Can I compare my product to another brands similar product on my website?

Question

I have a product that is better in some ways as the competitors product.

To show my potential customer why it is better I would like to compare my product with the product of a competior so he can directly see the differences.

Now am I allowed to show the product of the competitor with logo?

Lets say I am Pepsi and want to show that my bottles are higher as the ones from Coca-Cola. Would I (as pepsi) be allowed to compare a pepsi and a coca-cola bottle side to side? with the brand names totally visible?

and if not am I allowed to change the logo on the coca-cola bottle to for example coka-cola in exactly the same logo design so the viewer directly thinks about coca-cola eventho its not directly stated?

Answer 1

Comparative reference to a brand is not a violation of trademark laws in most countries, and certainly not in the USA, if that's what you're asking. Also, showing an image of a copyrighted label on a product is not a copyright infringement, at least under USA laws.

On the other hand, I worked on at last one case where a foreign-based company sued a US company for "infringement" when the US company advertised its products as being "compatible replacements" for the foreign components, using their brand name. Rather than pay for an expensive litigation, the client opted to negotiate a monetary settlement and positive disclaimer.