The Research On Legal Standard Of Chinese Comparative Advertisement

The commodity and service market in China is increasingly open foropportunities. The competition among the commodities and service is notonly within the traditional fields, such like the quality improvement andproducts pricing. The fiercest war hits the road before the launching ofthe products, that is, the advertising campaign. The seller put a lot ofemphasis on advertising, since it plays an important role in the marketingstrategy. Comparative advertisement is one of the most efficient ways todisseminate the product information, and to gain completive edge.Comparative advertisement has been put into use in a lot of casesnowadays, while its legal status is not clearly stated according to thecurrent laws in China. The recognition of the legitimacy of the popularapproach of advertising is required by China’s economic developmentand legitimate construction. To answering for the great need in market,the legal standard of comparative advertisement should be established. Inthis article, the author makes legal analysis of the problems concerningcomparative advertisement, and figures out the defects in Chinese currentlegal system, through which the legitimate grand of comparativeadvertisement would be found. The body of this article consists of fourparts:The first chapter introduces Chinese current statues and regulations concerning comparative advertisement. There is no systematic ruleregulating comparative advertisement depends on current laws. Moreover,there are contradictions exists among different ranks of provisions. Thesolution for establishing the legal standard for comparative advertisementshows up during the clarification of the legal deficiency.In the second chapter, four significant controversial issues areillustrated with case study. Legal force sometimes fails to constrain theadvertising activities, since various advertisements launched with newpattern that people never seen before. It is inevitable that there isinconsistency with court’s opinion when too much free judgment has tobe induced to make a final judge. The issues discussed in this chaptercontribute methods for a more adaptive legal standard for the comparativeadvertisement.The third chapter presents the standpoint for the constitution of thelegal standard. Consumers are the final respondents of all the commercialactivities; the reaction of consumers towards the disputed advertisementis the key to define whether an infringement act established. Thesignificance of regulation of the advertising market lies in the protectionof consumers.In the last chapter, the author re-states the four issues in chapter two.Learning from relevant precedents in the U.S., the legal standards of thekinds of comparative advertisement above are reformed and refinedaccording to the value orientation in chapter three. The suggested legalstandard emphasizes the protection of consumers’ right to know whiletries its best to maintain the order in market. A good application of ruleswill propel the economic development in the long run.