Glenn Doman Co., Ltd.

1367th Commissioners' Meeting (2018)

Case:

Glenn Doman Co., Ltd. violated the Fair Trade Law by posting false advertising

Keyword(s):

False advertising, learning material

Reference:

Fair Trade Commission Decision of January 17, 2018 (the 1367th Commissioners' Meeting); Disposition Kung Ch'u Tzu No. 107007

Industry:

Book Publishing (5813)

Relevant Law(s):

Article 21(1) of the Fair Trade Law

Summary:

1. The FTC received complaints one after another asserting that Glenn Doman Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Glenn Doman Co.) hung up posters and banners for its "Glenn Doman Learning System" teaching materials at some baby and maternity products fairs and the contents of its posters and banners could mislead consumers to believe the teaching materials were associated with the US Glenn Doman Institute for the Achievement of Human Potential and Dr. Glenn Doman. Therefore, it was claimed the practice could be in violation of the Fair Trade Law.
2. Findings of the FTC after investigation:
   Between February 2014 and April 2017, Glenn Doman Co. participated in the baby and maternity products fairs held in Taipei, Taichung and Kaohsiung and put up posters and banners conspicuously carrying the wording of "Glenn Doman Teaching Institute" and "prenatal education methods for prodigious babies" and the picture of Dr. Glenn Doman, founder of the US Glenn Doman Institute for the Achievement of Human Potential to market the company's "Glenn Doman Learning System" teaching materials. The company claimed that it had signed an agreement with GD Baby's Programs (S) Pte Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as GD Baby's Programs) in 2012 and it was duly authorized to use the aforesaid wording and picture to promote the teaching materials.
3. Grounds for disposition:
   (1) The agreement signed between Glenn Doman Co. and GD Baby's Programs, and the letters of authorization from GD Baby's Programs and the US Glenn Doman Institute for the Achievement of Human Potential indicated that GD Baby's Program had been exclusively authorized by Dr. Glenn Doman and Dr. Janet Doman to duplicate, translate, publish and distribute seven books by Dr. Doman around the world. GD Baby's Programs then exclusively licensed Glenn Doman Co. to translate the books into traditional Chinese, and then publish and sell them domestically. The agreement and letters of authorization had nothing to do with the teaching materials for the "Glenn Doman Learning System." In fact, Glenn Doman Co. admitted during the investigation that the teaching materials were created by it owner in 2002 and published in 2004, much earlier than 2012 when GD Baby's Programs signed the contract with the US Glenn Doman Institute for the Achievement of Human Potential to acquire authorization.
   (2) As for the posters and banners carrying the wording of "US Glenn Doman Teaching Institute" and "Glenn Doman prenatal education methods for prodigious babies" and the picture of Dr. Glenn Doman, founder of the US Glenn Doman Institute for the Achievement of Human Potential, Glenn Doman Co., confessed during the investigation that the term "Glenn Doman Teaching Institute" had been invented by the company to help market the teaching materials. It did not really exist. The company also admitted that the wording of "prenatal education methods for prodigious babies" had also been created by its owner to market the teaching materials. It had nothing to do with Dr. Glenn Doman or the US Glenn Doman Institute for the Achievement of Human Potential. Dr. Glenn Doman or the US Glenn Doman Institute for the Achievement of Human Potential had never advocated or taught any prenatal education methods. The owner of the company came up with the name of "Doman prenatal education" because Dr. Glenn Doman was a prestigious figure in baby education and the name could help promote the "prenatal education methods" invented by the owner of the company. As stated above, the advertising misled consumers to believe that the "Glenn Doman Learning System" teaching materials were associated with the US Glenn Doman Institute for the Achievement of Human Potential and its founder Dr. Glenn Doman was associated with the fictitious "US Glenn Doman Teaching Institute." It was a false and misleading representation in violation of Paragraph 1 of Article 21 of the Fair Trade Law.
   (3) After assessing the business income of Glenn Doman Co. from the unlawful act, the motive, the management condition and market status of the company, the number of violations in the past, the level of remorse and cooperativeness during the investigation, the FTC cited the section of Article 41 of the Fair Trade Law, ordered the company to immediately cease the unlawful act and also imposed on it an administrative fine of NT$500,000.