What is unfair competition law?
Unfair competition law is a set of laws designed to protect consumers from deceptive business practices. In Hawaii, this law protects consumers from businesses that attempt to gain an unfair advantage over their competitors. This law is there to prevent businesses from misleading the public or taking an unlawful advantage of another competitor. Unfair competition law is a very broad area that applies to both individuals and businesses, including advertising and marketing as well as pricing and product labeling. Generally, Hawaii courts look to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) guidelines to determine whether a business practice is considered to be unfair competition. Examples of unfair competition include false advertising, deceptive pricing, and predatory pricing. False advertising occurs when a company misrepresents a product or service and deceives the public about its quality or effectiveness. Deceptive pricing is when a business sets its prices arbitrarily high or low, in order to gain an advantage over its competitors. Predatory pricing occurs when a business sets its prices excessively low, in order to drive out its competitors. Unfair competition law is designed to protect consumers, but it also protects businesses from unfair practices. By keeping businesses from engaging in unfair practices, Hawaii courts are able to ensure that consumers have access to quality goods and services at reasonable prices.
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