California Fair Trade and Unfair Practices Acts

Many businessmen fail to distinguish between the Fair Trade Act and the Unfair Practices Act of California. They are entirely different pieces of legislation, and function in entirely different ways.

The Fair Trade Act establishes the right of a manufacturer or distributor of any branded or trade marked article to fix and maintain the retail price of that article or commodity in California. This was made a law May 8, 1931, and has been tested in the courts.

Any manufacturer of a branded article who so wishes can fix the price at which his product is to be sold in this state, and punish anyone who violates that fixation. Under this act any manufacturer or distributor has the power to absolutely prohibit price cutting and price wars so far as his product is concerned.

The Unfair Practices Act was passed in 1913, but was amended at the recent 1937 session of the California legisature. It had been previously amended in 1931, 1933 and 1935. It was completely re-witten in 1935, for which reason it has often been referred to as the Unfair Practices Act of 1935. At the 1937 session of the Legislature a score or more of bills were introduced either amending this law, or proposing new legislation afiecting the principles involved. By agreement among the authors most of these bills were dropped, and attention lvas concentrated in AB 3 bv Bovle. This

J. J. HALLORAN VISITS SOUTHLAND

J. J. Halloran, of the Halloran-Rennett Lumber Company, Phoenix, Arizona, has visited Newport Beach, California, several times during the past summer. His familv is spending the summer months there.

lvas amended nine times, and was finally signed by the Governor July 1, 1937.

This Unfair Practices Act makes it unlawful for anyone engaged in the production, manufacture, distribution, or sale of any article or product of general use or consumption, to engage in unfair, dishonest, deceptive, destructive, fraudulent and discriminatory practices. The act rvas written for the protection of the public, and of the honest business man. It forbids selling the same article in difierent places or localities for different prices, {or the purpose of destroying competition. It forbids the sale of an article for less than cost either directly or indirectly, for the purpose of hurting competitors, and forbids giving arvay articles in order to indirectly cut prices and hurt competition. The secret payment of rebates refunds, allowances, etc., for the purpose of indirectly cutting prices and helping one competitor as opposed to another, is forbidden, the plan being to put all purchasers upon equal terms. The destruction of unfair competition is the entire purpose of the Unfair Practices Act.

The LTnfair Trade Practice Act went into effect on August 27, 1937, ar'd makes "any person rvho either as director, officer, or agent of any firm or as an agent of any person violating the provisions of this Act assists or aids directly or indirectly shall be responsible therefor equallv 'ivith the firm or corporation for rvhom or which he acts."

L. C. COTNER RETURNS TO LOS ANGELES

L. C. Cotner, who formerly operated the Timbercraft Shingle Company, in Los Angeles, specializing in Red Cedar shingles and shakes, has returned from the Pacific Northwest, where he has been located for the past year.