What is the definition of “unfair trade practices”?
Unfair trade practices are illegal business activities that give one company an advantage over competitors or harm consumers. In Virginia, certain prohibited activities are defined as unfair and have consequences, including monetary penalties. According to Virginia’s Unfair Trade Practices Act, unfair trade practices include: 1) Passing off goods or services as those of another; 2) Causing confusion or misunderstanding as to the source, sponsorship, approval, or certification of goods or services; 3) Causing confusion or misunderstanding as to the affiliation, connection, or association of a person with another; 4) Using deceptive representations or deceptive designations of geographic origin in connection with goods or services; 5) Representing that goods or services have sponsorship, approval, characteristics, ingredients, uses, benefits, or quantities that they do not have; and 6) Representing that goods are original or new if they are deteriorated, altered, reconditioned, reclaimed, used, or secondhand. In addition, Virginia’s Unfair Trade Practices Act prohibits any act which tends to deceive or mislead the public, or which unfairly discriminates against a person’s business. These unfair practices create an unequal playing field and harm consumers by providing them with false or misleading information or by causing them to pay higher prices for goods or services.
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