Alerts: Intellectual Property Law
ICANN Introduces Trademark Clearinghouse to Protect Trademark Holders Online
Recent changes in available domain names may open up new possibilities for trademark infringement. Read more.
March 18, 2013
Alerts: Advertising Law
New FTC Guidelines on Digital Ads
Yesterday, the staff of the Federal Trade Commission issued new guidance to advertisers about how to make effective disclosures in digital advertising. Updating the 2000 "Dot Com Disclosures" guidance, the new guidance, ".com Disclosures: How to Make Effective Disclosures in Digital Advertising," addresses technological developments over the last 10+ years, including the increased use of smart phones for advertising and social media marketing. Read more.
March 13, 2013
Alerts: Employment Law
When Do Writers Fall Within the FLSA “Creative” Exemption?
The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) establishes minimum wage and overtime pay standards for employees. How you classify employees under the FLSA is critical: there's a lot of money involved, and a mistake can lead to audits, class action lawsuits, and unnecessary expense. Two recent cases have focused on an especially difficult area of classification law - the so-called "creative professional exemption." It's an area of particular import for owners and managers in creative industries. Read more.
March 12, 2013
Alerts: Advertising Law
NAD Decision Did Not Support Class Action Suit Against Bayer
One of the disturbing trends for advertisers over the last few years has been the class action bar's interest in NAD decisions and its review of such decisions to provide fodder for consumer fraud cases. As a result, advertisers and challengers have had to consider the risk of a class action pile-on when engaging in cases at NAD. A recent court decision, however, may help to dampen the class action bar's interest in using the self-regulatory forum's decisions as a weapon. Read more.
March 8, 2013
Alerts: Employment Law
Same-Sex Harassment Claim Will Go to Trial
Plaintiffs alleging sex discrimination in cases of same-sex harassment often have a more difficult row to hoe than plaintiffs complaining of opposite-gender harassment. For example, employers have sometimes been able to dismiss same-sex sexual harassment claims by arguing the offending words or actions did not express actual sexual desire or arise from perceived sexual orientation. But these arguments do not always work, as a New York employer learned this week. Read more.
March 4, 2013
Alerts: Employment Law
Was $70,000 Salary Reduction a “Constructive Termination” - or Did Employee Resign?
When an employment situation deteriorates, one high-stakes question is whether an employer will have to make a contractually guaranteed severance payment. Severance payments can be substantial. But an employer who takes the position an employee resigned and is not entitled to severance may find itself in an expensive litigation. Read more.
February 20, 2013
Alerts: Privacy & Data Security Law
FTC Releases Best Practices for Mobile Privacy and Fines Mobile Service Provider $800,000
The Federal Trade Commission issued a staff report on Friday recommending ways for participants in the mobile ecosystem to improve their mobile privacy disclosures. The report includes guidance tailored for key commercial players involved in the mobile area, including platforms (such as Apple's iOS and Google's Android), app developers, certain third parties (such as ad networks and analytics companies), and trade associations. Read more.
February 8, 2013
Alerts: Advertising Law
FTC Sanctions Ad Network for History Sniffing
In December, an FTC order barred Epic Marketplace, Inc. from continuing a practice known as history sniffing. The technology employed by the company allowed them to track sensitive information including certain medical and financial information for millions of consumers. Read more.
February 6, 2013
Alerts: Advertising Law
Court Invalidates Zappos’ Browsewrap Agreement
In early 2012, Zappos, a division of Amazon, was the victim of an enormous customer data breach affecting 24 million records. Class action attorneys filed cases against the online shoe retailer citing multiple breaches of contract and privacy violations. Zappos' Terms of Use contained an arbitration provision, which may have saved the company from the plague of the class action bar, but it didn't. Read more.
January 17, 2013
Alerts: Advertising Law
Steps To Consider As SAG-AFTRA Contract Expiration Nears
As we enter the new year, agencies and brands have no doubt heard lots of talk about the impending March 31, 2013 expiration of the SAG commercials contract, AFTRA commercials contract and AFTRA radio contract, and the potential for a strike. What are the implications of this deadline, and what can advertisers do now to prepare? Read more.
January 15, 2013
Alerts: Privacy & Data Security Law
A Public Privacy Fight: California Sues Delta for Failing to Include Privacy Policy in Mobile App
Delta Airlines was not first in flight but it did achieve a different first last month when the California Attorney General sued the company for alleged violations of a never-before-litigated state privacy law, the California Online Privacy Protection Act. Read more.
January 14, 2013
Alerts: Advertising Law
California Releases New Mobile App Privacy Recommendations
California's Attorney General recently released a set of official privacy recommendations for consideration by mobile app developers, mobile ad networks and related industry players. Read more.
January 10, 2013
Alerts: Advertising Law
FTC Report Faults Mobile App Makers on Privacy
On December 10th, the Federal Trade Commission issued a staff report, "Mobile Apps for Kids: Disclosures Still Not Making the Grade" -- a follow-up to an earlier staff report, "Mobile Apps for Kids: Current Privacy Disclosures Are Disappointing." The new staff report included results of a survey of children's mobile "apps" available in Apple's App Store and Google's Android Market. Read more.
January 7, 2013
Alerts: Advertising Law
Get Ready for a New Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act Rules
In December, the FTC released its long-awaited update to the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). COPPA, originally written in 1998, covers information collected online from Children under the age of 13. The statute applies to digital applications and websites that are directed toward children or that knowingly collect personal information from children. The update contains important changes for advertisers, agencies, and other business operators. The changes go into effect on July 1, 2013. Here's a rundown of what you need to know. Read more.
January 3, 2013
Alerts: Advertising Law
What Facebook and Instagram Changes Mean to Advertisers
Over the past few days and weeks the press has spilled a lot of ink about Facebook's, and its newly acquired company, Instagram's, revised privacy, advertising and other policies. Whether or not the recent policy changes are significant is yet to be determined, but what is clear is that the public is actually paying attention and that the changes may affect how advertisers can use these platforms. Read more.
December 22, 2012
Alerts: Advertising Law
New FCC Ruling on Text Messaging
The Federal Communications Commission ruled that sending a one-time text message to confirm a consumer's request that no further text messages be sent does not violate the Telephone Consumer Protection Act. Read more.
December 3, 2012
Alerts: Advertising Law
Gift Rap: Proposed Settlement in LivingSocial Case Offers Guidance to Marketers of Deal Vouchers
Less than three months after a U.S. District Court judge rejected a proposed $8.5 million settlement in a class action lawsuit against Groupon, LivingSocial proposes a $4.5 million dollar settlement to a set of class action plaintiffs and a nation of class action members. Read more.
November 29, 2012
Alerts: Advertising Law
Contest Did Not Excuse Advertiser Duty to Substantiate Claim
In response to a challenge by the International Business Machines Corporation, the National Advertising Division of the Council of Better Business Bureaus reviewed print advertisements produced by Oracle Corporation stating its Exadata server is "5x Faster Than IBM ... Or you win $10,000,000." The NAD went on to state that Oracle was responsible for substantiating this "5x Faster claim." Read more.
November 26, 2012
Alerts: Commercial Litigation
New FCPA Guidance for US Companies Doing Business Overseas
The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act ("FCPA") was enacted by Congress in 1977 in response to "revelations of widespread global corruption", including allegations that numerous U.S. companies had paid hundreds of millions of dollars to bribe foreign government officials to obtain or retain overseas business. The FCPA includes substantial criminal penalties for both businesses and individuals found to have made prohibited payments, and also gives both the Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission the authority to pursue civil enforcement actions. Read more.
November 21, 2012
Alerts: Advertising Law
New Guidelines for Cause Marketing
The New York Attorney General recently issued guidelines in cause marketing promotion. In issuing these new guidelines the New York Attorney General cites the need to promote transparency in the billion-dollar-a-year industry of cause marketing. Read more.
November 19, 2012
Alerts: Advertising Law
Federal Court Decision Calling Poker “Skill” May Impact Marketers’ Promotions
Judge Jack Weinstein of the Eastern District court of New York recently decided that Texas Hold 'Em poker is a game of skill and therefore not gambling under federal law. This is the first time a federal court has determined that poker is not gambling under the "Illegal Gambling Business Act". The government intends to appeal the decision. Read more.
November 9, 2012
Alerts: Advertising Law
Federal Court Rejects Albert Einstein Right of Publicity Claim
In rejecting a right of publicity claim by Hebrew University of Jerusalem, which claims to control the rights to Albert Einstein, a California federal court has ruled that the common law right of publicity under New Jersey law has a maximum post-mortem duration of 50 years. Read more.
October 23, 2012
Alerts: Advertising Law
Marketing Your Mobile App: Get it Right from the Start
The FTC recently released guidelines entitled "Marketing Your Mobile App: Get It Right from the Start". The guidelines provide valuable do's and don'ts for companies and individuals creating mobile applications. The guideline was divided into two sections, "Truthful Advertising" and "Privacy". Here's a rundown of what you need to know. Read more.
October 4, 2012
Alerts: Advertising Law
Appeals Court Rules Christian Louboutin has Trademark Rights in its Red Outsoles
As fashion week begins in New York, the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit issued an important ruling that may help fashion creators in their efforts to obtain intellectual property protection for fashion design. Read more.
September 7, 2012
Alerts: Advertising Law
FTC Seeks Public Comments on Revisions to COPPA
As part of the Federal Trade Commissions ("FTC") efforts to update the "Children's Online Privacy Protection Rule", the FTC has proposed to further modify the rule to clarify its scope and strengthen its protections for children’s personal information. These proposed revisions follow comments previously received by the FTC in 2011. Read more.
August 10, 2012
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