Claims that a product is “revolutionary,” “never before seen,” or providing a solution to an unsolved problem can be sometimes cavalierly regarded as puffery. We often find ourselves warning clients that the National Advertising Division (NAD) has sometimes required advertisers to have a reasonable basis for innovation claims (i.e., claims that their product is a … Continue Reading
Last month, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) settled charges against 12 companies who deceptively marketed “cognitive improvement” supplements by using sham news websites containing false and unsubstantiated efficacy claims, referencing non-existent clinical studies, and advertising fraudulent consumer and celebrity endorsements. According to the FTC’s complaint, the defendants falsely claimed that their dietary supplements could enhance … Continue Reading
The Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) announced that it reached a settlement with iSpring Water Systems, LLC for allegedly making false claims that its wholly imported Chinese water filtration systems were made in the U.S.A – in violation of a 2017 FTC consent order. In 2017, the company made certain claims that its water filtration systems … Continue Reading
Does the Communications Decency Act (CDA) provide immunity to a website against allegations that its design and operation enabled a third party to buy a gun, which the third party then used as a murder weapon? In Daniel v. Armslist, the Wisconsin Supreme Court said “yes,” reversed the intermediate court of appeals, and reinstated an … Continue Reading
Last month, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) approved a final consent order settling deceptive advertising charges against A&O Enterprises, Inc., d/b/a iV Bars regarding deceptive and unsupported health claims that iV Bars’ intravenously injected therapy products, or “iV Cocktails,” can safely and effectively prevent and treat such serious diseases as cancer, multiple sclerosis, and cardiovascular … Continue Reading
This month, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) announced a settlement with San Francisco-based food delivery service UrthBox, Inc. and its principal, Behnam Behrouzi, regarding the company’s failure to adequately disclose key terms of its “free trial” automatic renewal programs and its misrepresentation of customer reviews. According to the FTC’s complaint, from October 2016 to November … Continue Reading
The Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) recently filed another case in a series of recent enforcement actions targeting allegedly deceptive online “free-trial” offers that tricked consumers into enrolling in negative option plans. The FTC charged Gopalkrishna Pai and eight (8) companies he owns and operates as a common enterprise with violating the FTC Act and the … Continue Reading
The Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) recently charged two companies, Worldwide Executive Job Search Solutions, LLC and PrivateEquityHeadhunters.com and their owner Craig Chrest with violating the FTC Act and the FTC’s Telemarketing Sales Rule and swindling hundreds of thousands of dollars annually from consumers for fake job placement and resume repair services. At the FTC’s request … Continue Reading
Carmen Electra, joined by models Dessie Mitcheson and Lucy Pinder, sued a Colorado strip club over the club’s allegedly unauthorized use of its photographs on its website and social media in late January of this year. The aggrieved trio claims that the Denver club “Shotgun Willie’s” posted photos of the models in online advertisements for … Continue Reading
Model and meme icon Kelleth Cuthbert (real name Kelly Steinbach) became an overnight sensation as “Fiji Water Girl” after photobombing celebrities on the Golden Globes red carpet in January. Now, she is seeking to recover against Fiji Water Company and its parent company, The Wonderful Company, for allegedly misappropriating her likeness and violating her right … Continue Reading
Gigi Hadid found herself sued for copyright infringement by New York photo agency Xclusive-Lee, Inc. over a photo the fashion model posted to her Instagram account. The disputed photo was of Hadid herself, smiling at the camera while wearing a blue denim jacket and matching shorts with silver heels, and was snapped by paparazzi. Xclusive-Lee … Continue Reading
A California federal court granted Trader Joe’s motion to dismiss a false advertising lawsuit with regards to Trader Joe’s alkaline water, finding that all but one of plaintiff’s claims were non-actionable puffery, and granting plaintiff leave to amend the single remaining claim. Plaintiff alleged that Trader Joe’s alkaline water product labelling, which included numerous plus … Continue Reading
Douglas Wood published an article for the Association of National Advertisers on January 2nd titled “Growth in 2019: A Legal Perspective.” In the article, Doug discusses how legal issues will affect brands and growth in years to come and provides an outlook on legal challenges marketers who care about growth need to keep in mind … Continue Reading
Jason Gordon and Andrew Levad published an article in Law360 this week titled, “6 Advertising Law Trends To Watch In 2019.” A copy of the article is available here. You may also view a PDF copy of the article here.… Continue Reading
A California federal court granted Singapore-based hotel booking firm Agoda Company Pte. Ltd.’s (“Agoda”) motion for summary judgment in a case involving alleged violations of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”). The plaintiff alleged that the confirmation text he received after booking travel on Agoda’s website [“Good news! Your Agoda booking [number] is confirmed. Manage … Continue Reading
A Kansas federal court granted Angie’s List’s motion to dismiss a class action lawsuit alleging false advertising, finding that most of plaintiff’s claims were time-barred and the rest were not properly pled. The owner of a tree trimming business spent over $200,000 in advertising on Angie’s List from 2005 and 2013. According to the plaintiff, … Continue Reading
On January 3, the city of Los Angeles accused TWC Product and Technology, LLC (“TWC”) (an International Business Machines Corporation subsidiary) of violating millions of American consumers’ privacy. In the civil lawsuit, Los Angeles City Attorney Michael Feuer alleged TWC misled users of its Weather Channel app to turn on precise location tracking by suggesting, … Continue Reading
On December 5th, 2018, Terrence Ferguson, better known as 2 Milly, filed a complaint in the United States District Court for the Central District of California alleging that Epic Games, Inc. committed copyright infringement and violated right of publicity and unfair competition laws by implementing the “Milly Rock” dance into their free-to-play video game Fortnite. … Continue Reading
In a recent false advertising case, the court reminded everyone again that if you say something about your product, you had better mean it. Emson, which sells cookware products largely through direct response television spots, brought a false advertising claim against Masterpan and Smart & Eazy Corp. (“S&E”). According to Emson, both defendants made false … Continue Reading
Trademark licensing is a driving force in business relationships. One common example is where one business owns a trademark, which it licenses out to other companies who manufacture and sell the products bearing the mark. But, what happens if the trademark owner goes bankrupt? Bankruptcy law gives a debtor the right to “reject” contracts to … Continue Reading
Earlier this month the Supreme Court granted certiorari in PDR Network, LLC v. Carlton & Harris Chiropractic, Inc., the resolution of which will impact the judiciary’s power to interpret agency rules. The facts underlying case appear unremarkable on their face; a health information service and publisher sent a single fax to a chiropractor’s office in … Continue Reading
Promotion in Motion Inc. (“PIM”) makes the popular Welch’s Fruit Snacks under a licensing deal with Welch’s, and Kervan USA LLC is a rival candymaker that has a similar licensing arrangement with Sunkist Growers Inc. PIM, however, contends that Kervan sought to capitalize on the fruits of PIM’s labors, and sued Kervan in the District … Continue Reading
The British artist Anish Kapoor, sculptor of the iconic Chicago art piece Cloud Gate, known colloquially as the Bean, filed suit against the National Rifle Association (“NRA”) for using imagery of Cloud Gate in online videos without his permission. Kapoor registered Cloud Gate with the U.S. Copyright Office in January 2016, and was “shocked and … Continue Reading
Kim Kardashian West’s fragrance company, KKW Fragrance LLC, is the target of a reverse confusion trademark infringement suit launched by Chicago-based mobile marketing company, Vibes Media, LLC. According to Vibes’ complaint, KKW Fragrance intentionally copied Vibes’ name and speech bubble logo in a new perfume also called “Vibes” that Kardashian launched as part of her … Continue Reading
