A lucrative prize incentive can be the engine for an exciting and socially beneficial innovation competition. Despite the good intentions of the organizer, a lot can go wrong even when the sponsor is a nonprofit. An innovation contest generally promotes the generation of ideas or prototypes for new advancements in an industry. We have worked with many entities that seek to encourage innovation through prize incentives. Such promotions can involve very large prizes, and they can engender a lot of press coverage. Regardless of whether the purpose of the contest is for commercial, educational, or social purposes, a company or organization can still end up in federal court if the contest is not properly structured and conducted.

Continue Reading Personavera v. CHIME: An Innovation Contest Goes Sour

The Northern District of California has dismissed for the third and final time a proposed discrimination class action against Facebook that challenged Facebook’s former tool that allowed advertisers to select target audiences for their housing advertisements in violation of the federal Fair Housing Act. Plaintiffs alleged that this tool could exclude protected classes of consumers from seeing certain advertisers’ housing ads. Facebook moved to dismiss, arguing that plaintiffs lacked standing and its publishing conduct was protected under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act.

Continue Reading Facebook Demolishes Housing Ad Discrimination Suit

On April 30, 2021, the Mexican Chamber of Senators and Deputies passed a new law on “Transparency, Prevention and Combating of Unfair Practices in Advertising Contracting.” The law seeks to eliminate and prosecute non-transparent media practices between advertisers, media owners, and agencies. The law will go into effect on September 1, 2021.

Continue Reading Mexico leads media transparency efforts with new law

The Ninth Circuit affirmed the dismissal of a class-action lawsuit that alleged Trader Joe’s Manuka Honey product labeling was misleading. Trader Joe’s marketed its store brand Manuka honey as “100% New Zealand Manuka Honey” or “New Zealand Manuka Honey.” Plaintiffs claimed that these labels were misleading because the honey only consisted of between 57.3% and 62.6% honey derived from Manuka flower nectar. Plaintiffs alleged that the label and ingredient list created a “false impression” that the Trader Joe’s honey contained a higher percentage of honey derived from Manuka.

Continue Reading Sweet Victory: Ninth Circuit Affirms Dismissal of Trader Joe’s Honey False Ad Suit

On June 7, 2021, the Southern District of California dismissed a case against Edgewell Personal Care, Co., alleging that defendants’ label on its “Wet Ones” antibacterial hand wipes was false and deceptive. Plaintiff brought a putative class action against defendants for making misleading representations about the efficacy and skin safety of its hand wipes. The suit was filed under the California Unfair Competition Law (“UCL”), False Advertising Law (“FAL”), and Consumer Legal Remedies Act (“CLRA”).

Continue Reading So Fresh and So Clean: Wet Ones Wipes Suit Dismissed

The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) has officially adopted interim policy changes that will allow college athletes the opportunity to benefit from their name, image, and likeness (NIL). This change comes on the heels of NCAA v. Alston, discussed here, where the Supreme Court ruled 9-0 that the NCAA violated anti-trust laws when it limited education-related benefits a college or university could offer student athletes. We previously wrote about the NCAA’s adoption of a new rule allowing elite Olympic and Paralympic athletes to have “additional training expenses” paid without jeopardizing their NCAA eligibility. This new policy goes well beyond the NCAA’s previous rule.

Continue Reading Score One for the Student Athletes: NCAA Adopts Interim Name, Image, Likeness Policy

In May 2020, Maryland made two major moves in the sports world: it legalized sports betting and passed a law allowing college athletes to profit from their names, images, and likeness.

Continue Reading Maryland Legalizes Sports Betting and College Athletes’ Image Ownership

This CLE webinar offers a unique, inside look at how BBB National Programs’ National Advertising Division (NAD) evaluates medical devices and other health-related products and services. Our panelists will engage in a lively discussion of recent enforcement trends and challenges for manufacturers, and how companies can effectively use the NAD framework to their advantage. In addition, this event will discuss NAD guidance on self-regulation and how to use it as a tool to ensure competitors also meet the standards set by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

Continue Reading Register today! Join us for a CLE webinar “Evolving Roles for Self-Regulation of Medical Devices and Health Services”

The COVID-19 pandemic has had immeasurable effects on consumers and how they engage with brands, with the elimination of in-person consumer interactions for nearly a year. As a result, some brands are taking consumers’ entrance into the metaverse one step further by developing virtual worlds that allow the consumer to engage with the brand in a whole new way. These worlds and experiences have helped brands stay connected to consumers throughout the pandemic. One such brand taking advantage of consumers’ search for new online experiences is the global skincare brand SK-II, which launched a virtual city based around iconic Japanese sights. Consumers can watch movies and get a tour of SK-II studios. Other brands have joined the virtual branded experience train. Luxury fashion house Burberry launched an interactive virtual replica of its flagship Tokyo store that allows customers to navigate around the store and buy items from its collection.

Virtual worlds and experiences have benefits beyond connecting with consumers during the pandemic. They are easily changeable and can adapt more quickly to consumer preferences and trends than a brick and mortar store can. The reach of a virtual world and experience is well beyond that of a physical one. While after more than a year of lockdowns and quarantines, consumers may be ready to interact with brands, it is also clear that the virtual brand worlds and interactions are here to stay.

Takeaway: Virtual worlds provide brands opportunities for consumer engagement and are capable of reaching a far wider audience than brick and mortar. But, in post-pandemic life, consumers’ desire to get back into the real world might cause them to shun online experiences. Time will tell.

Last week, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) together with the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) announced a new civil lawsuit filed against St. Louis-based chiropractor Eric Anthony Nepute and his company, Quickwork LLC, alleging that they deceptively marketed products containing vitamin D and zinc as scientifically proven to treat or prevent COVID-19. This is the first enforcement action alleging violations of the COVID-19 Consumer Protection Act.

The COVID-19 Consumer Protection Act, passed by Congress in December 2020, prohibits deceptive acts or practices associated with the treatment, cure, prevention, mitigation or diagnosis of COVID-19. Those in violation of the new law may be subject to civil penalties, injunctive relief, and other remedies available under the FTC Act.

According to the complaint, the defendants marketed their “Wellness Warrior” vitamin D and zinc products as being just as effective as, or more effective than, the COVID-19 vaccines currently available. For example, the defendants falsely touted that their products “will prevent [COVID-19] from infecting your body”, “a ‘high dose’ of Vitamin D would help to turn COVID-19 into a ‘mild illness’”, and vitamin D and zinc “actually works better than . . . any vaccine” and, therefore, customers did not “really need a vaccine.”

In May 2020, the FTC sent a warning letter to the Nepute, warning him about unsubstantiated COVID-19 efficacy claims that he was making for other products. Despite the FTC’s warning, Nepute continued marketing his products, including the Wellness Warrior vitamin D and zinc products, as proven immunity boosters that effectively treat or prevent COVID-19, while regularly dismissing public health guidance and promoting the products as equal or better protection against COVID-19 than currently available vaccines.

The complaint asks the court to exercise a provision of the new law to impose monetary penalties and to grant a preliminary injunction to stop the defendants from continuing to make the allegedly deceptive advertising claims.

Takeaway: With the FTC’s new authority under the COVID-19 Consumer Protection Act, this lawsuit signals that the Commission will take a much more aggressive stance in policing the proliferation of consumer scams and frauds by companies touting fake drugs and treatments for COVID-19. For marketers that fail to comply with FTC warning letters, they may find themselves subject to similar suits and could face potentially significant civil penalties.