's not really anything you can do about it. Like some of the others have said, they are entitled to their opinions via the 1st Amendment.

    If they're making false statements about your product, and you can prove that it's costing you business, you may have something.
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  • Profile picture of the author angela99
    Originally Posted by The Oilman View Post

    Someone is ripping on a product of mine on their sales page.

    Is this legal to do?

    I thought it was, but sometimes I see commercials doing this too (Coke vs Pepsi, etc).

    What should I do? Send a cease and desist?
    Are you well known in the niche? Do you have credibility?

    If you're better known, he's simply riding on your coattails, aiming to steal some of your traffic and sales.

    If this is the case, then the worst thing you could do would be to pay attention to him. You'll just be sending him more traffic.

    Is he out-ranking you in Google? If he is, do more promotion of your material, so that you get to the top of the SERPs and stay there.

    Re the "ripping on". If your product has holes which a competitor can exploit, just fill in the holes. Then do more promotion.

    Generally speaking, this kind of thing happens, and it's best to shore up your defenses as well as you can, and then ignore it.

    Competitors come and go. Focus on your own business, and leave them to it. In a way, it's a compliment to you. :-)
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  • Profile picture of the author TheWealthSquad
    But if they put dead babies in it, do you really think they worry about being Kosher? They may have just slapped a K on there.

    and I am sure there are some dead baby... cockroaches in it. Little Debbies even has a spec for how many parts can be in their Raisin cakes.
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    • Profile picture of the author CDarklock
      Originally Posted by TheWealthSquad View Post

      But if they put dead babies in it, do you really think they worry about being Kosher? They may have just slapped a K on there.
      That's not just a K - it's the trademarked certification symbol of Kof-K Kosher Supervision, and their website confirms that PepsiCo's bottling facilities are indeed under their supervision.

      Now, you could certainly propose that a kosher certification company which has been trusted by the Orthodox Jewish community for over 40 years is taking some sort of kickback to look the other way, but a conspiracy of that magnitude is about as likely as Mel Gibson becoming a rabbi.
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      • Profile picture of the author Michael Mayo
        Originally Posted by CDarklock View Post

        That's not just a K - it's the trademarked certification symbol of Kof-K Kosher Supervision, and their website confirms that PepsiCo's bottling facilities are indeed under their supervision.

        Now, you could certainly propose that a kosher certification company which has been trusted by the Orthodox Jewish community for over 40 years is taking some sort of kickback to look the other way, but a conspiracy of that magnitude is about as likely as Mel Gibson becoming a rabbi.
        Now that was funny, I read some where the other day that he was an
        ordained minister...lol For what or who?

        Have a Great Day!
        Michael
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  • Profile picture of the author samstephens
    This reminds me of a current ad that is on the radio over here at the moment. I don't remember the brands, but it's a shampoo ad.

    They state outright: Our shampoo has 10 times more moisteriser than Competitor's Product.


    (where Competitor's Product is the name of the company, and their specific product line - I just don't remember what it is)


    It's risking advertising in my opinion, as you're creating brand awareness for your competitor, and so you'd want to make certain that your product would be remembered as the superior product.

    cheers
    Sam
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  • Profile picture of the author Michael Mayo
    Happens all the time. Usually it's the #2 (Pepsi) going after the #1 (Coke), I doubt they sued.
    You're right and why would they sue?

    I think a JV would be smarter in this case.

    If "I" were in their shoes "I" think it would be a good deal to share the top 2 positions.

    But what do "I" know?
    Have a Great Day/Night!
    Michael
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