Pizza Hut, Inc. v. Papa John's International, Inc.
United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
227 F.3d 489 (2000)
Papa John's (defendant) trademarked and heavily advertised the slogan 'Better Ingredients. Better Pizza.' while Pizza Hut (plaintiff) ran competing ads touting its own pizza's superior taste, and Pizza Hut sued Papa John's under the Lanham Act, arguing the slogan was false advertising; a jury found the slogan a false or misleading statement of fact, though the district court itself separately concluded the slogan alone was mere puffery but still ruled for Pizza Hut on other grounds. Papa John's appealed.
Whether a challenged statement must be a statement of fact — rather than merely an opinion, bald assertion of superiority, or puffery — to give rise to an actionable false-advertising claim under the Lanham Act.