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Marketers beware: A Supreme Court ruling this week could lead to more false-advertising lawsuits.

The unanimous decision issued Tuesday set new rules for which companies have the standing to sue under the decades-old Lanham Act, a federal law businesses use when suing each other over false ad claims. Previously, lower courts had interpreted the statute inconsistently, with some allowing for more lawsuits and others taking a more restrictive stance.

But what Tuesday’s decision makes clear is that a company does not have to be a direct competitor to sue another company. And that, said several ad lawyers, could raise the legal risk for marketers. “Ultimately it will lead to more lawsuits because historically there has been this question of whether use of the Lanham Act was limited to direct competitors,” said Linda Goldstein, a partner with Manatt, Phelps & Phillips “This really opens up the field to a wider spectrum of plaintiffs.”

Continue reading at AdAge.com