• The New York Times, Tuesday, January 29, 2008 10:45 AM

Companies often sue one another over advertising claims but a lawsuit filed by Subway over a video contest orchestrated by Quiznos raises a novel legal question: Should Quiznos be held liable for user-generated content created at its behest?

If the answer is yes, it could bring a quick death to the popular online contests for user-generated spots, advertising executives say. Consumer brands like Doritos, Dove, Toyota and Heinz have run promotions of this sort because they generate publicity, usually at a low cost to the advertiser, and sometimes lead to clever ads that work well on television.

Subway contends that consumer videos--which were posted at a site Quiznos set up called meatnomeat.com, as well as on iFilm--contained "literally false statements" and depicted Subway in a "disparaging manner." Contest rules made it clear that submissions should depict Quiznos sandwiches as "superior" to Subway's.

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