January 12, 2017

Serious studies, tougher non-competes, fun disclaimers, and more in this issue of Advertising Law News & Analysis

4 min

Don't Forget to Take Your Studies Seriously

Earlier this week, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the New York State Attorney General filed a complaint against the marketers of Prevagen – a dietary supplement that purports to improve users' memory – and two officers of the company. In a recent post on the All About Advertising Law Blog, Venable attorneys Randy Shaheen and Brian Tengel write that the claims for Prevagen were based on a large, "double-blind, placebo-controlled human clinical study." However, the regulators allege, when the marketers were unhappy with the survey's results, they sliced and diced the data until…

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California Makes Non-Competes Tougher…Again

Employers based outside of California with employees who live or work in California should take note of a new California Labor Code provision that took effect on January 1, writes Venable partner Tom Wallerstein in a recent post to the firm's Trade Secrets and Transitions Blog. Section 925 of the Code is intended to prohibit employers, even if they are headquartered outside of California, from circumventing California's public policy in favor of...

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Disclaimers Can Be Fun!

Today, marketers are cursed by consumers' distaste for disclaimers, and regulators' increased scrutiny of the disclosures, write Venable partners Amy Mudge and Randy Shaheen in a recent post on the All About Advertising Law Blog. To illustrate their point that disclaimers can be well done, they share an example of a clear and conspicuous – and humorous – disclosure.

https://youtu.be/bzokBKPAXGc

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Ready to Dive Deep into Native Advertising?

Native advertising gives advertisers the opportunity to move their advertising from the margins of a page right into the content consumers crave. Because of this, the FTC has been very vocal about the disclosures it believes are necessary to avoid consumer confusion. In a recent edition of The Licensing Journal, Venable's Amy Mudge, Randy Shaheen, and Kimberly Culp explore when native content needs to be disclosed and how…

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Advertising Disclaimers

Disclaimers are virtually everywhere, but is your fine print message really reaching your consumer? As the FTC continues to scrutinize compliance with disclosure rules, advertisers may want to be increasingly cautious and judicious in their use of disclaimers. In the current edition of the firm's Advertising Law Toolkit, Venable partners Amy Mudge and Randy Shaheen provide a checklist of questions that can be used to determine whether your disclaimer meets the appropriate requirements.

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UPCOMING EVENTS

Affiliate Summit West

January 15-17, 2017 | Las Vegas, NV

Join Venable attorneys Roger Colaizzi, Ari Rothman, Damon Wright, and Shahin Rothermel at Affiliate Summit West, January 15-17, 2017, at the Paris Las Vegas Hotel. This conference delivers networking and educational events geared toward affiliates and merchants, and is aimed at providing insight into the evolving landscape of affiliate marketing.

Consumer Financial Services 2017 Outlook: Post-Inauguration Day Insights Webinar

January 24, 2017 | 2:00 p.m. - 3:30 p.m. ET - Webinar

Join Venable LLP for a complimentary webinar on the "Consumer Financial Services 2017 Outlook" on Tuesday, January 24, 2017. Members of Venable's Consumer Financial Services Practice ‎will review the current state of federal and state consumer financial protection law and policy and outline what you and your company need to know about what's ahead. During the webinar, the speakers will share their experiences from the front lines and offer strategies to help you navigate the evolving legal and regulatory landscape.

Digital Entertainment World (DEW)

February 1-2, 2017 | Marina Del Rey Marriott, California

Join Venable at DEW, the annual expo for the digital entertainment industry held in Marina Del Rey, California. DEW is the only conference that is inclusive of the complete digital content ecosystem, with the mission to provide a platform for leading intellectual property rights holders from video, music, games, and publishing from which they can access the entire digital value-chain of technology and service providers, digital distributors, and device manufacturers, and build the partnerships necessary to create and monetize digital content across all significant platforms. Be sure to attend Venable partner Nicholas DePalma's panel, "How Augmented Reality & Geolocation Are Shaping the Future of Games," on February 2 from 3:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. and Tamany Bentz's panel directly after, on "Derivative Works and User Generated Content."

American Bar Association (ABA) Consumer Protection Conference

February 2, 2017 | Atlanta, GA

The field of consumer protection law continues to evolve and expand to keep pace with innovations in advertising and ever-emerging approaches to delivering products and services. Don't miss this exciting, comprehensive consumer protection program featuring leading experts, academics, and in-house practitioners, as well as enforcement officials from the U.S. and other key jurisdictions. Topics include the latest developments in such areas as claims substantiation for evolving technology, privacy and data protection, class action efforts, and enforcement policy and initiatives. Panelists will discuss practical implications arising from these latest developments, offer best practices for in-house counsel, and discuss and debate issues arising from the latest domestic and international enforcement actions.