Category Archives: New Publications

July 18, 2016

New International Online Reviews and Endorsements Guidelines Give Practical Guidance to Marketers, Reflect Competition Bureau Policies

Featured Update Practical Law Canada Competition July 18, 2016 This Featured Update discusses the recent Online Reviews and Endorsements Guidelines issued by the International Consumer Protection and Enforcement Network (ICPEN). It includes a summary of key principles and guidelines for review administrators, traders and marketing … Read the rest of this entry »

July 15, 2016

Get in the Know: The Most Popular Social Media Advertising Products Available

Guest post by Nick Hollinger tbk Creative It’s common knowledge that any organization can – and should – set up free social media accounts to start organically reaching individuals without spending a dime. So, that’s all businesses can do with social media, right? Wrong. What … Read the rest of this entry »

June 2, 2016

Responding to Online Brand Attacks

Guest post by John Simpson (Shift Law) Online threats to commercial reputations are on the rise. These include “attack sites”, “gripe sites” (e.g., RipOff Report), cyber-libel via social media, domain name high-jacking, meta tag high-jacking and defamatory email campaigns. Online brand and reputation attacks are … Read the rest of this entry »

April 27, 2016

Filing Competition Bureau, CASL and Other Canadian Regulatory Law Complaints

I frequently receive inquires and calls relating to filing a competition, advertising, consumer protection or other regulatory complaint. Companies, individuals or other types of organizations may want to file a complaint relating to a competitor, manufacturer or supplier, retailer or other market participant based on … Read the rest of this entry »

January 5, 2016

Canadian Competition Law Compliance for Associations: CSAE 2016 Winter Summit

I am pleased to be a guest speaker at the CSAE (Canadian Society of Association Executives) Trillium Chapter’s 2016 Winter Summit in Burlington on February 4th. I will be co-presenting an interactive seminar on the Competition Bureau’s new approach to competition compliance for associations together … Read the rest of this entry »

January 2, 2016

Record $7.3 Million Settlement in Mobile Cramming Case: Cautionary Tale for Partnering with Affiliates?

On December 30, 2015, Telus agreed to a $7.3 million settlement with the Competition Bureau (“Bureau”) as part of the Bureau’s ongoing case against major Canadian telecoms for allegedly misleading advertisements for premium text messages in pop-up ads, apps and in social media. See: Telus … Read the rest of this entry »

June 13, 2015

Guest Post: U.S. FTC Updates FAQs on Endorsements and Testimonials in Social Media

Major enforcement agencies, notably in the United States (U.S. FTC) and Canada (Competition Bureau have been increasingly focusing on misleading online testimonials and disclaimers. In this respect, earlier this week Canada’s Competition Bureau launched a new advertising law publication with the first issue focusing on … Read the rest of this entry »

June 11, 2015

Competition Bureau Highlights Priorities, Compliance Guidelines in New Advertising Publication

The Canadian Competition Bureau has been increasing its advocacy, outreach and compliance efforts since the (relatively) new Commissioner of Competition (John Pecman) took office. As part of this effort, it appears to be focusing on introducing more new media (and also an increasing range) of … Read the rest of this entry »