After much conversation, it is now official. Andrew Ferguson is the new chair of the Federal Trade Commission and Lina Khan is not, though she remains until January 31....more
On today’s episode of AD Nauseam, Amy and Daniel are back with special guest, Randy Shaheen, a fellow partner at BakerHostetler, to discuss the passing of the FTC’s new Junk Fees Rule....more
Historically, changes in administrations did not lead to major changes at the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). There were some adjustments around the edges, but the agency mostly operated on a bipartisan basis....more
NAD 2024 is in the books. It was a jam-packed two days. You’ll hear more about the NAD conference on this site in the days to come, but here are a few quick highlights....more
9/20/2024
/ Advertising ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Fees ,
Marketing ,
NAD ,
New Guidance ,
Online Reviews ,
Puffery ,
Subscription Services ,
Trade Conference
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
The 1995 Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR), and particularly its later added Do Not Call provisions, come about as close as one can get to a universally popular government program. So anytime the FTC modifies the TSR, it is big...more
We’ve written a lot about Federal Trade Commission (FTC or the Commission) Rulemaking recently, but that doesn’t mean there can’t still be new and interesting things that occur. Take, for example, the FTC’s recent...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
CSPI Urges Food Retailers, Congress to Make SNAP Decisions -
Marketing is as important as availability, food study finds -
Keep Your Government Hands off Our Food Stamps!
SNAP—or the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance...more
11/10/2023
/ Comment Period ,
Data Collection ,
False Advertising ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Grocery Stores ,
Information Reports ,
Personal Data ,
Promotional Items ,
Proposed Rules ,
Public Assistance ,
Public Health ,
Pyramid Schemes ,
Retailers ,
SNAP Program ,
Telemarketing ,
Telemarketing Sales Rule
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
On August 7, 2023, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA, the Agency) published draft guidance aimed at assisting cosmetics companies with achieving and maintaining compliance with new cosmetic product facility...more
8/16/2023
/ Comment Period ,
Compliance ,
Cosmetics ,
Draft Guidance ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Labeling ,
Manufacturers ,
Personal Care Products ,
Product Packaging ,
Registration Requirement ,
Safety Standards
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
It’s hard to keep up with the ferment of controversy bubbling around OpenAI and its compatriots in the generative AI business. Lawsuits, lawsuits, lawsuits. Regulatory probes. Outright bans by sovereign nations. But when, by...more
7/28/2023
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Authors ,
Authorship ,
Copyright ,
Copyright Infringement ,
Derivative Works ,
DMCA ,
E-Commerce ,
Fair Use ,
FCC ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Machine Learning ,
Mobile Devices ,
Musical Sound Recordings ,
Personal Information ,
Scams ,
Smartphones
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