UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 

FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION 

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20580 

Bureau of Consumer Protection 

 Division of Enforcement 

 Julia Solomon Ensor 

Attorney 

Email: jensor@ftc.gov 

Direct Dial: (202) 326-2377 

April 15, 2019 

VIA EMAIL 

Mr. Scott Schafer 

Owner 

Antigravity Batteries LLC 

15622 Broadway Center St. 

Gardena, CA 90248 

Dear Mr. Schafer: 

We received your submissions on behalf of Antigravity Batteries LLC (“Antigravity 

Batteries” or the “Company”). During our review, we discussed concerns that marketing 

materials may have overstated the extent to which Antigravity Batteries’ products are made in 

the United States. Specifically, certain materials were not timely updated to reflect shifts to 

overseas production. 

As discussed, unqualified U.S.-origin claims in marketing materials – including claims 

that products are “Made” or “Built” in the USA – likely suggest to consumers that all products 

advertised in those materials are “all or virtually all” made in the United States.1 The 

Commission may analyze a number of different factors to determine whether a product is “all or 

virtually all” made in the United States, including the proportion of the product’s total 

manufacturing costs attributable to U.S. parts and processing, how far removed any foreign 

content is from the finished product, and the importance of the foreign content or processing to 

the overall function of the product. 

To avoid deceiving consumers, Antigravity Batteries implemented a remedial action plan 

to update its representations. This plan included: (1) removing U.S.-origin claims from 

marketing materials; (2) stickering over outdated claims on retail boxes until new product 

1

 Federal Trade Commission, Issuance of Enforcement Policy Statement on “Made in USA” and 

Other U.S. Origin Claims, 62 Fed. Reg. 63756, 63768 (Dec. 2, 1997). Additionally, beyond 

express “Made in USA” claims, “[d]epending on the context, U.S. symbols or geographic 

references, such as U.S. flags, outlines of U.S. maps, or references to U.S. locations of 

headquarters or factories, may, by themselves or in conjunction with other phrases or images, 

convey a claim of U.S. origin.” Id. 

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packaging could be generated; and (3) making diligent efforts to ensure the accuracy of 

distributor claims, including notifying distributors that Antigravity Batteries would not fulfill any 

additional orders until distributors updated their marketing materials.2 

As we discussed, if in the future the Company offers a product that is "all or virtually all" 

made in the United States, it would be appropriate to update marketing materials accordingly. 

However, please note that marketing materials should clearly differentiate U.S.-origin products 

from imported products, and that Antigravity Batteries should take care not to make overly broad 

U.S.-origin claims on marketing materials that refer to multiple products. As you know, FTC 

staff is available to work with companies to craft qualified claims that serve the dual purposes of 

conveying non-deceptive information to consumers and highlighting work done in the United 

States. 

Based on Antigravity Batteries' actions and other factors, the staff has decided not to 

pursue this investigation any further. This action should not be construed as a determination that 

there was no violation of Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act, 15 U.S.C. § 45. The 

Commission reserves the right to take such further action as the public interest may require. If 

you have any questions, you can reach me at (202) 326-2377. 

Sincerely, 

~mG 

Julia Solomon Ensor 

Staff Attorney 

2 Although this strategy has been largely successful, you notified FTC staff that a few 

unqualified claims remain in the marketplace on ( 1) non-operational, unaffiliated websites, or 

(2) sites belonging to noncompliant distributors who will not be permitted to sell Company 

products until they remove violative claims. 

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