Edited by Jeffrey D. Knowles and Gary D. Hailey
NEWS
Cordray Outlines CFPB's 2013 Agenda
According to a story published by the Blog of the Legal Times, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Director Richard Cordray outlined the agency's priorities for the current year during an agency consumer advisory board meeting held February 20. Among the agency's priorities are combatting the deceptive marketing of financial products and services; ensuring equal access to credit; and examining practices in the loan servicing, credit reporting, and debt collection industries.
According to the blog, two consumer attorneys also raised questions about mandatory arbitration clauses in financial services contracts. The CFPB is currently conducting a study on such clauses, the blog noted.
Click here to read the full text of the blog post.
ANALYSIS
"It's My Trademark" No Defense in NAD False Advertising Challenge
The National Advertising Division of the Council of Better Business Bureaus (NAD) recently reiterated that a claim is a claim and, even if registered and promoted as a trademark, still must be supported by adequate substantiation, write Venable partners Amy Ralph Mudge and Randal M. Shaheen in a recent post to Venable's advertising law blog, www.allaboutadvertisinglaw.com.
In this case, Reckitt Benkiser, maker of Finish, challenged claims made by Environcon Technologies' Lemi Shine. Both products assist with rinsing in dishwashers. Lemi Shine had trademarked its catchphrase "Outshines the Competition." The label also called out the product as "the only thing that works." In its decision, NAD viewed "the only thing that works" not as a puffery but as a direct comparative performance claim that required proof. Similarly, NAD viewed the "outshines competition" claim as an objectively provable superiority performance claim that was unsubstantiated, regardless of being trademarked. The lesson for marketers, write Mudge and Shaheen, is to step back and review claims on packaging through the lens of overall impression. NAD is unlikely to read particular phrases on a label without reference to other statements made on the same piece of marketing real estate.
Click here to read the full text of the blog post, which contains more detail and provides good news for marketers about the apparent softening of NAD's stance on "natural" claims.
This Just In: FTC Has Big Plans for 2013
In the February edition of Electronic Retailer, Venable partners Jeffrey D. Knowles and Leonard L. Gordon outline some predictions about the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) for the year ahead. One of their predictions, the departure of FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz, has happened. It is a safe bet that the pair's predictions of increased cross-agency coordination, use of warning letters, and filing of contempt actions against companies not complying with consent orders will also prove prescient.
Click here to read the column and learn what marketing practices Knowles and Gordon believe are in the FTC's crosshairs.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Electronic Retailing Association Great
Ideas Summit - Miami
February 25-27, 2013
Venable is proud to sponsor the VIP Reception of ERA's Great
Ideas Summit 2013. Also, please join Venable partner
Jeffrey D. Knowles as he presents the
educational session "Up, Down and Sideways - How Enforcement
Actions Traverse the Value Chain" on Tuesday, February 26.
Meet the attorneys of
Venable's Advertising and Marketing Group
on the show floor at booth #304.
Click here to learn more about ERA GIS 2013 and register.
"Is There a One Size Fits All
Reasonable Person Standard? U.S. and Canadian Perspectives on Ad
Interpretation" - webinar
March 1, 2013
Everything in U.S. advertising law starts with how a reasonable
consumer, acting reasonably under the circumstances, would
understand an ad. Whether U.S. courts already are adopting the new
Canadian idea of a credulous, helpless consumer and whether the FTC
or CFPB might do the same is worthy of discussion. This panel is
presented by the American Bar Association Antitrust Section,
Private Advertising Litigation, Consumer Protection & Privacy,
and Information Security Committees as well as the Marketing
Practices Committee of the Canadian Bar Association. Venable
attorney
David D. Conway will moderate the discussion.
This panel is free and open to all.
Click here to register.
International Home + Housewares Show -
Chicago
March 2-5, 2013
The International Home + Housewares Show offers you the opportunity
to see first-hand consumer lifestyle and product trends for all
areas of the home, both inside and out, under one roof. Venable
partner
Randal M. Shaheen will host a representative
from a big-box retailer and a recycling-management executive to
present "How to Make Green by Being Green and Staying Clear of
the FTC." Join us and learn how to green your business –
in more ways than one.
Click here to register for Housewares.
Venable is a sponsor of the DRMA Chicago Networking Bash, which occurs during the Housewares show, on March 4. Please join our attorneys for an evening of networking with direct-to-consumer professionals.
Engredea, Natural Products Expo West and
Nutracon - Anaheim, CA
March 6-10, 2013
Venable is a proud sponsor of this conference, which brings
together the community of leading suppliers and manufacturers to
source new ingredients, packaging, technologies, equipment, and
services in the global nutrition industry. Venable partner
Todd A. Harrison will speak about the
regulatory issues of marketing omega-3 products at the Nutracon
conference on March 6. Venable partner
Claudia A. Lewis will speak on medical foods
at Engredea on March 9. Come see us on the Engredea show floor at
booth #355.
Click here to register.
International Association of Privacy
Professionals Global Summit 2013 - Washington,
DC
March 6-8, 2013
Venable is a sponsor of this conference which hosts more than 1000
privacy professionals from across the globe. Venable partner
Stuart P. Ingis will speak on a panel
addressing Do Not Track. Please visit Venable on the show floor at
booth #7.
Click here to register.
2013 Association of National Advertisers
Advertising Law and Public Policy Conference - Washington,
DC
March 19-20, 2013
Venable is proud to sponsor this conference and to host a cocktail
reception honoring women in advertising on Tuesday, March 19.
Venable partner
Amy Ralph Mudge will moderate a
thought-provoking panel entitled "Have Women In Advertising
Really Come a Long Way, Baby?" The panel will discuss images
of women in advertising in traditional as well as new media, and
whether those idealized images should provoke self-regulation or
even government enforcement.
Click here to register.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.