Unfair competition occurs when there is violation of intellectual property rights, plagiarism or infringement of trademarks and other practices that damage the reputation or prestige of a company and confuse or deceive consumers.
Unfair competition is any improper or dishonest commercial, business or economic practice that has a negative impact on (or prevents) the competitive process. Whoever commits an act of unfair competition by resorting to conduct or action of a fraudulent or deceptive nature intends to obtain an advantage over their competitors.
However, these maneuvers that begin with the idea of ​​benefiting only go against the entrepreneur, merchant or businessman who starts them. According to reality, whoever carries out unfair competition ends up losing prestige, economic income, market presence and clientele.
Unfair competition , which must be combated with controls and regulations, negatively affects markets, affects consumers and harms honest businesses that aim for fair and healthy competition .
Characteristics of unfair competition
Unfair competition is, simply put, harmful. There is no good faith in this type of action, but rather deception and tricks to convince consumers to purchase a certain product or contract a certain service.
In a dishonest, cheating and unfair framework, companies are prevented from competing in a context of equal conditions. That is why it is essential that there are market regulatory bodies, antitrust legislation and regulations that give confidence, security and protection to the actors involved in a market. This point covers both companies and members of the population who assume the role of consumers .
Although below we will describe the most common types of unfair competition , in summary we can point out as cases of unfair competition aggressive actions that involve the use of force or harassment, intentional omissions to deceive, illicit advertising and the violation of rules in order to alter market dynamics for one's own benefit (or that of third parties) and limit, influence or condition the will and freedom of choice of users.
Fair practices at a commercial level involve the implementation of honest strategies that fuel healthy and ethical competition. On the contrary, unfair competition goes against good faith, transparency and honesty in business.
Guys
Multiple types of unfair competition are recognized worldwide. It is worth knowing the existing varieties in order to educate yourself and eventually be able to add tools that allow you to protect yourself or confront unfair competition .
One of the modalities is dumping . This is how the practice of exporting products at a lower price compared to the value at which they are marketed in the domestic market of the nation of origin is defined. This resource is usually used by those who prefer that the business go to a loss temporarily but ensure that they consolidate themselves in the market, leaving competitors displaced or without strength. Dumping is also embraced through incentives and pricing policies that lead a company or brand to lead a market segment. Within the scope of international trade , experts on the subject maintain, dumping is considered an unfair and improper pricing strategy.
Propaganda , promotion or misleading advertising is another tactic that is considered unfair competition since it causes unequal opportunities within the market. In the long term, this maneuver can damage the company's reputation and lead to, for example, financial sanctions . Misleading advertising is interpreted as advertisements or publications that hide information or provide inaccurate and exaggerated data that, in principle, create attraction and expectations in consumers and then disappoint them and hurt their trust.
Nor should we fail to mention industrial espionage , another variety of unfair competition . In this case, these are tasks and efforts that are aimed at the investigation or discovery of competitive secrets to benefit or harm a person or company.
Bribery (i.e., offering money or accepting something in exchange for unfair and undeserved competitive benefits), abuse of a dominant position , and infringement of intellectual property rights are other issues that are classified as acts of bribery. unfair competition .
The deceptive or fraudulent use of a logo or brand to confuse consumers constitutes an offense classified as trademark violation.
Examples of unfair competition
In everyday life, unfortunately, many situations of unfair competition occur. Trademark piracy , for example, constitutes a crime and fuels the field of unfair competition because the unauthorized use of the intellectual property of different companies causes confusion and deception .
Those who settle, without authorization, on a sidewalk (generally, full of commercial premises in operation, in order and properly enabled ) to sell products informally, that is, without paying taxes and remaining outside the law also reflect a part of unfair competition . It is not fair that those who invest in a rental or keep a business in operation and meet all the requirements imposed by the authorities lose or reduce their clientele by not being able to compete with much cheaper and more accessible prices for merchandise sold on public roads without inspections, authorizations or controls of any kind. In turn, consumers are exposed to deception and even risks when it comes to food products, candy and beverages.