How hard is it to just cancel? If you have found yourself pondering this question in a heat of frustration after seeing unexpected charges on your card following your latest subscription service or free trial period, you’re...more
While it may seem obvious that a product not made in USA, cannot claim to be made in the USA, sometimes that simple notion gets lost in translation or forgotten as business gets booming. This month, the Federal Trade...more
Advertisers took home a win on one of the latest consumer class actions to make you scratch you head and ask “REALly?” On August 4, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois dismissed a putative class...more
On November 3, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) filed a Complaint and Stipulated Order in federal court against an internet phone service provider to stop it from imposing junk fees and making it difficult for users to...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: Staying true to the SEC’s 360 degree approach for advancing the Biden Administration’s ESG agenda, on April 29, 2022, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) sued a publicly traded Brazilian company....more
On July 2, 2021, the US Supreme Court granted the Petition for a Writ of Certiorari filed in Pivotal Software, to address one of the many questions stemming from the Court’s decision in Cyan, which permitted state courts to...more
On June 7, 2021, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler announced at the CFO Network Summit that he has asked his staff to make recommendations for the Commission’s consideration on how it might “freshen...more
On Thursday April 15th, the U.S. Department of Justice, on behalf of the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri against chiropractor Eric A. Nepute and...more
On Thursday, December 17th, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced that it was taking action against six companies selling CBD-based products. These companies faced administrative actions by the FTC for “making a wide...more
At the end of 2019, Coty Inc. (“Coty”) expanded its brand portfolio by closing a notable $600 million deal for a majority stake in reality star Kylie Jenner’s young cosmetics company, King Kylie LLC (d/b/a Kylie Cosmetics)....more
8/11/2020
/ Acquisitions ,
Brand ,
Breach of Contract ,
Business Model ,
Business Strategies ,
Business Valuations ,
Celebrity Endorsements ,
Confidential Information ,
Cosmetics ,
Distributors ,
Injunctions ,
Injunctive Relief ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Manufacturers ,
Marketing ,
Misappropriation ,
Partnerships ,
Proprietary Information ,
Suppliers ,
Trade Secrets ,
Unfair Competition ,
Uniform Trade Secrets Acts
Hemp production, unlike much of the farming industry, has not declined due to COVID-19. Meanwhile, certain CBD companies have wasted no time in making unsubstantiated claims related to COVID-19. In turn, FDA and FTC...more
5/27/2020
/ Advertising ,
Agribusiness ,
Cannabidiol (CBD) oil ,
Cannabis Products ,
Cannabis-Related Businesses (CRBs) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Farms ,
Federal Aid ,
Federal Food Drug and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Health and Safety ,
Hemp ,
Marijuana ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Supply and Demand ,
USDA
Long before COVID-19 affected retail companies had already started shifting to e-commerce platforms, marked by retail giants exclusively in the e-commerce space. ...more
5/12/2020
/ Advertising ,
Brick-and-Mortar Stores ,
Contests & Promotions ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
E-Commerce ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Internet Retailers ,
Made in the USA ,
Marketing ,
Product Pricing ,
Retail Market ,
Shipping
COVID-19 has not only created red tape for us—sheltering-in-place, staying six feet away from others, wearing masks in public—but it also has created new red tape for lenders. Each day new federal and state legislation, as...more
4/15/2020
/ Breach of Contract ,
Capital Markets ,
Continuing Legal Education ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Debt Repurchasing ,
Debt Restructuring ,
Distressed Debt ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Force Majeure Clause ,
International Tax Issues ,
Lenders ,
Liability ,
New Legislation ,
State and Local Government ,
Tender Offers ,
Webinars
Last week, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) and Food & Drug Administration (“FDA”) ramped up their enforcement letters since they first issued COVID-19 related warning letters a month ago. ...more
New York is the latest state to propose legislation intended to expand business interruption insurance coverage. Introduced by Assembly Member Robert C. Carroll and co-sponsored by eight fellow legislators, A10226 (the...more
This week, legislators in Ohio and Massachusetts introduced bills to expand retroactively commercial property insurance policies to include business losses suffered from COVID-19....more
From severe shortages in medical masks and ventilation equipment worldwide to the curious “toilet paper desert” in America, COVID-19 is creating temporary and long-term disruptions in the availability of both highly...more
3/25/2020
/ Advertising ,
Consumer Protection Laws ,
Cosmetics ,
Departments of Commerce ,
Enforcement Actions ,
False Advertising ,
FDA Warning Letters ,
Federal Food Drug and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Hemp ,
Influencers ,
Labeling ,
Pending Legislation ,
Personal Care Products ,
Supply Chain
CBD continues to flourish in the markets despite lack of federal regulations, and we’ve identified some significant events that indicate there’s no sign it’s stopping. ...more
3/12/2020
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Cannabidiol (CBD) oil ,
Cannabis Products ,
Cannabis-Related Businesses (CRBs) ,
Class Action ,
Dietary Supplements ,
Direct to Consumer Sales ,
Federal Food Drug and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA) ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Health and Safety ,
Hemp ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Manufacturers ,
Marijuana ,
Marijuana-Infused Edibles ,
Marketing ,
Medical Foods ,
Misleading Statements ,
Pain Management ,
Plant Based Products ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Regulatory Standards ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Statutory Violations ,
Stays ,
Title III
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) questions whether the impact of its enforcement efforts are truly acting as a deterrent to stop misleading online marketing. In its latest effort to tackle the growing problems arising from...more
2/19/2020
/ Advertising ,
Brand ,
Celebrity Endorsements ,
Comment Period ,
Endorsements ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FTC Act ,
FTC Endorsement Guidelines ,
Influencers ,
Marketing ,
Misrepresentation ,
Online Endorsements ,
Online Platforms ,
Public Comment ,
Social Media ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices ,
Websites
In its largest mass enforcement action involving cannabidiol (CBD) yet, the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) announced on November 25 the issuance of 15 warning letters to various companies for illegally selling products...more
12/4/2019
/ Animal Food ,
Cannabidiol (CBD) oil ,
Cannabis Products ,
Decriminalization of Marijuana ,
Dietary Supplements ,
Direct to Consumer Sales ,
Enforcement Actions ,
FDA Warning Letters ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
GRAS ,
Health and Safety ,
Hemp ,
Manufacturers ,
Marijuana ,
Marijuana Cultivation ,
Marijuana Related Businesses ,
Marijuana-Infused Edibles ,
Plant Based Products ,
Public Health ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Retail Market ,
Retail Sales ,
Toxic Exposure
Seyfarth hosted its first “Future of Cosmetics and Personal Care Products" event in its New York office on November 12, 2019. The event brought together industry leaders and Seyfarth attorneys for a timely conversation on the...more
11/26/2019
/ Amazon Marketplace ,
Brand ,
Cannabidiol (CBD) oil ,
Cannabis Products ,
Consumer Review Fairness Act (CRFA) ,
Corporate Branding ,
Cosmetics ,
Endorsements ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
FTC Endorsement Guidelines ,
Funding Options ,
Influencers ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Litigation Fees & Costs ,
Marijuana ,
Marketing ,
Marketing Perspectives ,
Natural Products ,
Patent Infringement ,
Patents ,
Personal Care Products ,
Risk Management ,
USPTO
Synopsis: FTC publishes a quick-resource guide for influencers to encourage advertising compliance on social media.
...more
11/25/2019
/ Advertising ,
Brand ,
Celebrity Endorsements ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Endorsements ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FTC Endorsement Guidelines ,
Influencers ,
Marketing ,
Online Endorsements ,
Social Media ,
Websites
Synopsis: Unhappy with the FDA’s position on branding, Congressional representatives seek to define “natural” narrowly to limit its use in consumer advertising....more
11/18/2019
/ Advertising ,
Brand ,
Cosmetics ,
False Advertising ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Marketing ,
NAD ,
Natural Products ,
Personal Care Products ,
Plant Based Products ,
Product Labels ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Regulatory Agenda
Businesses should take note of recent developments in the CBD space. Consumer protection regulatory agencies issued another joint warning to a company selling CBD products making allegedly unsubstantiated claims. And, the FDA...more
11/12/2019
/ Advertising ,
Cannabidiol (CBD) oil ,
Cannabis Products ,
Deceptive Intent ,
Decriminalization of Marijuana ,
Dietary Supplements ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Health and Safety ,
Health Claims ,
Hemp ,
Marijuana ,
Marijuana Related Businesses ,
Plant Based Products ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Oversight
Seyfarth Synopsis: Through a reintroduced House bill, Congress is taking strides to push for cosmetic regulation reform and, separately, through the SAFE Act, it is seeking to establish a safe harbor for financial...more
11/1/2019
/ Agribusiness ,
Cannabidiol (CBD) oil ,
Cannabis Products ,
Cosmetics ,
Farm Bill ,
Farms ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Hemp ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Licensing Rules ,
Marijuana ,
Personal Care Products ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Proposed Rules ,
Public Health ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Safety Standards ,
Toxic Chemicals ,
USDA