Background of the Case:

The Commission conducted an inquiry after receiving a complaint from the CFA Institute, the USA-based global association of investment professionals, against the Lahore-based Society of Accounting Education (SOAE) for deceptive marketing practices. The inquiry found that the SOAE was misleadingly using the CFA Institute’s acronym and the registered trademark in its promotional material and the website, and used the acronym ‘CFA’ in its various misleading forms such as ACFA, DCFA, and FCFA etc. Moreover, the SOAE also claimed in its promotional material that upon completion of their courses, the students would be given CFA Membership.

An enquiry under Section 37 of the Competition Act was initiated in the matter, and after considering the enquiry report, the Commission issued Show Cause Notices to the Responndent.

Order:

In its order, the Commission noted that the aforesaid claims could deceive the unsuspecting consumers i.e., w accountancy students, and harm the business of CFA Institute. Therefore the conduct of SOAE was in violation of Section 10 of the Competition Act, which prohibits deceptive marketing practices, and in particular the dissemination of false and misleading information and the fraudulent use of another business’s trade name.

The Commission imposed a penalty of PKR 2 million on the SOAE for deceptively showing its affiliation with the world-renowned CFA Institute in violation of Section 10 of the Competition Act, 2010.

In addition to the penalty, SOAE was directed to immediately cease the usage of the CFA acronym, in all its forms, in its marketing and other materials, and to amend its Memorandum and Articles of Association to remove any references to the CFA acronym. SOAE was further directed to file a compliance report with the Registrar of the Commission within a period of thirty days from the date of issuance of the order.

CURRENT STATUS:

SOAE filed appeal before CAT challenging the Order.