Volume Test (Canadian ordinary selling price (OSP) claims law).
Canada’s federal Competition Act contains “ordinary selling price” or “OSP” provisions, which are intended to prevent advertising inflated “regular” prices in relation to sales. In general, these provisions make it a reviewable practice to mislead consumers about the “ordinary” selling price of a product.
Claims relating to the ordinary or regular price of a product cannot be made unless one of two alternative tests is met: (i) a “substantial volume” of the product has been sold at the stated “regular” price (or higher) within a “reasonable period” of time before or after the claim (“volume test”) or (ii) the product has been offered for sale in good faith at that price (or higher) for a “substantial period of time” before or after the claim (“time test”).
With respect to the “volume test”, the Competition Bureau (Bureau) has taken the position that a substantial volume means more than 50% of sales at (or above) the reference price and that a reasonable period of time means twelve months before (or after) the claim (though this period may be shorter depending on the nature of the product).
With respect to the “time test”, the Bureau has taken the position that whether a product has been offered for sale in good faith will depend on a number of factors and that a substantial period of time means more than 50% of the six months before (or after) the claim is made (which may again be shorter depending on the nature of the product).
For more information about ordinary selling price (OSP) claims under the Competition Act, see: Ordinary Selling Price (OSP) Claims and Sale Claims.
Voting contest (a promotional contest term).
A voting contest is a skill-based contest (as compared to a chance contest where winners are chosen, for example, by way of random draw) where winners or finalists are chosen by public voting. Some common types of skill-based contests that involve voting include photo and essay contests. In voting contests, contest sponsors may structure the contest in a variety of ways, including choosing finalists by a panel of judges with winners chosen by public voting, both finalists and winners chosen by public voting or other structures where some group of contest entrants is chosen by voting. Voting contests are, however, commonly susceptible to cheating unless the voting mechanism is structured to limit votes to one vote per person and to prevent automated voting (e.g., through the use of a captcha mechanism on online voting forms).
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