Consumer protection refers to the laws designed to aid retail consumers of goods and services that have been improperly manufactured, delivered, performed, handled, or described. Such laws provide the retail consumer with additional protections and remedies not generally provided to merchants and others who engage in business transactions, on the premise that the consumers do not enjoy a sufficient bargaining position with respect to the businessmen with whom they deal and therefore should not be strictly limited by the legal rules that govern recovery for damages among businessmen. The overarching goal is to protect individuals and the interest of the public in general from unfair and misleading activity in business and commerce (such as false advertising and deceptive trade practices) and scams perpetrated by criminals (such as identity theft and pyramid schemes) that harm a substantial number of consumers.
Cooperstown is a village in Otsego County, New York, USA. It is located in the Town of Otsego. The population was estimated to be 2,032 at the 2000 census. The Village of Cooperstown is the county seat of Otsego County, New York. Most of the village lies inside the Town of Otsego, but part is inside the Town of Middlefield. Cooperstown is best known as the home of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. The Farmers' Museum, The Fenimore Art Museum, Glimmerglass Opera, and the New York State Historical Association are also based there. More recently, nearly 1,000 youth baseball teams descend on Cooperstown every summer to participate in some of the largest baseball tournaments in the country.