Eric P. Carnevale, an intellectual property litigator in Cambridge, said he was not surprised Saris found at the pleading stage that such an omission would be sufficiently alleged to be material to survive a motion to dismiss.
“There’s a certain amount of consumer trust that you’re getting the complete story more or less when these kinds of advertisements are put online,” he said.
Carnevale added that the best course is to advise clients to disclose sources of funding and other material information underlying a white paper or other publication referenced on their websites.
“The more influential a statement is or is likely to be perceived to be, the more scrupulous you have to be in being truthful and non-misleading about it,” Carnevale said.
