Research On Multidimensional Legal Regulation Of Comparative Advertising

Along with the rapid development of Chinese market economy, advertising market is becoming more and more prosperous. Among them, the comparative advertising is favored by many market operators, because of its unique advertising effect, good market effect. The comparative advertising is a form of advertising, in which the market operator providing commodities or services (hereinafter referred to as the "commodity") compare its own commodities with other competitors’ in order to obtain the favor of consumers through its highlights of its commodities’ advantage.In recent years, many comparative advertisings alleged false propaganda or infringement of the trademark, related lawsuits and disputes have been reported in the media. China has not yet formulated specific legal norms for comparative advertising, relevant provisions scattered in different legal departments. Compared with the United States, Germany, the EU and Taiwan area of China, the mainland of China (hereinafter referred to as "China") the relevant system also has many deficiencies. The legal regulation of comparative advertising refers to competition law, trademark law, advertising law and other legal departments. The multidimensional legal regulation of comparative advertising has become an international trend. Under this background, this paper make the system research based on the following aspects:the basic theory, the path of multidimensional legal regulation, the reference and improvement of multidimensional legal regulation of comparative advertising. This text (excluding the introduction and conclusion) contains a total of five parts. The full text has a total of 40thousand words.The first part is about the basic theory of comparative advertising. The comparative advertising is a special form of advertising, in which, the market operator compares its commodities with the other competitors’. On the one hand, it is conducive to promote innovative technology, improve product quality, reduce the time of consumers’searching information. On the other hand, its abuse can lead to unfair competition, trademark infringement, false advertising and other legal risks. For its legality, different countries or regions hold different attitudes. There only exist three theories:positive theory, negative theory and limit theory, among which the limit theory is the mainstream. The comparative advertising should adhere to the principle of comparability, authenticity, uncertainty and appropriateness. Its legal relationship involving competition, trademark, advertising and others, which means the legal regulation of it should adhere to multidimensional path.The second part, the third part and the forth part is about the paths of legal regulation of comparative advertising. The comparative advertising relates to many legal relations, therefore, it is necessary to use competition law, trademark law, advertising law and other laws to regulate it. The definition of legal boundaries between legitimate comparative advertising and unfair comparative advertising is essential. The key part is to clarify the relationship between the three ones. The paper introduces foreign experiences of multidimensional legal regulation of comparative advertising systematically.The fifth part is about creating a system of multidimensional legal regulation upon comparative advertising in China. There are certain cross and overlap between the three ones. This paper makes analysis combining the general principle of "res judicata", "homogeneous compensation" to deal with unity and division of these different dimensions, to build a scientific and feasible multidimensional legal regulation system. In reference to the legal regulation system of comparative advertising of other countries or regions, this paper put forward suggestions to perfect the system in our country from the competition law, trademark law and advertisement law, basing on our country’s conditions and present problems.