Trade Descriptions Act 1968
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The Trade Descriptions Act 1968 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which prevents manufacturers, retailers or service industry providers from misleading consumers as to what they are spending their money on.
As advertising became a crucial part of successful commercial enterprises and with fierce competition the temptation to push the boundaries of truth when making claims for a product is strong.
This law empowers the judiciary to punish companies or individuals who make false claims about the products or services that they sell.
Applying a false trade description to goods is a strict liability offence: provided it is shown that the description was applied and was false, the accused has to prove certain defences in order to escape conviction.
False descriptions as to services require the more normal proof of mens rea (guilty knowledge).
The Act excludes matters relating to land and buildings, these being now dealt with under the provisions of the Property Misdescriptions Act.
The advertising industry has managed to circumvent this obstacle, by usage of small print, and, to some degree, through creative associations of products with the things that people desire. For example, alcohol is still (in spite of British regulations forbidding this) routinely associated with sexual success, and certain makes of car with the sense that they identify the driver as an alpha male.
For examples of why such legislation is desirable see: patent medicine, snake oil.
[edit] Future Changes
The Act will be in conflict with the EU Unfair Commercial Practices Directive which has been adopted in the UK and will be implemented from April 2008.
As this is a maximum harmonisation directive the Trade Descriptions Act will be heavily amended or possibly repealed. See DTI announcement
[edit] Trivia
The Act provides the official title of the Monty Python sketch popularly known as Crunchy Frog.
