On today’s episode of Ad Nauseam, Amy and Daniel have a returning special guest – Randy Shaheen, their partner at Baker Hostetler in the Advertising Marketing & Digital Media practice. Randy also teaches advertising law at...more
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC or Commission) has signaled for some time that while the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) is limited to children under the age of 13, it also has concerns about the...more
7/11/2024
/ Advertising ,
Anonymity ,
COPPA ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Instant Messaging Apps ,
Marketing ,
Online Safety for Children ,
ROSCA ,
Section 5 ,
Settlement
It seems like there is a nonstop stream of interesting developments these days with respect to advertising and marketing law, but only once in our careers has a colleague been in a movie, so we wanted to take a break from...more
Extra, Extra, Read All About It!
We have a major update! If you’re a subscriber to our blog, you have likely caught wind of our recent rebrand to ADventures in Law. Overflowing with a dynamic mix of weekly blogs, engaging...more
1/31/2024
/ Advertising ,
Breach of Contract ,
Breach of Duty ,
CARS Rule ,
Christian Louboutin ,
Compliance ,
COPPA ,
Educational Institutions ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Logos ,
Nonprofits ,
Rulemaking Process ,
TCPA ,
Trademark Infringement ,
Trademarks ,
Unfair Competition
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the state of Connecticut recently alleged that Manchester City Nissan engaged in deceptive and unfair practices by adding illegal junk fees to the cost of cars. Although not the battle...more
Junk fees and dark patterns are very much on the FTC’s mind these days, and they are very intertwined. To some degree, the concern over junk fees reflects a concern over a more traditional type of dark pattern – for example,...more
Back in June, we mentioned how politicians were hopping on the Joe Biden bandwagon when it came to a pre-2016 political throwback issue: junk fees.
Biden highlighted it in his State of The Union address in February, and...more
Guess Who Members Can’t Share the Band -
Ancient rockers hurl lawsuit at former bros, but will it stick?
When Friends Fall Out -
Baroque internecine conflicts and acrimonious legal battles are nothing new in the...more
We all know that discrimination violates various federal and state laws, but the FTC has been insisting for a while now that it also violates Section 5. A recent joint complaint the agency brought with the State of Wisconsin...more
Sunscreen Suits: A Plaintiff Will Rise?
New suit, same allegations—are counsel’s tan lines showing?
When Last We Met...
Here’s a brief follow-up to our summary of Akes v. Beiersdorf, Inc.—or, rather, a follow-on,...more
Ex-Reality Star Sues To Protect His Likeness Against AI -
‘Big Brother’ runner-up’s fame may be in doubt, but his case has legs -
New Contender -
Let’s turn our attention to Kyland Young v. NeoCortext, Inc., an...more
10/6/2023
/ Advertising ,
Anti-SLAPP ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Brand ,
Celebrities ,
Charitable Organizations ,
Compliance ,
Consumer Product Companies ,
Dietary Supplements ,
Dilution ,
Fashion Branding ,
Fashion Design ,
FCC ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Holidays ,
Jury Trial ,
Levi Strauss ,
Marketing ,
Name and Likeness ,
Product Labels ,
Right of Publicity ,
Scams ,
Telecommunications ,
Trademark Infringement ,
Trademarks ,
Unfair Competition ,
Wellness Programs
Room Rental Site Sued Over Chimerical Reviews and Listings -
FTC keeps promise to ramp up negative attention on false positives -
Ghosted -
Remember the first time you hunted for your own apartment? The anguish of...more
9/26/2023
/ Advertising ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Burger King ,
Class Action ,
Copyright ,
Derivative Works ,
Direct Infringement ,
Discount Pricing ,
Endorsements ,
Entertainment Industry ,
Fake Reviews ,
False Advertising ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Internet Retailers ,
Marketing ,
NAD ,
Online Reviews ,
Photographs
“Blessing Loom” Scheme Unravels in FTC Settlement -
Esoteric trappings can’t save pyramid-scheme-by-another-name -
Neolawgism -
By certain ironclad laws of demography, we aren’t allowed to add terms to the...more
8/25/2023
/ Advertising ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Class Action ,
COPPA ,
Copyright ,
Copyright Infringement ,
False Advertising ,
FCC ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Marketing ,
MLM ,
MLM Industry ,
Parental Consent ,
Personal Information ,
Photographs ,
Product Labels ,
Pyramid Schemes ,
Robocalling ,
Trademark Application ,
Trademark Infringement ,
Unfair Competition ,
USPTO ,
Verification Requirements
CSPI: Performance Enhancer Supplements Aren’t What They Seem -
Manufacturers need to start by including the advertised ingredients -
Double-Dog Dare You -
Would you eat something called Rauvolfia vomitoria? No? Of...more
8/11/2023
/ Advertising ,
Dietary Supplements ,
False Advertising ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Food Labeling ,
Greenwashing ,
Health Claims ,
Made in the USA ,
Marketing ,
Procter & Gamble ,
Product Labels ,
Recycling ,
Starbucks ,
Tagline
As we have written several times, the FTC has a lot on its plate with respect to rulemaking and proposed revisions to existing Guides. But that load just got a tad bit lighter, as the FTC released its revisions to the...more
7/3/2023
/ Advertising ,
Endorsements ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FTC Endorsement Guidelines ,
Influencers ,
Marketing ,
Online Endorsements ,
Online Reviews ,
Proposed Rules ,
Social Media ,
Testimonial Statements
Anti-Junk-Fee Bandwagon Is Getting Crowded -
Following a presidential call, Congress and the Golden State are looking to tame hidden charges -
Return to Mayberry -
We mentioned President Biden’s attack on junk...more
FTC Lays Out Some AI Ad Essentials -
But specific guidance isn’t here yet, so...let’s be careful out there....more
5/24/2023
/ Advertising ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Class Action ,
Class Certification ,
False Advertising ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Food Labeling ,
Google ,
Holidays ,
Marketing ,
Misleading Statements ,
Nutrition Facts Labels ,
Public Meetings ,
Puffery ,
Snapchat
Rapper 50 Cent Settles with Plastic Surgery Clinician -
Claims clinic owner used snapshot to suggest ... something embarrassing -
A Question You Wouldn’t Ask in Person -
50 Cent—rapper, TV producer, actor—once...more
U.S. Copyright Office Keeps AI Out in the Cold -
Only humans can copyright, Office says -
Daisy, Daisy, Give Me Your Answer True -
The Copyright Office has weighed in with long-anticipated statement of policy...more
4/17/2023
/ Advertising ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Authorship ,
Consumer Complaint System ,
Copyright ,
Copyright Applications ,
Copyright Office ,
Copyright Registration ,
Copyright Terms ,
E-Commerce ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Food Labeling ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Machine Learning ,
Mobile Apps ,
Music ,
New Guidance ,
Product Labels ,
Royalties ,
Song Lyrics ,
Subscription Services
Advertisers likely recall that back in 2021, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) created quite the stir when it sent to more than 700 companies warning letters that threatened penalties if companies engaged in deceptive...more
4/14/2023
/ Advertising ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Enforcement ,
Enforcement Actions ,
False Advertising ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Health Claims ,
Marketing ,
Product Labels ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices ,
Warning Letters
There are some stories that we cover whose underlying facts just teeter on the edge of being a fully formed Onion article....more
Late last year, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced it was examining the Guides for the Use of Environmental Marketing Claims, better known as the Green Guides. Consumer and industry interest in green marketing is...more
Last week, we blogged about an environmental ESG NAD challenge brought by an advocacy group; this week features a blog about an animal welfare ESG NAD challenge also brought by an advocacy group.
The challenge was...more
3/3/2023
/ Advertising ,
Agricultural Sector ,
Consumer Product Companies ,
False Advertising ,
Food Labeling ,
Food Manufacturers ,
Health Claims ,
Labeling ,
Marketing ,
NAD ,
NARB
As consumers have increasingly looked to see whether the companies they do business with have taken steps to benefit the environment, companies have often responded by announcing environmental goals. Why goals?...more
Introducing Our Secret Plan to Fight Inflation -
It’s simple: Don’t fall afoul of the FTC -
’Twas Ever Thus -
Every year, like the swallows returning to Capistrano, the Perseid meteor shower, or a Real Housewives...more
1/30/2023
/ Advertising ,
Competition ,
Copyright ,
Copyright Infringement ,
Corporate Branding ,
Criminal Conspiracy ,
Criminal Convictions ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Cryptoassets ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Fashion Branding ,
Fashion Industry ,
FDA Approval ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Greenwashing ,
Money Laundering ,
Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) ,
Product Labels ,
Restitution ,
UK ,
Unfair Competition ,
Warning Letters ,
Websites ,
Wire Fraud ,
Zara