Alleged false advertisement by Ken Lai Construction Co., Ltd. for its T'ien Mu Embassy Project
Chinese Taipei
Case:
Alleged false advertisement by Ken Lai Construction Co., Ltd. for its T'ien Mu Embassy Project
Key words:
false advertisement
Reference:
Fair Trade Commission Decision of 27 May 1998 (342nd Commission Meeting)
Industry:
Construction Engineering Industry (4601)
Relevant Laws:
Article 21 of the Fair Trade Law
Summary:
the respondent's (Ken Lai Construction Co., Ltd.) investment in and construction of the T'ien Mu Embassy Project (the Project), Sun Tzu Art of War Advertising Agency (Sun Tzu Agency) was commissioned to handle the presale within the two months after 29 March 1998. To impress and attract consumers to visit the construction site during the presale period, Sun Tzu Agency included a computer-synthesized photo of the Embassy of the Republic of Paraguay (the Paraguayan Embassy) in an advertisement for the Project with the description, "Lane 117, T'ien Mu West Road, next door to the Paraguayan Embassy." The purpose of the advertisement was to boost sales by emphasizing the unique location and security of the Project's environment.
The advertisement at issue depicted "the Paraguayan Embassy Restricted Area" because the right side of the Project abutted the Embassy, which had a security guard posted at its right corner and another security guard posted at the left side in front of the T'ien Mu New City Community. Thus, the road, which is about 50 meters long, had two security guard posts. Since the project was located in the same neighborhood as the Paraguayan Embassy, the project would be rather safely guarded and the residents of the Project would be living in a "restricted area." In addition, the Project advertisement had the description "Lane 117, T'ien Mu West Road, next door to the Paraguayan Embassy" together with an indication that the respondent was an investor. According to the understanding of the general or relevant public, consumers were not likely to confuse or mistake the Project as being sold by, or invested in and constructed by, the Paraguayan Embassy.
The investigation also found there were only six units for presale, obviously fewer units than those for a typical construction project. To indicate the Project's security and prestige, the advertisement read, "only six names in Chinese Taipei will be protected by the UN international treaty." A search of international law found there was no "UN international treaty". As the real property protected by diplomatic immunity is not available for sale in Chinese Taipei, the general consuming public would not have been misled to think they would receive protection from a UN international treaty, or diplomatic immunity or privilege. Using creative and lively literary expressions to attract consumers, the purpose of the advertisement was to convey the Project's location, security and prestige. Therefore, the advertisement and sales activities would not have caused a considerable number of the general or relevant public to be led to a mistaken perception or decision, nor were they false, untrue or misleading.
Summarized by Yin, Shih-hsi
Supervised by Wu, Ting-hung