Consumer Law

The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois recently held that an invoice accompanying a concrete curing blanket was not commercial advertising for purposes of a false advertising claim under the Lanham Act. Midwest Canvas Corp. v. Commonwealth Canvas, Inc., 2008 WL 162757 (N.D. Ill. 2008).  Concrete curing blankets are used to protect and insulate freshly poured concrete to accelerate the hardening process. According to the Court, even assuming the invoice contained false statements, it was not disseminated sufficiently to meet the publicity requirement of the Lanham Act, and it was not an advertisement because it reflected a consummated transaction and was not an inducement to purchase.