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On Friday it was reported that the US FTC has ruled against a firm whose employees, posing as ordinary consumers, posted favourable reviews of its own clients’ iPhone applications. This type of marketing activity is known as “astroturfing.” The firm must now remove all the reviews. In the UK, astroturfing is illegal as it is “blacklisted” by the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008. If degrading reviews of competitors’ products are also posted, this could breach the Comparative Advertising Directive, and constitute malicious falsehood, for which damages could be claimed.
The precise extent of astroturfing online is unknown – though there are certain ways to detect if a review is genuine or fake. But in a world where the casual consumer relies heavily on reviews and averaged star-ratings (be it on Amazon, TripAdvisor or iTunes), astroturfing can clearly impact on sales if left unchecked.
A recent decision by the Supreme Court in Shanks v Unilever PLC has supported the right for employees to receive compensation for patented inventions if the invention is of ‘outstanding benefit’.
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The Hiscox Cyber Readiness report, a review of 3300 organisations, will be a stark warning for CEO’s of SME’s in the UK and in Europe.
The Court of Justice of the European Union has today given its judgment in relation to a key issue in one of the most hotly debated trade mark disputes in recent times.
Rules to enhance regulatory oversight and improve pricing transparency of cross-border parcel delivery services were adopted by the European Council on 12 April 2018.
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