How do I Advertise a Lifetime Warranty or Guarantee?
"Lifetime" warranties or guarantees can be a source of confusion for consumers. This is because it is often difficult to tell just whose life measures the period of coverage. "Lifetime" can be used in at least three ways. For example, a warrantor of an auto muffler may intend his "lifetime" warranty's duration to be for the life of the car on which the muffler is installed. In this case, the muffler warranty would be transferable to subsequent owners of the car and would remain in effect throughout the car's useful life.
Or the warrantor of the muffler might intend a "lifetime" warranty to last as long as the original purchaser of the muffler owns the car on which the muffler is installed. Although commonly used, this is an inaccurate application of the term "lifetime."
Finally, "lifetime" can be used to describe a warranty that lasts as long as the original purchaser of the product lives. This is probably the least common usage of the term.
The Guides advise that to avoid confusing consumers about the duration of a "lifetime" warranty or guarantee, ads should tell consumers which "life" measures the warranty's duration In that way, consumers will know which meaning of the term "lifetime" you intend.
Clarify what you are talking about when you advertise a "lifetime" warranty. (16 C.F.R. §239.4).
For more information, see here: https://www.ftc.gov/tips-advice/business-center/guidance/businesspersons-guide-federal-warranty-law
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