Legalities of Website with Ratings & Reviews

**coollemon** · 07-16-2009 12:47 AM

Hi Everyone,

Can anyone tell me what legal problems I may run into for building a website where I review and rate brand name products. e.g. Foods ... Give an opinion on the ingredients, etc.

Can the companies come after me at all if I write a negative review?

Or another example, for instance, if a cosmetics company is involved in cruel animal testing, and I mention that on my site.

If there's anything I need to be aware of, I would really appreciate the advice.

Many thanks!!!

**rpermana** · 07-16-2009 03:55 AM

Do your research and do not post any negative review without a valid proof.

Avoid sensitive issue such as race, religion..

if the company lost millions because of your review, they might seek for legal action against you...

**LSnyder** · 07-16-2009 10:45 AM

coollemon,

It may be advisable for you to speak to an attorney. If you do not have one of your own, you can call our office and I can set you up with a consult (free 1/2 hour).

**PsiPro** · 07-16-2009 11:12 AM

Originally Posted by rpermana

Avoid sensitive issue such as race, religion..

But think of all the visits you would get if you only posted reviews that were like

"this food is so bad only a dirty old <any old racial explicative you want> would eat it"

Of course the advertisement would be interesting as well...

**coollemon** · 07-16-2009 04:11 PM

Thanks, rpermana and Lisa.

Lisa, I believe I may take you up on your offer, thank you!

PsiPro, something tells me I shouldn't have laughed at your post, but ... well, I just couldn't help myself

**hockey97** · 07-17-2009 12:43 AM

Originally Posted by coollemon

Hi Everyone,

Can anyone tell me what legal problems I may run into for building a website where I review and rate brand name products. e.g. Foods ... Give an opinion on the ingredients, etc.

Can the companies come after me at all if I write a negative review?

Or another example, for instance, if a cosmetics company is involved in cruel animal testing, and I mention that on my site.

If there's anything I need to be aware of, I would really appreciate the advice.

Many thanks!!!

Well you need evidence. First off you can get sued... anyone can press charges on your company for any reason. So in your case start to create a defense just in case they come after you.

first off you can't use trademark names like MCDONALS. you can't show any logos or anything like that without permission on a website. You can say their company name and provide links to their site.

Your review must have some solid proof. If you give bad reviews because you hate the company and you want them to lose their shirt so you tried to do mud slinging making them lose sales. This will be illegal. You can just make up sutff to hurt another companies image. This they can sue you for. They can sue you for damaging their image due to false claims. Ripoffreport.com had many court cases where companies sued them.

So if your site just an opinion poll type thing or a fourm that allows people to post reviews of different companies services.

You can do so just don't use logos of the company you reviewed or any trademarks without permission. Also have some way to deal with false facts of anysort.

In otherwords take action on posts that don't provide any sort of proof that supports their negative view of the company or giving a bad review. They need proof at some level else you can get sued for allowing false information damage companies image.

that's all I see in the legal area of the website you want to do.

Always consult a lawyer before doing anything huge in legal matters. My advice is not legal advice and should not be taken as legal advice. I am just giving my thoughts on the subject to the best of my knowledge.

Hope this was helpful.

**coollemon** · 07-17-2009 05:51 PM

Thanks, Hockey. Very helpful! A couple follow up questions, if I may.

Originally Posted by hockey97

first off you can't use trademark names like MCDONALS. you can't show any logos or anything like that without permission on a website. You can say their company name and provide links to their site.

If I'm an affiliate though (e.g. Amazon or eBay), I can then display their products on my site, right?

Originally Posted by hockey97

Your review must have some solid proof. If you give bad reviews because you hate the company and you want them to lose their shirt so you tried to do mud slinging making them lose sales. This will be illegal. You can just make up sutff to hurt another companies image. This they can sue you for. They can sue you for damaging their image due to false claims. Ripoffreport.com had many court cases where companies sued them.

Re "Solid proof"?

(1) If I review (e.g.) breakfast cereals based on the ingredients listed on their packaging, and give it a low score because it's "full of sugar, high in salt, low in fiber, has artificial coloring" etc, etc. Is that "proof" enough?

(2) If I say ABC company also manufactures XYZ cosmetics and "there are claims of inhumane animal testing" and I point a link to unrelated credible sites as a reference. Is that enough to cover myself?

Originally Posted by hockey97

So if your site just an opinion poll type thing or a fourm that allows people to post reviews of different companies services.

You can do so just don't use logos of the company you reviewed or any trademarks without permission. Also have some way to deal with false facts of anysort.

In otherwords take action on posts that don't provide any sort of proof that supports their negative view of the company or giving a bad review. They need proof at some level else you can get sued for allowing false information damage companies image.

Interesting, as I've come across so many forums that openly bash companies and their products. But at this stage, I'm mainly interested in "me" giving my own "personal opinion", albeit it's a general public opinion, particularly in the example of the breakfast cereal above.

Many thanks again.