Oprah Sues Over Diet Supplements
August 20, 2009 by Cherie Burbach
Filed under Women's Health
I was wondering when this lawsuit would hit. Have you seen these products being advertised (many times for dietary supplements) that say something like “As seen on the Oprah Winfrey show” or even “Oprah’s Dr. Oz recommends”? The problem with these statements is that they are extremely misleading. They imply that Oprah herself recommended such a product, or that a specific dietary supplement was talked about and endorsed.
So, for example, if Dr. Oz (a frequent guest on Oprah) says acai berries are a good thing to eat, someone marketing a supplement that contains acai berries will claim that it’s been endorsed by Oprah. Misleading. To say the least.
Now, Harpo Inc. (Oprah’s company) has filed a “federal trademark infringement suit against 40 peddlers of dietary supplements.” Oprah has changed the way many things are marketed, sold, and handled, and I have to imagine she’ll have quite an impact on this industry.
Image: Zuma Press
Any weight loss program is a combination of diet, exercise and supplementation. People need to realize that taking a supplement and then sitting done to watch TV while eating a chocolate bar is probably not going to work.