BenShot and Lucky Shot USA both sell drinking glasses with bullets embedded in the side of the glass. BenShot sued Lucky Shot USA in federal court in Wisconsin, alleging that the defendant falsely promoted its products as having been made in the United States, in violation of the Lanham Act and Wisconsin unfair competition laws.
Several years ago, Lucky Shot moved to dismiss, and the court, relying heavily on the FTC's Enforcement Policy Statement on U.S. Origin Claims, denied the motion. Recently, the court allowed the case to continue again, denying Lucky Shot's motion for summary judgment.
Lucky Shot markets its bullet-embedded glasses as being "Made in the USA." Apparently, the glasses themselves (with their indentations) are made in China, but the bullet is glued into the glasses in the United States. There's also some dispute about the extent to which the bullets themselves are American-made and the extent to which at least some of the products are entirely made in China.
Lucky Shot made various arguments in support of its motion for summary judgment, including that its "Made in USA" claim is not literally false. In order to state a claim for false advertising under the Lanham Act, a plaintiff must prove that the defendant made a false statement of fact, which can be either literally false or be ambiguous (but which creates a false impression). When a statement is ambiguous, the plaintiff must meet a higher standard, by demonstrating actual consumer confusion.
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