Opinion – Rogério Gentile: Soap War: Tixan Ypê is condemned for promising to eliminate coronavirus

The São Paulo Court of Justice sentenced Química Amparo, manufacturer of Tixan Ypê powdered soap, for unfair competition during the coronavirus pandemic. The company can still appeal the decision.

According to the decision, “the company took advantage of the pandemic to boost the sale of its products”, promising on its packaging “to eliminate the virus”.

“It is undeniable that, with her conduct, the defendant [Química Amparo] obtained an unlawful advantage to the detriment of its competitors, and the practice of acts of unfair competition must be recognized”, stated in the decision the judge Franco de Godoi, rapporteur of the case at the TJ.

The company was ordered to pay compensation of R$ 700 thousand for moral damages to Unilever, manufacturer of the Omo washing machine and author of the lawsuit. It will also have to pay compensation for material damage, an amount that will be calculated in an expert report, taking into account the losses that Unilever had as a result of what the Justice called “irregular campaigns linked to Covid-19”.

The judge highlighted in the decision that, at the time of the launch of the new packaging, Tixan Ypê was registered with Anvisa (National Health Surveillance Agency) as “sanitizing risk 1”, that is, intended for cleaning in general, but without sanitization capacity. and disinfection.

Only products classified as “sanitizing risk 2”, he said, act to eliminate germs, bacteria, microorganisms and viruses. “The defendant was fully aware that it could not run advertisements informing that its product had antimicrobial action”, he declared, citing that the company had signed an agreement with Conar (National Council for Advertising Self-Regulation) according to which it committed itself not to exploit this marketing. until obtaining the “sanitizing risk 2” record.

In the defense presented to the Court, Química Amparo argued that its product has proven effectiveness against the coronavirus.

“There was no fraud, there was no illicit act to deceive the consumer,” said the company to the court.

The manufacturer declared that, although “it has not observed all the regulatory formalities”, reports attested to the effectiveness of the Tixan Ypê product “in the elimination of bacteria and Sars-Cov-2, since forever”.

“The company did not disclose untrue information, lied or misled consumers as to the properties of Tixan Ypê”, he declared.

“The irregularity raised in relation to the products concerns only the fact that Química Amparo anticipated the announcement of the effective properties of its products, before completing the registration process with Anvisa. This, in turn, does not characterize the practice of misleading or abusive advertising.”

The company also stated that Unilever did not suffer losses as a result of its action and filed the lawsuit only to obtain a commercial advantage.

Unilever declared in court that the competitor “twisted and twisted the facts” in order to try to erase the importance of “its willful illegality”.

“Surprisingly, it is called a mere regulatory irregularity the severe breach of rules”, he declared in the process. “Chemistry Amparo acted on a case-by-case basis, in search of the lucrative illicit act. With extremely calculated timing, it planned and executed fraud against the legal system and its operators, always with the firm intention of flooding the market with irregular products and advertising.”