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Michael Blume Joins Venable Michael Blume joined Venable last month as a partner in the firm's New York office. Prior to joining Venable, Blume served as Director of the Department of Justice's Consumer Protection Branch. In that role, he led a prosecuting office charged with enforcing federal criminal and civil consumer protection statutes primarily focusing on food, drug, and medical device safety; financial fraud; and consumer product safety. During his tenure, he prioritized food safety cases leading to precedent-setting prosecutions and strengthened partnerships with consumer product safety regulators. |
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Fighting Fakes in the Marketplace According to a report released last year, pirated and counterfeit goods accounted for more than $461 billion in trade in 2013, or 2.5 percent of all world trade that year, and that number has undoubtedly grown. "Any company with a well-known brand or popular product should assume its brand or product is already being counterfeited," said Venable partner Roger Colaizzi in the most recent edition of Electronic Retailer magazine. |
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Does a Voicemail Require a Call? "Ringless" voicemail technology, or Direct-to-Voicemail cell messaging is increasingly popular with marketers, write Venable attorneys Dan Blynn and Chris Boone in a recent blog post. The question of whether ringless voicemail constitutes a call under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) appeared headed to a reckoning until a company withdrew a recent petition to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on the matter late last month. It may not be the end of the road for ringless voicemail at the FCC, but marketers should remain mindful of the potential regulatory scrutiny and exposure to private TCPA litigation as they consider ringless voicemail. |
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TCPA Consent is Not Revocable? Can a seller contractually prohibit a customer from revoking his or her consent to receive autodialed and/or pre-recorded message calls under the TCPA? According to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, the answer is "yes," writes Venable partner Dan Blynn in a recent blog post. |
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From the Tool Kit: Brand Protection Brand owners face many challenges in relation to managing and protecting their brand in today's global marketplace. In the most recent edition of the firm's Advertising Law Tool Kit, Venable partners Roger Colaizzi, Marcella Ballard, Joshua Kaufman, and Justin Pierce outline best practices for companies to minimize the impact of loss due to counterfeits, knockoffs, or product diversion. |
| UPCOMING EVENTS | |
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ACA International 2017 Convention and Expo July 17, 2017 | Seattle, WA Venable attorneys Jonathan Pompan and Alexandra Megaris will join an interactive panel discussion, "Regulatory Compliance in an Evolving Legal Landscape," where they will share approaches to compliance and practical answers to questions. Hear from a chief compliance officer and attorneys who advise on an array of debt collection compliance matters and defend against federal and state enforcement investigations |
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NBJ Summit July 17-20, 2017 | Rancho Palos Verdes, CA The Nutrition Business Journal (NBJ) Summit attracts over 300 of the nutrition industry's brightest minds and most influential power brokers for unparalleled education, strategic thinking, and discussion on the progress, opportunities, and challenges facing the industry. Venable will sponsor the Welcome Dinner at this year's NBJ Summit on July 18, 2017 from 7:30 pm to 10:30 pm PT. |
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2017 Compliance University July 26, 2017 | Washington, D.C. Compliance University is held each year Washington, D.C. This year's the event will be held on July 25-26, 2017. Join us for OLA's annual event for compliance officers and heads of companies who need to safeguard their operations with compliance programs. Each attendee receives a certificate upon completion of the program. Venable attorneys Jonathan L. Pompan and Katherine M. Lamberth will present a session on the "Elements of a Successful Compliance Management System and Vendor Management Rules of the Road," on July 26, 2017 from 10:15am – 11:00am ET. |
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2017 RMA Executive Summit August 1, 2017 | Lake Tahoe, CA The Executive Summit is an exclusive event for owners and top managers in the ARM industry. This intimate gathering of 125 professionals provides attendees the opportunity to network with other executives, have conversations with policymakers, and receive education on executive-level operations. Venable attorneys Jonathan L. Pompan and Alexandra Megaris will both join panel discussions on "Compliance Catch 22: Thriving in an Evolving Regulatory Environment" and "Adapting to Change: A General Counsel's Perspective." |
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Advertising Law News & Analysis | July 6, 2017
4 min