§ 39-14-127 — Deceptive business practices

(a) A person commits an offense who, with intent to deceive, in the course of business: (1) Uses or possesses for use a false weight or measure, or any other device for falsely determining or recording any quality or quantity; (2) Sells, offers or exposes for sale, or delivers less than the represented quantity of any commodity or service; (3) Takes or tends to take more than the represented quantity of any commodity or service when as buyer the person furnished the weight or measure; (4) Sells, offers or exposes for sale adulterated or mislabeled commodities; (A) "Adulterated" means varying from the standard of composition or quality prescribed by or pursuant to any statute providing criminal penalties for such variance or set by established commercial usage; and (B) "Mislabeled" means varying from the standard of disclosure in labeling prescribed by or pursuant to any statute providing criminal penalties for such variance or set by established commercial usage; (5) Makes a false or misleading statement in any advertisements addressed to the public or to a substantial segment thereof for the purposes of promoting the purchase or sale of property or services; (6) Makes false or deceptive representations in any advertisement or solicitation for services or products that those services or products have sponsorship, approval, affiliation or connection with a bank, savings and loan association, savings bank or subsidiary or affiliate thereof; (7) Uses the trade name or trademark, or a confusingly similar trade name or trademark, of any bank, savings and loan association, savings bank or subsidiary or affiliate of any bank, saving and loan association, saving bank or subsidiary in a solicitation for the offering of services or products if such use is likely to cause confusion, mistake or deception as to the source of origin, affiliation or sponsorship of such products or services; or, uses the trade name or trademark, or confusingly similar trade name or trademark, of any bank, savings and loan association, savings bank or subsidiary or affiliate of any bank, saving and loan association, saving bank or subsidiary in any manner in a solicitation for the offering of services or products unless the solicitation clearly and conspicuously states the following in bold-face type on the front page of the solicitation: (A) The name, address and telephone number of the person making the solicitation; (B) A statement that the person making the solicitation is not affiliated with the bank, savings and loan association, savings bank or subsidiary or affiliate of any bank, saving and loan association, saving bank or subsidiary; and (C) A statement that the solicitation is not authorized or sponsored by the bank, savings and loan association, savings bank or subsidiary or affiliate of any bank, saving and loan association, saving bank or subsidiary; or (8) Uses the trade name or trademark, or a confusingly similar trade name or trademark of any place of entertainment, or the name of any event, person, or entity scheduled to perform at a place of entertainment in the domain of a ticket marketplace URL. It is not a violation of this subdivision (a)(8) if the ticket marketplace obtained written authorization from the place of entertainment, event, person, or entity scheduled to perform at a place of entertainment to use the trade name, trademark, or name in the domain of the URL prior to the use. For purposes of this subdivision (a)(8): (A) "Domain" means the portion of text in a URL that is to the left of the top-level domains such as .com, .net, or .org; (B) "Place of entertainment" means an entertainment facility in this state, such as a theater, stadium, museum, arena, amphitheater, racetrack, or other place where performances, concerts, exhibits, games, athletic events, or contests are held; (C) "Ticket" means a printed, electronic, or other type of evidence of the right, option, or opportunity to occupy space at, to enter, or to attend a place of entertainment, even if not evidenced by any physical manifestation of the right, option, or opportunity; and (D) "Ticket marketplace" means a website that provides a forum for or facilitates the buying and selling, or reselling, of a ticket. (9) Uses or displays any combination of text, images, website graphics, website display, or website addresses that are substantially similar to the website of an operator with the intent to mislead a potential purchaser, without written authorization. For purposes of this subdivision (a)(9): (A) "Operator" means an individual, firm, corporation, or other entity, or an agent of such individual, firm, corporation, or other entity that: (i) Owns, operates, or controls a place of entertainment or that promotes or produces a performance, concert, exhibit, game, athletic event, or contest; and (ii) Offers for sale a first sale ticket to the place of entertainment or performance, concert, exhibit, game, athletic event, or contest; and (B) "Place of entertainment" means an entertainment facility in this state, such as a theater, stadium, museum, arena, amphitheater, racetrack, or other place where performances, concerts, exhibits, games, athletic events, or contests are held. (b) "Commodity," as used in this section, means any tangible or intangible personal property. (c) Deceptive business practices is a Class B misdemeanor.

Legislative History

Amended by 2023 Tenn. Acts, ch. 474, s 2, eff. 7/1/2023. Amended by 2018 Tenn. Acts, ch. 930, s 1, eff. 5/15/2018. Acts 1989, ch. 591, § 1; 1990, ch. 1030, § 21; 2003 , ch. 31, §§ 1-3; 2011 , ch. 89, § 1.