Comparative advertising and puffery remain lawful unless an ad prima facie denigrates a rival's goods.

Comparative advertising and puffery are permissible so long as an advertisement does not denigrate a rival's goods. An interim injunction against telecast will lie only where the impugned statement prima facie amounts to disparagement or malicious falsehood by targeting the competitor's product. On the facts, the advertisement promoted a mosquito repellant cream by stressing natural additives and reduced risk of rashes and allergy, without directly referring to the rival product. It was treated as at most idle boast or puffery, and the record did not establish prima facie disparagement or malicious falsehood. The application for interim injunction was dismissed.

---

---

Issues: Whether the impugned advertisement amounted to prima facie disparagement or malicious falsehood warranting an interim injunction against its telecast.

Analysis: The governing principles permit puffery and comparative advertising so long as the advertiser does not denigrate a rival's goods. Generic disparagement may be actionable, but an interim injunction requires a prima facie showing that the advertisement targets the rival's product and crosses the line into slander of goods or malicious falsehood. On the facts, the advertisement promoted the defendant's mosquito repellant cream by emphasising natural additives and reduced risk of rashes and allergy. It did not make a direct reference to the plaintiff's product, and the court found that the impugned message was at most an idle boast or puffery. The material on record did not establish that the advertisement prima facie disparaged the plaintiff's goods or clearly fell within malicious falsehood.

Conclusion: No prima facie case for interim injunction was made out, and the application was dismissed.

Ratio Decidendi: Comparative advertising and puffery are permissible, and an interim injunction against an advertisement will issue only where the impugned statement prima facie amounts to disparagement or malicious falsehood by denigrating the rival's goods.

---