Comparitive Advertising

Sections 49 and 50 of the Consumer Affairs Act have transposed into Maltese law the EU Directive 97/55 on Comparative Advertising, which in fact was an amendment to the EU Directive 84/450 regulating Misleading Advertising. Indeed, a permissible comparative advert must first and foremost not be misleading, and therefore the rules on comparative advertising are an extension of those governing misleading advertising. Once again, the Maltese legislator has faithfully transposed the EU original. This gives us the added benefit of being able to refer to the decisions of the European Court of Justice in interpreting our law.

Any person who makes an advertisement constituting comparative advertising other than as permitted under Section 50 is guilty of an offence. Section 50(1) allows comparative advertising when certain conditions are met:

Section 50(2) adds some special conditions when the comparison refers to a special offer.