A federal district court in Massachusetts was recently sucked
into a false advertising dispute between manufacturers
of competing vacuums and steam cleaners over alleged violations of
Section 43(a) of the Lanham Act. The plaintiff, Euro-Pro Operating
LLC ("Euro-Pro"), which manufactures the popular
"Shark" steam mop and "Shark Navigator" vacuum,
filed suit against the defendant, TTI Floor Care North America
("TTI"), alleging false advertising and unfair
competition in connection with certain superiority claims made in
infomercials for TTI's "TwinTank"
steam mop and "WindTunnel" vacuum cleaner.
Euro-Pro moved for a preliminary injunction, alleging that the
infomercial contained false claims based on rigged, deceptive
product demonstrations (e.g., comparing the stain-removing
ability of a "revved up" TwinTank to a Shark product that
was not properly warmed up prior to use). Euro-Pro argued that the
claims and demonstrations were literally false because
