Section 43(a) of the Lanham Act* provides a federal statutory
cause of action against false or misleading commercial
representations, which includes claims made in advertising, that
cause commercial harm. Who could bring an action under this
provision differed depending on the different tests applied by
different federal circuits. In some circuits only an actual
competitor could bring a suit under this provision.
On March 25, 2014, the Supreme Court clarified the test that
should be applied to determine if a party has standing to bring an
action under Section 43(a) of the Lanham Act in Lexmark
International, Inc. v. Static Control Components, Inc. No.
12-873. The court held that a plaintiff suing under Section 43(a)
"ordinarily must show that its economic or reputational injury
flows directly from the deception wrought by the defendant's
advertising; and that occurs when deception of consumers causes
them to withhold trade from the plaintiffs." The court held
that
