Law of Comparative Advertising

Michael Spence is a Fellow and Tutor in Law of St Catherine's College,Oxford.

• Comparative advertising in the United Kingdom: self-regulation; common law; statute; conclusion. Comparative advertising in Germany: the history of S1 UWG; the application of S1 UWG to comparative advertising; the judicial implementation of the Directive. The history, scope and exclusivity of the Directive: history of the Directive; scope of the Directive; exclusivity of the Directive. The substance of the Directive: the apparent purpose of the Directive; comparative advertising incapable of assisting rational consumer choice; comparisons that do more than is necessary to assist rational consumer choice. The implementation of the Directive. The way forward. Appendices: United Kingdom materials; German materials; European Community preparatory materials; Directive 97/55/EC (OJ 1997 L290/18).