Legal
Our job at UltimateFatBurner.com is hold supplement retailers accountable for their advertising claims, by comparing those claims to the existing science that exists for the product in question, or for the ingredients contained therein. Since the supplement industry is very loosely regulated and extremely competitive, it’s not surprising that we often have less than flattering things to say about some of the products we review.
It’s even less surprising to find that some manufacturers/retailers are none to happy about this, and will even go so far as to threaten us with legal action to remove our reviews.
If your product has been featured on UltimateFatBurner.com in a less than favorable light and you’re none too happy about it, please read the following very carefully…
Fair Use And Fair Comment
While you may not like what we have to say, we are well within our rights to say it – it falls under something called “Fair Use“, or “Fair Comment.”
While some retailers have argued otherwise (and lost), neither copyright or trademark law exempts retailers from criticism. Even some really big companies have had to learn this the hard way; a few years back, for example, a court threw out Wal-Mart’s attempt to stifle criticism through trademark law.
Another judge put it this way:
“[t]rademark rights do not entitle the owner to quash an unauthorized use of the mark by another who is communicating ideas or expressing points of view.” L.L. Bean, Inc. v. Drake Publishers, Inc., 811 F.2d 26, 29 (1st Cir. 1987).
In addition, making threats of legal action when you know you do not have an actionable case are acts of intimidation and even harassment, and they do not bode well upon any company.
Revisions To Existing Reviews
That said…
We’re happy to revise anything that’s demonstrably false should you take the time to point it out to us. We’re happy to talk to nice, polite people who behave professionally and we will keep these conversations private, unless you become hostile and/or choose to escalate.
At the same time, continued threats that fail to meet the guidelines outlined below will be highlighted on the site, featured on our “Bogus Lawsuits” page, noted in our newsletter and our FaceBook page, and linked to in the review.
Criteria For Contacting Us About A Review
If you would like to contact us and start a dialogue about your review, please…
- Provide your full name, position, and company contact information – no Yahoo, Gmail or Hotmail addresses.
- Your correspondence should be sent on company letterhead, from a company address (to ensure you speak on behalf of the company, and not as a private individual whose actions could be disowned).
- You must specify in detail what the complaint is. No general allegations of “false statements” allowed: you must specify which statements are untrue, defamatory or otherwise objectionable. If you are arguing against the scientific evidence we have provided, please be prepared to provide us with clinical evidence that supports your position.
Here’s an example of how NOT to be taken seriously…
Below is the result of your feedback form. It was submitted by
([email protected]) on Sunday, August 19, 2012 at 22:17:08
—————————————————————————first name: John
feedback: no
textfield3: Remove XXXXXXX from your website by Weds or we will take legal action you are making very false statements about our product AND WE WILL NOT STAND FOR IT!
Send Comments!: Send Comments
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