The Consumer Defense Center of the Public Prosecutor's Office of the State of Rio de Janeiro filed a public civil action claiming that the provision of the Brazilian Consumer Defense Code regarding the font size of adhesion contracts (article 54, paragraph 3) should be applied to the advertising campaigns of telephone companies on the printed ads.

The Superior Court of Justice ("STJ") dismissed this claim concluding that the conditions (legal relationship, length and graphic design) of an adhesion contract and in advertising campaigns are dissimilar, and the press vehicle would have to change its graphical format, which would increase the costs of the advertisements. Additionally, the STJ considered that it would not be reasonable to determine a priori that the reduced font size would be misleading advertising, which could only be decided on a case-by-case analysis. (Superior Court of Justice, Appeal No. 1.602.678-RJ, 2017)

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.