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CHAPTER 40
PENNSYLVANIA
A. Scope of the Statute and Elements of a Cause of Action
The Pennsylvania Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection
Law (UTPCPL)1 generally prohibits “[u]nfair methods of competition and
unfair or deceptive acts or practices in the conduct of any trade or
commerce”2 that “directly or indirectly affect[] the people of th[e]
Commonwealth.”3 The terms “trade” and “commerce” mean “the
advertising, offering for sale, sale or distribution of any services and any
property, tangible or intangible, real, personal or mixed, and any other
article, commodity, or thing of value wherever situate[d].”4 The law’s
“underlying foundation is fraud prevention”5 and not traditional antitrust
violations.
The UTPCPL declares unlawful twenty specific acts or practices listed
in the statute,6 “fraudulent or deceptive conduct which creates a likelihood
of confusion or of misunderstanding,”7 and any conduct defined in
regulations promulgated by the attorney general.8 Pennsylvania courts
may look to decisions under the Federal Trade Commission Act and the
Lanham Act for guidance in interpreting the language of the UTPCPL.9
Pennsylvania and federal courts have also looked to other Pennsylvania
statutes when interpreting the UTPCPL in certain contexts, notably the
1. 73 PA. STAT. §§ 201-1 through -10.
2. Id. § 201-3.
3. Id. § 201-2(3).
4. Id.
statute is the principal means in the Commonwealth for “protect[ing] the
public from fraud and unfair or deceptive business practices.” Feeney v.
Disston Manor Personal Care Home, 849 A.2d 590, 597 (Pa. Super. Ct.
2004).
6. 73 PA. STAT. § 201-2(4)(i)-(xx).
7. Id. § 201-2(4)(xxi).
8. “The Attorney General may adopt, after public hearing, such rules and
regulations as may be necessary for the enforcement and administration of
this act.” Id. § 201-3.1.
9. Monumental Props., 329 A.2d at 818.
