Parking Meter Industry
16 CFR Part 196 · Trade practice rules · in the Code of Federal Regulations 1959-1977 (12 annual editions)
Scanned CFR pages, OCR text may contain errors; the linked Library of Congress PDF is the authority. Not legal advice; not affiliated with the FTC. These rules and guides are historical: most were rescinded or replaced, so do not assume any is in force.
Latest edition: Library of Congress, 1977 CFR · Earliest edition: 1959 CFR
Text (1977 edition, OCR)
Chapter !-—Federal
Group II
8 195.101 Products to be manufactured,
repaired, renovated, and sold under
sanitary couditions.
The industry condemns the practice of
manufacturing, repairing, renovating, or
selling bedding products under unsani-
tary conditions.
COMMITTEE ON TRADE PRACTICES
§ 195.201 Industry committee.
The provisions of §16.1 of this sub-_
chapter shall be applicable to an industry -
committee established under this part.
{21 FR. 1174, Feb. 21, 1956]
PART 196—PARKING METER
INDUSTRY
Sec.
186.0 Definition.
Grovr I
196.1 Misrepresentation.
196.2 Defamation of competitors or inter-
fering with or disparaging their
products.
196.3 Misrepresentation as to character of
business.
196.4 Deceptive use of trade or corporate
names or trade-marks, etc.
196.5 Imitation of trade-marks, trade
names, etc.
1986.6 Deception as to rebuilt or second-
hand products.
196.7 Commercial bribery.
186.8 Inducing breach of contract.
196.9 Palse invoicing.
196.10 Fictitious prices.
196.11 Guarantees, warranties, eto.
196.12 Prohibited discrimination.
196.18 Selling below cost.
196.14 Unfair threats of infringement
suits.
106.18 Procurement of competitor’s confi-
dential information and wrong-
ful use thereof.
196.16 Enticing away employees of com-
petitors.
196.17 Unlawful coercion or combinations
in restraint of trade.
196.18
Aiding or abetting unfair trade
ces.
Gaour I
196.101 Maintenance of accurate records.
186.102 Settlement of disputes.
AurnHoriry: The provisions of this Part 196
fesued under secs. 6, 5, $8 Stat. 721, 719; 15
U.S.C. 46, 45, unless otherwise noted.
Bource: The provisions of this Part 196
appear at 15 F.R. 7817, Nov. 21, 1950, unless
otherwise noted.
Trade Commission § 196.2
§ 196.0 Definition.
As usec in this part. the term “prod-
ucts of the industry” or “industry prod-
ucts” shall be understood as meaning
parking meters and parts and accessories
therefor.
Group I
8196.1 Misrepresentation.
It is an unfair trade practice to make
any statement or representation, by way
of advertisement, product demonstration,
or otherwise, which is false, misleading,
or deceptive, or which, directly or by rea-
son of concealment of material fact, has
the capacity and tendency or effect of
misleading or deceiving purchasers or
users of industry products (a) with re~
spect to the quality, size, capacity, dura-~-
bility, serviceability, life, performance,
mode of operation, currency of meter,
design, construction, or constituent ma-
terials of any product of the industry; or
(b) with respect to any service offered,
promised, or to be supplied to purchasers
of such products; or (c) with respect to
the manufacture, distribution, servicing,
or terms or conditions of sale, of any in-
dustry product; or in any other material
respect.
$196.2 Defamation of competitors or
interfering with or disparaging their
products.
(a) The defamation of competitors by
falsely imputing to them dishonorable
conduct, inability to perform contracts,
questionable credit standing, or by other
false representations, or the false dis-
paragement of competitors’ products in
any respect, or the false disparagement
of then business methods, selling prices,
values, credit terms, policies, or services,
is an unfair trade practice.
(b) Likewise, the demonstration of ob-
solete models of a competitor’s product
as and for current models, and the de-
liberate tampering with, damaging, or
destroying of competitors’ products s0
as to disparage the products in the eyes
of customers or prospective customers, is
an unfair trade practice.
(c) Nothing in paragraphs (a) and
(b) of this section shall be construed as
preventing the full, fair, and nondecep-
tive comparison, by demonstration or
otherwise, of competitors’ meters with
the meter of another industry member
before public officials or other purchasers
or prospective purchasers.
137
§ 196.3
§ 196.3 Misrepresentation as to charac-
ter of business.
It is an unfair trade practice for any
industry member, in the course of or in
connection with the distribution of in-
dustry products, to represent, directly or
indirectly, that he is a manufacturer of
industry products, or that he owns or
controls a factory making such products,
when such is not the fact, or in any other
manner to misrepresent the character,
extent, or type of his business.
§ 196.4 Deceptive use of trade or cor-
porate names or trade-marks, etc.
The use of any trade name, corporate
name, trade-mark, or other trade desig-
nation which has the capacity and tend-
ency or effect of misleading or deceiving
purchasers or users as to the character,
name, nature, efficacy, or origin of any
product of the industry, or any material
used therein, or which is falge or mis-
leading in any other respect, is an unfair
trade practice.
8196.5 Imitation of trade-marks, trade
names, etc.
The imitation or simulation of the
trade-marks, trade names, brands, or
labels of competitors, with the capacity
and tendency or effect of misleading or
deceiving purchasers or users of industry
products, is an unfair trade practice.
$196.6 Deception as to rebuilt or see-
ond-hand prodncts.
(a) It is an unfair trade practice for
any member of the industry to sell, offer
for sale, advertise, or otherwise repre-
sent, any product of the industry as
being new when such is not the fact.
(b) In the marketing of rebuilt or
second-hand products of the industry,
or parts thereof, or in the marketing of
products containing rebuilt or second-
hand parts, it is an unfair trade practice
to conceal, or fail or refuse to fully and
nondeceptively disclose by effective
means of identification (such as by tag,
jabei, stamp, or mark firmly affixed to
the products, or the immediate contain-
ers thereof in which sold and delivered
to the consumer, or by invoice, bill or
delivery slip accompanying the article
and delivered to the purchaser there-
with), the fact that such products, or all
or certain parts contained therein, are
not new, or are used, second-hand, re-
built, repaired, or refinished after use,
when such products have the appear-
ance of being new and such concealment
Title 16——Commercial Practices
and nondisclosure have the capacity and
tendency or effect of misleading the pur-
chaser or the consuming public,
§ 196.7 Commercial bribery.
(a) It is an unfair trade practice for a
member of the industry, directly or indi-
rectly, to give, or offer to give, or know-
ingly permit or cause to be given, money
or anything else of value to agents, em-
ployees, or representatives of customers
or prospective customers, or to agents,
employees, or representatives of competi-
. tors’ customers or prospective customers,
without the knowledge of their employ-
ers or principals, as an inducement to in-
fluence their employers or principals to
purchase or contract to purchase indus-
try products manufactured or sold by
such industry member or the maker of
such gift or offer, or to influence such
employers or principals to refrain from
dealing in the industry products of com-
petitors or from dealing or contracting
to deal with competitors.
(b) For the purpose of §§ 196.1 to
196.18, inclusive, paragraph (a) of this
section will be construed to embrace
bribery and attempted bribery of elected
or appointed public officials and em-
ployees or agents of municipal, county,
parish, or State governments, or of the
Federal Government, or of any branch or
division thereof.
§ 196.8 Inducing breach of contract.
(a) It is an unfair trade practice to in-
duce or attempt to induce the breach of
existing lawful contracts between com-
petitors and their customers or their sup-
pliers by any false or deceptive means
whatsoever, or to interfere with or ob-
struct the performance of any such con-
tractual duties or services by any such
means, with the purpose and effect of
hampering, injuring, or prejudicing com-
petitors in their business,
(b) It is an unfair trade practice to
instigate, back, or finance harassing tax-
payers’ suits as a means of engaging in
the practices condemned in this section.
(ec) For the purposes of this section,
an ordinance legally adopted by the
council or other legislative body of a
municipality or other governmental unit,
ordering or authorizing the execution of
a contract between such municipality or
other governmental unit and a member
of the industry, shall be considered in all
respects the same as 2 contract and be
entitled to the same protection,
138
Chapter I—Federal Trade Commission
(ad) Nothing in this section shall be
construed to prevent an industry mem-
ber, acting in good faith, from filing suit
in the capacity of taxpayer, or otherwise,
under his own name.
§ 196.9 False invoicing.
It is an unfair trade practice to with-
hold from or insert in invoices any state-
ment or information, including but not
limited to the total number of parking
meters, parts, and extras actually sup-
plied, by reason of which omission or in-
sertion a false record is made, wholly or
in part, of the transactions represented
on the face of such invoices, with the
capacity and tendency or effect, of
thereby misleading or deceiving pur-
chasers of industry products, or others.
§ 196.10 Fictitious prices.
The offering of industry products for
sale at prices purported to be reduced
from what are in fact fictitious prices, or
the offering of such products for sale at
a purported reduction in price when such
purported reduction is in fact fictitious,
with the capacity and tendency or effect
of misleading or deceiving purchasers, is
an unfair trade practice.
§ 196.11 Guarantees, warranties, etc.
(a) Guarantees which afford pur-
chasers or users substantial and adequate
protection, and are fully and fairly stated
or disclosed and scrupulously adhered to
by the guarantor, are desirable and rec-
ommended. It isan unfair trade practice
to use or cause to be used any guarantee
which is false, misleading, deceptive, or
unfair to the purchasing or consuming
public.
(b) Under this section guarantees of
the following type or character shall not
be used:
(1) Guarantees containing statements,
representations, or assertions which
have the capacity and tendency or effect
of misleading and deceiving in any re-
spect; or
(2) Guarantees which are so used or
are of such form, text, or character as to
import, imply, or represent that the guar-
antee is broader than is in fact true, or
that the guarantee covers an entire
parking meter or particular parts thereof
which are not in fact covered, or will
afford more protection to purchasers or
users than is in fact true; or
(3) Guarantees in which any condi-
tion, qualification, or contingency ap-
plied by the guarantor thereto is not
$ 196.11
fully and nondeceptively stated therein,
or is stated in such manner or form as
to be deceptively minimized, obscured, or
concealed, wholly or in part; or
(4) Guarantees which are stated,
phrased, or set forth in such manner that
although the statements contained
therein are literally and technically true.
the whole is misleading in that pur-
chasers or users are not made sufficiently
aware of certain contingencies or condi-
tions applicable to such guarantee which
materially lessen the vaiue or protec-
tion thereof as a guarantee to purchasers
or users; or
(5) Guarantees which purportedly ex-
tend for such an indefinite or unlimited
period of time or for such a long period of
years as to have the capacity and tend-
ency or effect of thereby misleading or
deceiving purchasers or users into the
belief that the product has, or is defi-
nitely known to have, greater degree of
serviceability or durability in actual use
than is in fact true; or
(6) Guarantees which have the capac-
ity and tendency or effect of otherwise
misrepresenting the performance, serv-
iceability, durability, or lasting qualities
of the product, such as, for example, a
guarantee extending for a certain num-
ber of years or other long period of time
when the ability of the product to last,
endure, or remain serviceable for such
period of time has not been established
by actual experience or by competent
and adequate tests definitely showing in
either case that the product has such
lasting qualities under the conditions
encountered or to be encountered in the
respective locality where the product is
sold and used under the guarantee; or
(7) Purported guarantees in the form
of documents, promises, representations
or other form which are represented or
held out to be guarantees when such ts
not the fact, or when they are service
contracts of the type which are not
guarantees, or when they involve any de-
ceptive or misleading use of the word
“guarantee” or term of similar import; or
(8) Guarantees issued, or directly or
indirectly caused to be used, by any
member of the industry when or under
which the guarantor fails or refuses to
scrupulously observe his obligations
thereunder or fails or refuses to make
good on claims coming reasonably with-
in the terms of the guarantee; or
(9) Guarantees which in themselves
or in the manner of their use are other-
wise false, misleading, or deceptive.
139
§ 196.12
(c) This section shall be applicable
not only to guarantees, but also to war-
ranties, to purported warranties and
guarantees, and to any promise or repre-
sentation in the nature of or purporting
to be a guarantee or warranty.
§ 196.12 Prohibited discrimination.’
(a) Prohibited discriminatory prices,
or rebates, refunds, discounts, credits,
ete., which effect unlawful price dis-
crimination. In the marketing in com-
merce? of products of the industry of
like grade and quality for use, consump-
tion, or resale within the jurisdiction of
the United States, anc subject to sub-
paragraphs (1) (i), (ii), and (iii) of this
paragraph, it is an unfair trade practice
for any member of the industry engaged
therein to discriminate in price between
different purchasers where the effect
thereof may be substantially to lessen
competition or tend to create a monop-
oly in any line of commerce, or to injure,
destroy, or prevent competition with
such industry member or with any per-
son who knowingly receives the benefit
of such discrimination or with their
customers.
(1) The inhibitions against such dis-
crimination in price shall be applicable
irrespective of whether the discrimina-
tion in the price itself is effected in the
form, or through the means, of rebates,
refunds, discounts, credits, allowances,
or other form of price differential.
(i) Nothing, however, contained in
this paragraph shall prevent differentials
which make only due allowance for dif-
ferences in the cost of manufacture, sale,
or delivery resulting from the differing
methods or quantities in which the
products are sold or delivered to said
purchasers,
1 The provisions of this section in relation
to the Robinson-Patman Act apply there-
under only insofar as that act is applicable
to the operations of this industry.
2As used throughout § 106.12, the word
“commerce” means “trade or commerce
among the several States and with foreign
nations, or between the District of Colum-
bia or any Territory of the United States
and any State, Territory, or foreign nation,
or between any insular possessions or other
places under the jurisdiction of the United
States, or between any such possession or
ce and any State or Territory of the
United States or the District of Columbia
or any foreign nation, or within the District
of Columbia or any Territory or any insular
possession or other piace under the juris-
diction of the United States.”
Title 16—-Commercial Practices
(ii) Nor shall anything contained in
this paragraph prevent persons engaged
in selling products in commerce from
selecting their own customers in bona
fide transactions and not in restraint of
trade.
(iii) Nor shall anything contained in
this paragraph prevent price changes
from time to time where made in re-
sponse to changing conditions affecting
the market for or the marketability of
the goods concerned, such as but not
limited to distress sales under court
process, or sales in good faith in discon-
tinuance of business in the goods con-
cerned.
(b) Prohibited brokerage or commis-
sions. In the selling of industry prod-
ucts in commerce it is an unfair trade
practice for any member of the industry
engaged therein to pay or grant, or to
receive or accept, any commission, brok-
erage, or other compensation, or any
allowance or discount in lieu thereof, ex-
cept for services rendered in connection
with the sale or purchase of such prod-
ucts, either to the other party to such
transaction or to an agent, representa-
tive, or other intermediary therein,
where such intermediary is acting in
fact for or in behalf, or is subject to the
direct or indirect control, of any party
to such transaction other than the per-
son by whom such compensation is se
granted or paid.
(ec) Prohibited advertising or promo-
tional allowances, etc. In the selling of
industry products in commerce by any
member of the industry, and in the
course thereof, it is an unfair trade prac-
tice for such member to pay or contract
for the payment of anything of value to
or for the benefit of his customer as
compensation or in consideration for
certain services or facilities furnished
by or through such customer, unless such
payment or consideration is available
on proportionally equal terms to all
other customers of such member com-
peting in the distribution of such
products.
(1) As used in this paragraph, the
certain services or facilities referred to
are such as are furnished by or through
the customer in connection with the
processing, handling, sale, or offering for
sale, of such industry member’s products.
(d) Prohibited discriminatory services
or facilities. It is an unfair trade prac-
tice for any member of the industry en-
gaged in commerce to discriminate in
favor of one purchaser against another
140
Chapter |—Federal Trade Commission
purchaser or purchasers of a commodity
bought for resale, with or without proc-
essing, by contracting to furnish or
furnishing, or by contributing to the fur-
nishing of, any services or facilities con-
nected with the processing, handling,
sale, or offering for sale of such com-
modity so purchased upon terms not
accorded to all competing purchasers on
proportionally equal terms.
(e) Inducing or receiving an Megal
discrimination in price. It is an unfair
trade practice for any member of the
industry, in the course of commerce in
which he is engaged, knowingly to in-
duce or receive a discrimination in price
which is prohibited by the foregoing pro-
visions of this section.
(f) Exemptions. The inhibitions of
this section shall not apply to purchases
of their supplies for their own use by
schools, colleges, universities, public li-
braries, churches, hospitals, and chari-
table institutions not operated for profit.
$196.13 Selling below cost.
The practice of selling products of the
industry at a price less than the cost
thereof to the seller, with the purpose or
intent, and where the effect may be, to
injure, suppress, or stifie competition or
tend to create a monopoly in the pro-
duction or sale of such products, is an
unfair trade practice. As used in this
section, the term “cost” means the total
cost to the seller, including the costs of
acquisition, processing, preparation for
marketing, sale, and delivery.
8 196.14 Unfair threats of infringement
suits.
The circulation of threats of suit for
infringement of patents or trade-marks
among customers or prospective cus-
tomers of competitors, not made in good
faith but for the purpose or with the ef-
fect of thereby harassing or intimidating
such customers or prospective customers,
or of unduly hampering, injuring, or
prejudicing competitors in their business,
is an unfair trade practice.
§ 196.15 Procurement of competitor's
confidential information and wrong-
fal use thereof.
It is an unfair trade practice for any
member of the industry to obtain infor-
mation concerning the business of a com-
petitor by bribery of an employee or
agent of such competitor, by false or mis-
leading statements or representations,
by the impersonation of one in authority,
or by any other unfair means, and to use
the information so obtained in such
§ 196.102
manner as to injure said competitor in
his business or to suppress competition
or to unreasonably restrain trade.
§ 196.16 Enticing away employees of
competitors.
It is an unfair trade practice for
any member of the industry willfully
to entice away employees or sales rep~
resentatives of competitors with the
intent and effect of thereby unduly ham-
pering or injuring competitors in their
business and destroying or substantially
lessening competition: Provided, That
nothing in this section shall be construed
as prohibiting employees from seeking
more favorable employment, or as pro-
hibiting employers from hiring or offer-
ing employment to employees of com-
petlitors in good faith and not for the
purpose condemned in this section.
§ 196.17 Unlawful coercion or combina-
tions in restraint of trade.
(a) It is an unfair trade practice for a
member of the industry: (a) To use, di-
rectly or indirectly, any form of threat,
intimidation, or coercion against any
member of the industry or other person
to unlawfully fix, maintain, or enhance
prices, suppress competition, or restrain
trade; or
(b) To enter into or take part in, di-
rectly or indirectly, any agreement, un-
derstanding, combination, conspiracy, or
concerted action with one or more mem-
bers of the industry, or with one or more
other persons, to uniawfully fix, main-
tain, or enhance prices, suppress com-
petition, or restrain trade.
8196.18 Aiding or abetting unfair trade
practices.
It is an unfair trade practice for any
person, firm, or corporation to aid, abet,
coerce, or induce another, directly or in-
directly, to use or promote the use of any
unfair trade practice specified in §§ 196.1
to 196.17, inclusive.
Grove I
§ 196.101 Maintenance of accurate rec-
ords.
It is the recommendation of the in-
dustry that each member independently
keep proper and accurate records for
determining his costs.
§ 196.102 Settlement of disputes.
The industry approves the practice of
handling business disputes between
members of the industry and their cus-
tomers in a fair and reasonable manner,
coupled with a spirit of moderation and
141
$197.1
good will, and every effort should be made
by the disputants to compose their dif-
ferences.
PART 197—RELATING TO THE SALE
AND FINANCING OF MOTOR VE-
HICLES
Sec Group I
197.1 Bflsrepresentation as to insurance cov-
erage or rates, financing costs, etc.
197.2 Furnishing the purchaser with ltem-
ization of his costs in the install-
ment sale of motor vehicles.
197.8 Installment sales contract containing
blank spaces to be filled in after its
. execution.
197.4 False, misleading, or deceptive use of
rate charts in connection with the
installment sale and financing of
motor vehicles.
197.6 Requiring the placing of insurance by
the seller or financing institution
as a condition to the sale or financ-
ing of a motor vehicle.
AuTHorIrr: The provisions of this Part 197
issued under secs. 6, 5, 88 Stat. 721, 719; 15
U.S.C. 46, 45, unless otherwise noted.
Source: The provisions of this Part 197 ap-
pear at 16 F.R. 1059, Feb. 6, 1951, unless
otherwise noted.
Group I
§ 197.1 Misrepresentation as to insur-
ance coverage or rates, financing
costs, etc.
It is an unfair trade practice for any
seller or financing institution, acting
individually or in agreement, combina-
tion, conspiracy, or collusion with one
another, to make any false, misleading,
or deceptive statements or representa-
tions concerning insurance coverage or
rates, plans respecting methods of fi-
nancing, or financing costs or rates, in
connection with the sale at retail of mo-
tor vehicles on installment or deferred
payment contracts.
§ 197.2 Furnishing the purchaser with
itemization of his costs in the install-
ment sale of motor vehicles.
(a) In the installment sale of motor
vehicles it is an unfair trade practice for
the seller to fail, before the consumma-
tion of the sale, to furnish the buyer an
itemization in writing signed by the seller
separately disclosing to the purchaser the
finance charge, insurance costs, and
other charges which are paid or to be
paid by the purchaser, such failure to
separately disclose such items having the
capacity and tendency or effect of de-
ceiving the purchaser as to the nature of
his costs in the transaction or rendering
competition with respect to the cost of
Title 16—Commercial Practices
good will, and every effort should be made
by the disputants to compose their dif-
ferences.
(b) The seller shall be deemed to have
fully complied with the requirements of
this section when he has furnished the
purchaser, before consummation of the
sale, an itemization in writing which
clearly discloses:
(1) The delivered price of the motor
vehicle, including accessories or extras,
if any; and
(2) The amounts to be credited as
down payment and trade-in, if any; and
(3) The time balance owed by the
buyer to seller, the amount of each in-
stallment payment to be made by the
buyer, and the number of such install-
ment payments, and the due dates
thereof; and
(4) The cost of insurance, the cover-
age provided, and the party or parties
to whom the insurance is payable; and
(5) The finance charge; and
(6) Other charges making up the
total consideration paid or to be paid
by the purchaser, included in the time
balance, the amounts and nature of each
to be separately stated:
or when all said required information
is clearly set forth in the installment
sales contract, chattel mortgage, or
other instrument evidencing the pur-
chase transaction, and a true copy of
such instrument is furnished to the pur-
chaser before or at the time of the
execution thereof.
Provided, however, That subparagraphs
(1), (2), (3), (4), (5), and (6) of this
paragraph need not be stated in the se-
quence or order above set forth, and that
additional itoms may be included which
serve to explain the calculations involved
in determining the stated time balance to
be paid by the purchaser: And provided
further, That when all the said required
information is clearly set forth in an
installment sales contract, chattel mort-
gage, or other instrument evidencing the
purchase transaction, and a true copy
of such instrument is furnished to the
purchaser before or at the time of his
execution thereof, no additional item-
ization need be furnished to the
purchaser.
(c) In connection with the install.
inent sale of motor vehicles, it is an un-
fair trade practice for any financing
institution to aid or abet a seller in
effecting conceaiment or nondisclosure
to the purchaser of the information re-
quired to be furnished to the purchaser
142