The short answer according to longstanding FTC guidance is 6
months from launch, with a little extra time built in if you do a
limited test launch first. This rule has been on the books a
long time but not actively enforced. The FTC likely has
better things to do with its resources than protecting those who
may be moved to purchase based on a product being new to market
when it has been around awhile.
But "new" claims are often examined at the NAD.
They recently brought a monitoring case against Tiffany &
Co. A monitoring case is one NAD brings itself based on its
review of ads not based on a challenger or consumer starting an
action. Here the NAD looked at claims for Rubedo jewelry that
Tiffany had created a "new jeweler's metal" combining
primarily gold, silver and copper for a pink toned metal. The
NAD inquired as to whether this really was new and even if so if it
implied a new element in the periodic table. Tiffany's
had applied to patent its new metal
