Martinlee International Co., Ltd.

Case:

Key Words:

false and untrue, misleading, cookware

Reference:

Fair Trade Commission Decision of December 30, 2009 (the 947th Commissioners' Meeting), Disposition Kung Ch'u Tzu No. 098178

Industry:

Other Fabricated Metal Products Manufacturing Not Elsewhere Classified (2599)

Relevant Laws:

Article 21(1) of the Fair Trade Law

Summary:

1. This case originated from a complaint by the public stating that Martinlee International Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Martinlee) engaged in untrue advertisement by claiming on its webpage that its "Clearwater Cookware Series is …without (chemical) coating" and that the "Clearwater Cookware…Full Series is of physical non-stick properties without any chemical coating" when its cookware was not entirely without coating.

2. It was found that Martinlee's "Clearwater Cookware Full Series" consisted of 13 series products, in which 8 series of Clearwater Nano Functional Pot Series, 7-Layer Nano Series, Diamond Nano Series, Super Light Wok Series, Super Precise Steel Pot Series, Saucepan Series, Forge Pot Series, and Italian Pressure Cooker Series were separately called the "Clearwater Cookware Series."

3. It was also found that Martinlee advertised on its PC home online store with the representations that "Clearwater Cookware Series is …without (chemical) coating" and "Clearwater Cookware…Full Series is of physical non-stick properties without any chemical coatings." Its online store did not contain any item or series descriptions about its "Clearwater Cookware Series" or "Clearwater Cookware Full Series" but only the brand mark of "Clearwater." Consumers would have an impression from the advertisement in question that "Clearwater Cookware Series" and "Clearwater Cookware …Full Series" were used broadly to refer to all of the cookware that was sold by Martinlee and was without (chemical) coating. However, it was discovered that part of the cookware sold by Martinlee on its online store had coating, such as Facebook Series, Diamond Ceramic Nonstick Series, and Nonstick Deep Frying Wok Series. There were both coated and non-coated products. Whether cookware has coating or not is highly related to the consumers' health and thus an important factor that a consumer would consider when selecting which product to purchase. The representations made by Martinlee in the above-mentioned advertisement could easily cause the consumers to have wrong perceptions or make wrong decisions and thus violated Article 21(1) of the Fair Trade Law. The FTC ordered Martinlee to immediately cease the unlawful act and imposed an administrative fine of NT$80,000.

Appendix:
Martinlee International Co., Ltd.'s Uniform Invoice Number: 12693463

Summarized by Lee, Wan-Chun; Supervised by Chen, Chun-Ting