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지나쌤

Court denies Dyson's request to stop LG vacuum cleaner ad

By Yonhap

Published : April 25, 2018 - 13:29

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A Seoul court on Wednesday turned down an injunction request by British home appliance maker Dyson attempting to stop an advertisement for a cordless vacuum cleaner produced by South Korea's LG Electronics Inc. for overrating its functions.

Dyson filed for the injunction last November, claiming that LG had exaggerated the suction power of premium cordless vacuum cleaner Code Zero A9 in its advertisement.

The foreign electronics firm, which has established a strong foothold in the local market on the back of popularity of its signature cordless stick V series, accused its Korean rival of describing the rotation speed of the motor as being "16 times faster than that of a jet engine." 


(Yonhap) (Yonhap)

LG has argued that the phrase was made based on the result of a test carried out by an accredited institute through objective methods.

The court on Wednesday ruled in favor of the Korean company.

"The advertisement appears to have cited the test result measured by objective means," it said. "Also there is no evidence to believe LG had sought to mislead consumers."

It is not the first time the two home appliance makers have engaged in a legal fight. In 2015, LG filed a suit with an Australian court against Dyson for deceptive advertising. The British firm accepted LG's argument and LG dropped the suit.

But it took less than another year for LG to file a fresh suit in Seoul, after Dyson held a press conference during which it performed a demonstration before journalists comparing its product with an LG model.

LG never proceeded with the suit as Dyson apologized and promised not to repeat the mistake. (Yonhap)