commerce advertisements
In the USA, are their laws about what you can claim is &quot;included for free&quot; with some product?
<p>Let's say I go to an art store and they have a easel for $50 and it says &quot;includes free brush&quot;. Is there any law about whether it's legal to claim &quot;easel $50 + free brush&quot; vs just &quot;easel and brush for $50&quot;</p>
<p>In other words, by some argument the brush isn't really free.</p>
<p>Other examples:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>Car for $15000, includes free seats, wheels, and steering wheel (the standard ones, not extra)</p>
</li>
<li><p>Pants for $100, includes free cuffs and pockets</p>
</li>
<li><p>Windows laptop for $500, includes free notepad and calculator apps (the built in apps, not extra)</p>
</li>
</ul>
<p>My gut would say, you can't call it free unless you can normally purchase the product without it. I can't generally purchase a car without seats, wheels, and a steering wheel (though I could purchase upgrades and those upgrades could be free). I can't generally purchase pants without pockets. I can't buy a windows laptop without notepad. So I'd guess I shouldn't be able to claim those are free but, is there any law regarding this?</p>

<p><a href="/questions/tagged/australia" class="post-tag" title="show questions tagged &#39;australia&#39;" rel="tag">australia</a></p>
<h2>The standard is: is it <a href="https://www.claytonutz.com/knowledge/2020/october/context-is-all-court-confirms-test-and-principles-for-false-misleading-or-deceptive-conduct" rel="nofollow noreferrer">misleading or deceptive</a>?</h2>
<p>The prohibition on misleading and deceptive conduct in trade or commerce comes from the Australian Consumer Law and applies to all aspects of business, not just advertising.</p>
<p>Your “gut” is pretty much on point - if the extra item is normally an expected part of the base product then offering it as free might be misleading.</p>
<p>Maybe.</p>
<p>The whole context of the offer would need to be considered to determine if it would or would be likely to mislead a reasonable person. For example:</p>
<ul>
<li>Offering a car with a “free steering wheel” is more likely to be seen as ironic/humorous rather than misleading.</li>
<li>Free cuffs and pockets on off-the-rack pants might be misleading but not if the range also included cuff-free, pocket-free, or cuff and pocket-free versions. It would be wholly unremarkable for bespoke trousers.</li>
<li>Standard features of a software packages would turn more on the copy - would a reasonable person think they were getting something extra or would they take it as merely being informed of included features.</li>
</ul>
