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An overarching term describing any commercial activity that tends to confuse or deceive the public about the sale of products or services. It covers such diverse activities as trademark infringement, false advertising and theft of trade secrets. If a court finds that an activity constitutes unfair competition, it will generally prevent that activity from occurring in the future and award money damages to the person or company harmed by the activity.

A term which may be applied generally to all dishonest or fraudulent rivalry in trade and commerce, but is particularly applied in the courts of equity (where it may be restrained by injunction) to the practice of endeavoring to substitute one's own goods or products in the markets for those of another, having an established reputation and extensive sale, by means of imitating or counterfeiting the name, title, size, shape, or distinctive peculiarities of the article, or the shape, color, label, wrapper, or general appearance of the package, or other such simulations, the imitation being carried far enough to mislead the general public or deceive an unwary purchaser, and yet not amounting to an absolute counterfeit or to the infringement of a trade-mark or trade-name. Called in France and Germany "concurrence deloyale." See Reddaway v. Ban- ham. [ia%] App. Cas. 199; Singer Mfg. Co. T. June Mfg. Co., 163 U. S. 169, 16 Sup. Ot BL.LAW DICT. (2D ED.)