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Can I advertise my products or services without violating truth-in-advertising laws in Washington? What are the requirements?

Advertising Requirements in Washington

To advertise products or services in Washington without violating truth-in-advertising laws, you must ensure that your advertising is not false, misleading, or deceptive [2.1]. False advertising is defined as any assertion, representation, or statement of fact that is untrue, deceptive, or misleading [2.2]. It is unlawful to publish, disseminate, or display any false, deceptive, or misleading advertising for any business, trade, or commercial purpose that is likely to induce the public to purchase, consume, lease, dispose of, utilize, or sell any property or service [2.1].

Specific Requirements

  • Blind-made products: If you are advertising blind-made products, you cannot refer to any product that is not blind-made, nor can you exploit the blind [1.1].
  • Events related to veterans’ benefits or entitlements: You must include a disclosure that the event is not sponsored by or affiliated with the United States Department of Veterans Affairs or any other congressionally chartered or recognized organization of honorably discharged members of the Armed Forces of the United States or any of their auxiliaries. You must also disclose that products or services discussed at the event are not necessarily endorsed by those organizations. The disclosure must be in the same type size and font as the term “veteran” or any variation of that term used in the advertisement or promotional materials. The disclosure must be disseminated both orally and in writing at the beginning of the event [3.1].
  • Going-out-of-business sales: If you are advertising a going-out-of-business sale, you cannot advertise the sale more than 14 days before the beginning date of the sale. All advertising must state the beginning and ending dates of the sale and must be confined to or refer to the address or addresses and place or places of business specified in the notice as going out of business. Advertising cannot contain false, misleading, or deceptive statements regarding the nature, duration, merchandise, or other terms of the sale. Representations in advertising regarding price savings or discounts on sale merchandise must be bona fide and substantiated [4.1].
  • Fuel prices by service stations: It is unlawful to advertise a price per unit of fuel that is expressed in a unit of measurement different from that employed by the pump or other device used to dispense the fuel, unless the price is advertised for both units of measurement in the same fashion. It is also unlawful to advertise a price per unit of fuel that is conditioned upon the purchase of another product, unless the conditional language, name, and price of the other product are clearly expressed in the advertisement in characters at least one-half the height of the characters used to advertise the fuel price [2.6].

Additional Requirements

There are additional requirements for advertising travel services, promotional prizes, and commercial telephone solicitation. A seller of travel must not advertise that any travel services are or may be available unless they have determined that the product advertised was available at the time the advertising was placed. The seller of travel must keep written or printed documentation of the steps taken to verify that the advertised offer was available at the time the advertising was placed [5.1]. Deceptive promotional advertising of prizes is an unfair or deceptive act in trade or commerce and constitutes an act of deceptive promotional advertising [6.1]. In order to maintain or defend a lawsuit or do any business in Washington, a commercial telephone solicitor must be registered with the Department of Licensing. Doing business in Washington includes both commercial telephone solicitation from a location in Washington and solicitation of purchasers located in Washington [7.1].

Therefore, to advertise your products or services without violating truth-in-advertising laws in Washington, you must ensure that your advertising is not false, misleading, or deceptive, and comply with the specific requirements for advertising blind-made products, events related to veterans’ benefits or entitlements, going-out-of-business sales, and fuel prices by service stations. Additionally, you must comply with the additional requirements for advertising travel services, promotional prizes, and commercial telephone solicitation.

Source(s):
Jurisdiction

Washington