State unfair trade laws protect consumers and competitors and level the playing field, giving competitors who play by the rules an equal shot at benefitting from their labor and investment as opposed to those who cream- skim or free ‐ride on the efforts of others. These laws are predicated, inter alia, on the overriding importance of merit, efficiency, creativity, and competitive rigor in any market. “[One who has used his intellectual, physical, or financial powers to create a commercial product should be afforded judicial relief from a competitor
Who seeks to ‘reap where he has not sown.’” The idea of such laws is to achieve a fair and robust competitive market in which similarly situated participants compete based on optimal efficiency and proficiency.