6th Edition: Trends in Marketing Communications Law What constitutes a “scandalous” trademark? The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has been grappling with this question since the enactment of the 1905 Trademark Act, later codified in the 1946 Lanham Act, which forbids Continue Reading
Telemarketing Lawsuits Fueled by Regulatory Uncertainty
6th Edition: Trends in Marketing Communications Law Recent developments continue to highlight the high risks associated with class action lawsuits brought under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). With statutory damages of up to $1,500 for a single unauthorized text message, consumers Continue Reading
Behind State Lines: Is It Time to Cash in on Legalized Sports Betting?
6th Edition: Trends in Marketing Communications Law The Supreme Court’s 2018 decision in Murphy v. National Collegiate Athletic Association (Murphy) to overturn the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) seemingly opened the door for states to legalize sports betting. Continue Reading
A Must “Follow”: Stricter Groundwork for Influencer Marketing
6th Edition: Trends in Marketing Communications Law Throughout 2018, regulators and self-regulators stayed focused on deceptive influencer marketing campaigns and native advertising practices across the United States. In an action against Creaxion Corporation, a public relations agency, and Continue Reading
Data Security Legislation Is on the Rise — Marketers and Their Agencies Must Be Vigilant About Their Controls
6th Edition: Trends in Marketing Communications Law 2018 saw a surge of state data security legislation, including by Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Iowa, Louisiana, Nebraska, Ohio, Oregon, South Carolina, South Dakota, Vermont and Virginia. These laws are intended to enhance and Continue Reading
Led by California, U.S. State and Federal Lawmakers Increasingly Focus on Consumer Privacy
6th Edition: Trends in Marketing Communications Law The California Consumer Privacy Act The California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), a comprehensive state privacy law that was passed and amended in 2018, is at the forefront of a rapidly changing privacy landscape in the United States. The CCPA Continue Reading
Patent Troll Suits Down, Not Out in 2018
6th Edition: Trends in Marketing Communications Law Over the past half-decade, Congress and the courts have made aggressive efforts to curb the worst abuses of the patent system. In 2013, Congress passed the America Invents Act (AIA), which established the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) to Continue Reading
The NAD Exposes Hidden Fees
6th Edition: Trends in Marketing Communications Law As a regulatory force in its own right, the National Advertising Division (NAD) makes waves whenever it brings a challenge on its own behalf against a major advertiser. And, with recent leadership changes for the Advertising Self-Regulatory Continue Reading
What’s Going On? Another Marvin Gaye Lawsuit Tests the Limits of Copyright Protection
6th Edition: Trends in Marketing Communications Law Just when you thought it was over, another copyright infringement lawsuit involving a Marvin Gaye song is set for trial. The dust had barely settled on the infamous “Blurred Lines” case when a second suit, this time targeting Continue Reading
Big Data and Big Questions
6th Edition: Trends in Marketing Communications Law The use of biometric and location data has been on the rise for several years, but the expanded uses of this data must be reevaluated in light of the associated risks and evolving legal regimes. Although the use of biometric data is nothing new Continue Reading