P.R. Laws tit. 10, § 223x

2019-02-20 00:00:00+00
§ 223x. False origin designation of origin and false description

(a) Any person who, as to goods or services, uses in commerce any word, term, name, symbol, slogan, trade dress, medium, logo, design, color, sound, scent, shape, object or a combination thereof; or any false origin designation; or any false or misleading description of a fact; or any false or misleading representation of a fact, which:

(1) Is likely to cause confusion or mislead or deceive as to the affiliation, connection, or association of such person with another person, or as to the origin, source, sponsorship, or approval of his/her goods, services, or commercial activities by another person, or

(2) in commercial advertising or in promotion, misrepresents the nature, characteristics, qualities, or geographic origin of his/her or another person’s goods, services, or commercial activities, shall be held liable in civil action by any person who was injured as a consequence of such acts.

(3) The injured person shall have right to the applicable remedies under § 223w of this title.

(b) As used in this section, the term “any person” includes the Government of Puerto Rico, any instrumentality of the Commonwealth or employee of the Commonwealth or of any of its instrumentalities who acts in his/her official capacity that or who shall be held liable by the plaintiff, in the same manner as a non-government entity or person would respond.

(c) In a civil action for trade dress infringement under this section for a trade dress not registered in Puerto Rico or the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the person who asserts trade dress protection has the burden of proving that the matter sought to be protected, taken as a whole, is not functional.

History —Dec. 16, 2009, No. 169, § 27; July 12, 2011, No. 124, § 10.