Lawsuit!: Reducing the Risk of Product Liability for Manufacturers

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Product Marketing

In some situations it is not the actual product that gets manufacturers into trouble, but the marketing and promotional materials that accompany the product, or “defects in marketing.” Marketing defects include improper labeling of products, insufficient instructions, or the failure to warn consumers of a product's hidden dangers. A negligent or intentional misrepresentation regarding a product may also give rise to a product liability claim.

In the universal effort to make ones' product appear to stand above all competition, companies will employ numerous marketing schemes to help draw potential buyers to their product(s). This could involve television commercials, print ads, the product's own packaging, promotional brochures, cut sheets, internet web pages, and every other manner in which a product can be described and promoted. In our efforts to make our products appear better than the competition's, we often tend to push the envelope in marketing and make the product appear just a little better than it really is, which can then lead to misperceptions, possible problems, and ultimately even to a product liability lawsuit.

Defective marketing might involve a slight exaggeration of the product's capability, reliability, performance characteristics, dependability, or safety, or involve deceptive markings on the products or packaging, misleading approvals, inaccurate statistical data, or improper displays of the product in use. But is not a slight exaggeration ...