On August 14, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) struck a blow against deceptive advertising by issuing its Final Trade Regulation Rule on the Use of Consumer Reviews and Testimonials. The Rule bans the creation, sale...more
I was recently in the potential market for an extended car warranty. After a bit of research, I contacted CarShield to explore my options. I spoke with a representative who heartily congratulated me on qualifying for one of...more
Once again, the Justice Department, acting upon notification and referral from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), has filed a lawsuit against the video-sharing platform TikTok and its parent company for alleged flagrant...more
Customers worldwide use Acrobat, Photoshop, Illustrator and other Adobe software to create content and manipulate images. Now, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is accusing Adobe of manipulating customers into subscription...more
A federal judge in Seattle has ruled against Amazon in its bid to have a Federal Trade Commission (FTC) lawsuit dismissed that alleges the online retailer used deceptive “dark patterns” practices to enroll customers in Prime...more
The state trend in regulating telephone and text message marketing continues. Maryland’s new telemarketing law, the “Stop the Spam Calls Act of 2023,” took effect on January 1, 2024. Like the federal Telephone Consumer...more
If you know me well, you know that I am an admitted Disney fanatic. So, you can imagine my initial horror when I heard media rumblings that Disney was losing its copyright to my favorite mouse, Mickey. Upon further...more
With the holiday shopping season well under way, many companies have ramped up their influencer marketing campaigns. Want to avoid the Federal Trade Commission’s naughty list? Recent warning letters sent by the FTC to two...more
12/6/2023
/ Disclosure Requirements ,
Endorsements ,
Enforcement ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FTC Endorsement Guidelines ,
Influencers ,
Instagram ,
Online Endorsements ,
Popular ,
Social Media ,
TikTok
Publishers Clearing House (PCH) is well known for surprising major sweepstakes winners with a Prize Patrol knock on their doors. But the recent lawsuit filed by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) against the company was...more
8/18/2023
/ Advertising ,
Anti-Manipulation Rule ,
Contests & Promotions ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
E-Commerce ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FTC Act ,
Marketing ,
Minimum Purchase Requirements ,
Misleading Statements ,
Misrepresentation ,
Sweepstakes
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) alleged that Amazon used digital marketing tactics known as “dark patterns” to trick millions of customers into unknowingly enrolling in Amazon Prime auto-renewing subscriptions, while...more
On June 29, 2023, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced its much anticipated and long-awaited updates to the Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising (the Guides). The Guides, which...more
7/11/2023
/ Advertising ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Endorsements ,
Fake Reviews ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FTC Endorsement Guidelines ,
Instagram ,
Marketing ,
Online Reviews ,
Social Media ,
Testimonial Statements
A case involving the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)’s refusal to register the trademark TRUMP TOO SMALL for tee shirts has made its way to the U.S. Supreme Court. The justices recently agreed to a USPTO request to...more
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has issued an alert regarding a new scam targeting trademark owners. Scammers are calling trademark owners claiming they work for the USPTO. Many of them use “spoofed”...more
On May 25, 2023, Governor Ron DeSantis signed Florida House Bill 761, which made significant changes to the Florida Telephone Solicitation Act (“FTSA”)(Fla. Stat. § 501.059). The amendments became effective immediately and...more
Recently, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 7-2 against the Andy Warhol Foundation in a copyright dispute over a portrait of Prince that Warhol created using a photograph by another artist, Lynn Goldsmith.
"The court's opinion...more
6/9/2023
/ Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts Inc v Goldsmith ,
Copyright ,
Copyright Infringement ,
Copyright Litigation ,
Derivative Works ,
Fair Use ,
Fine Art ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
SCOTUS ,
The Copyright Act ,
Transformative Use
As we previously reported in our October IP Alert, starting on December 3, 2022 the period for responding to office actions issued against most trademark applications was reduced from 6 to 3 months with the option of...more
Starting on December 3, 2022 the window for filing responses to office actions will be shortened from 6 to 3 months. Applicants will have the option to obtain one three-month extension for a fee of $125. Applications filed...more
Were you aware that just over a year ago, effective July 1, 2021, Florida enacted an amendment to its telemarketing laws (Fla. Stat. § 501, et. seq.), with striking similarities to the federal Telephone Consumer Protection...more
On July 7, 2021, the Colorado Privacy Act (CPA) was signed into law, joining California and Virginia as the only states to have passed comprehensive privacy legislation. The CPA goes into effect on July 1, 2023, which will be...more
On April 1, 2021, the United States Supreme Court issued a long-awaited landmark decision that finally resolves a deep split of authority in the Circuit Courts of Appeal regarding the definition of an "autodialer" under the...more
On March 15, 2021, the California Attorney General announced the approval of additional regulations to the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 (the "CCPA"). The CCPA grants California consumers the right to know, the...more
On March 2, 2021, the Virginia Consumer Data Protection Act (CDPA) was signed into law, joining California as the only states to have passed comprehensive privacy legislation to date. The CDPA goes into effect on January 1,...more
On December 27, 2020, President Trump signed the COVID-19 relief and government funding bill, which incorporated The Trademark Modernization Act of 2020 (“TMA”) and the Copyright Alternative in Small-Claims Enforcement Act of...more
New apps and app updates submitted to Apple's App Store on or after December 8, 2020 must include new privacy information before they can be published in the App Store. Referred to as a privacy "nutrition label", app...more
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) has announced that, effective January 2, 2021, it is increasing certain fees it charges to file trademark applications, maintain trademark registrations, petition the...more