Trademark law is related to unfair-competition law. Other types of unfair competition include trade dress infringement, false advertising or the appropriation of a person’s right of publicity.

False advertising is a method of unfair competition forbidden under federal law and in most states notably under the consumer-fraud laws. False advertising occurs when a party makes false or misleading material statements of fact concerning his own product or another party's product. The statement must actually deceive (or tend to deceive) a substantial portion of the intended audience. There must also be some link between the challenged statement and the harm that is caused by the statement.

False advertising misleads about a product's place of origin, nature or quality, or maker. An example of misleading about a product's place of origin is putting labels indicating that sensors were made in the United States when those sensors were made in another country. Promising new furnace equipment and delivering refurbished equipment is misleading about an item's nature or quality. Claiming a Hyundai Elantra is a Lexus is misleading about a product's maker. As for services, false advertising would mislead you into thinking that someone has qualifications (such as being certified in heat treating by particular organization) that he or she actually does not have.

The right of publicity is generally defined as an individual's right to control and profit from the commercial use of his/her name, likeness and persona. The right of publicity is protected by state law and is not uniform throughout the United States.