Tuesday, July 22, 2014

FTC goes after misleading certification mark

Here's some discussion of the FTC's complaint from the FTC itself, with a link to the proposed settlement.  Unsurprising takeaway: If you purport to certify products as "Made in the USA," it is a good idea to do some verification of the manufacturers you accept into your program.  Manufacturers who licensed the mark from "Made in USA Brand" might want to inform their insurers.

Presumably the certification mark is also now eligible for cancellation.  What effect does the settlement have on a potential cancellation proceeding?  (One possibility under the settlement is for the company to disclose that licensees self-certify.  If the company chooses this option, isn't it engaged in naked licensing and therefore abandoning the mark?)

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