Category Archives: Advertising Law

April 11, 2013

Telemarketer Pays $100,000 Penalty – Reminder of National Do Not Call List Rules

In recent news that may serve as a cautionary tale for telemarketers, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) recently announced that Comwave Telenetworks Inc. has paid a $100,000 penalty as part of a settlement for telemarketing practices involving the National Do Not Call List … Read the rest of this entry »

April 6, 2013

A Few Thoughts on the Interim Commissioner of Competition’s C.D. Howe Institute Remarks

Yesterday, Canada’s Interim Commissioner of Competition, John Pecman, delivered remarks at the C.D. Howe Institute in Toronto – his fifth speech since taking the position of Interim Commissioner last fall (see: Remarks by John Pecman, Interim Commissioner of Competition).  In general, his remarks reflected some … Read the rest of this entry »

March 29, 2013

Sell a House, a Little Ice Fishing and Other Promotions – Creative Ways to Use Contests (and a Few Tips for Staying Out of Trouble)

CANADIAN CONTEST RULES/PRECEDENTS Do you need contest rules/precedents for a Canadian contest? We offer many types of Canadian contest/sweepstakes law precedents and forms (i.e., Canadian contest/sweepstakes law precedents to run common types of contests in Canada).  These include precedents for random draw contests (i.e., where … Read the rest of this entry »

March 21, 2013

Telemarketing: CRTC Calls For Public Comments on Do Not Call List and Auto-Dialing Rules

Getting a sales call right when you’re eating dinner can be annoying.  On the other hand, like (in my view very valid) criticism of the pending anti-spam law, are telemarketing calls so troublesome that small and medium size companies should face yet more regulation? The … Read the rest of this entry »

March 19, 2013

U.S. FTC best practices for mobile advertisers and app developers – more U.S. activity and parallels Canadian enforcement priorities

Competition/antitrust enforcement agencies in both the U.S. and Canada have been increasing their focus on new media advertising/marketing practices, notably in the mobile space. In Canada, recent cases and initiatives include the ongoing challenge by the Competition Bureau of Bell/Rogers/Telus for allegedly misleading premium text … Read the rest of this entry »

March 12, 2013

Online Advertising: U.S. FTC Issues New “Dot Com” Advertising Guidelines

March 12, 2013 Earlier today, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued revised Dom Com Disclosure guidelines (see: FTC Staff Revises Online Advertising Disclosure Guidelines).  From the FTC: “… the new FTC staff guidance, .com Disclosures: How to Make Effective Disclosures in Digital Advertising takes … Read the rest of this entry »

March 12, 2013

Fraud: Competition Bureau Announces Top 2 “2 Good 2 B True Day” Scams: Highlights False Online Testimonials & Mobile “Subscription Traps”

Earlier today, as part of its Fraud Prevention Month efforts in March, the Competition Bureau announced its Top 2 on “2 Good 2 B True Day” scams: false online testimonials; and mobile “subscription traps”. With respect to false testimonials, the Bureau highlighted concerns with testimonials … Read the rest of this entry »

March 6, 2013

New Contest Rules Product – Canadian Contest Forms and Precedents to Run Random Draw and Skill Contests in Canada

In addition to our contest law services, we offer Canadian contest forms and precedents for sale, including for random draw and skill contests in Canada. These Canadian contest forms are intended to bridge the gap between legal advice and forms on the web, which may … Read the rest of this entry »