Top Disk Enterprise Co., Ltd. was accused
of violating Article 21(1) of the Fair Trade Law for carrying false advertisements
on the packaging cartons of its products
Chinese Taipei
Case:
Top Disk Enterprise Co., Ltd. was accused of violating Article 21(1) of the
Fair Trade Law for carrying false advertisements on the packaging cartons
of its products
Key Words:
product packaging, commercial gifts
Reference:
Fair Trade Commission Decision of February 2, 2000 (the 431st Commissioners'
Meeting); Disposition (89) Kung Ch'u Tzu No. 017
Industry:
Precision Instrument Retailing Industry (5452)
Relevant Laws:
Article 21(1)
of the Fair Trade Law
Summary:
- This case began with a citizen's letter of complaint, summarized as follows:
On 20 July 1999, the citizen went to the Hsinyi Road outlet of the Aurora
Store to purchase a Fujitsu Jumbo 640MO CD ROM Drive distributed by Top Disk
Enterprise Co., Ltd., ("Top Disk"). The exterior of the product's
packaging carton was marked with the words "OW MO disk (disk 1 ~ disk
5)gift accessory included." However, after opening the packaging carton,
the citizen found that it contained only one ordinary MO disk, rather than
the so-called OW MO disks. The citizen contacted Top Disk and was told that
if he wanted to exchange the disk for an OW MO disk, he would have to make
up the price difference. This did not jibe with what was indicated on the
exterior of the packaging box.
- The Fair Trade Commission (the "Commission") found that the two
sides of the packaging carton indicated the contents of the carton and carried
the words "gift accessory included." When the citizen purchased
the CD ROM drive, in fact he found one "portable cool pack." But,
the pack contained no so-called OW MO disks (disk 1 ~ disk 5). This did not
jibe with the understanding of a general purchaser, and it certainly involved
false and misleading representations. Top Disk argued that the words "accessory
gift included" on the sides of the packaging carton were provided "only
for reference," etc., but the words on the carton's front and back clearly
indicated as follows: "This machine is compatible with either MO or OW
MO disks. The number of disks shall be indicated by the customer." The
Commission found that there was no conflict between the advertising words
on the front, back, and two sides of the packaging carton. It is also confirmed
that the words on the front and back were provided only to introduce the functions
and accessories of the products. However, the words on the two sides of the
packaging carton were labeled in banner style as "accessory gift included;"
and, unlike the words on the other part of the packaging carton, these words
were clearly displayed in white lettering on a distinctive red background.
When viewed at different times and at different places by the general public
using an average or even a focused level of attention, these words would be
clearly noticeable. The content of the words "accessory gift included"
clearly indicates that a "portable cool pack" and OW MO disks (disk
1 ~ disk 5) are included with a purchase of the product. After the citizen
purchased the product, and before he opened the packaging carton, he did not
actually know whether the gift was included. The false labeling of the product's
packaging carton was likely to cause the citizen to form a mistaken understanding
and expectation with respect to the contents of the product, and thereby to
affect his purchasing decision. The advertisement was deemed to be a false
and misleading representation. Consequently, it is decided that Top Disk's
act violated Article 21(1) of the Fair Trade Law with respect to prohibition
against false and misleading representations on advertisements.
Summarized by Li Wan-ching
Supervised by Wu Ting-hung
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