Category Archives: New Publications

Competition Bureau Makes Major Changes to Canadian Competition Law Compliance Programs

On June 3, 2015, the Canadian Competition Bureau (Bureau) finalized its new core competition law compliance materials. They are essential reading for corporate compliance officers, senior management and in-house counsel. In announcing its new Corporate Compliance Programs Bulletin, the Commissioner of Competition said: “This bulletin … Read the rest of this entry »

Canadian Contest Law: Key Questions to Ask if Running a Contest in Canada

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 »

Hockey Helmet Case a Reminder of Canada’s Performance Claim Rules (and a Few Key Points)

Performance claims remain a popular advertising strategy for many brands. These can include statements about a product’s speed, reliability or other performance. Performance claims in Canada, however, are subject to both the “general misleading advertising” sections of the Competition Act (Act) and a stand-alone performance … Read the rest of this entry »

Numerous Warning Letters Serve as a Reminder that the FTC is Always Watching

November 11, 2014 Guest post by Shannon Harell (Information Law Group) The Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) has been very active in its enforcement efforts in the past couple of months. In addition to other actions which we have blogged about, the FTC recently sent dozens … Read the rest of this entry »

General Impressions Matter: US FTC, Australian ACCC Take Issue Over Headline Claims (and Some Compliance Tips)

In the advertising law world, general impressions matter – a lot. In Canada, the federal Competition Act even includes specific sections that provide that the general impression of a claim (i.e., not merely the literal meaning of an advertising claim or what is included in … Read the rest of this entry »

Canadian Competition Bureau Issues Updated Competition Compliance Guidelines

Canada’s Competition Bureau (the “Bureau”) has been working over the past year or two to update its competition law compliance guidelines and policies. Competition law compliance has also figured prominently in recent remarks by Canada’s new Commissioner of Competition, John Pecman (see for example: here). As … Read the rest of this entry »

Magic Green Beans for Weight Loss? Not Worth Trading a Cow For Says US FTC

In an interesting case that caught my eye earlier today, the U.S. FTC announced a proposed settlement with Texas-based Applied Food Sciences Inc. (AFS) in relation to allegedly “baseless” green coffee extract weight loss claims. According to the FTC, AFS, which sells a green coffee … Read the rest of this entry »

IP Law: A Primer on Canadian Trademark Law

WHAT ARE TRADEMARKS? A mark (words, names, symbols, devices, sounds, smells, trade dress) used to distinguish the goods and services of one business from similar goods and services of all other businesses. In Canada, it is possible to register the non-functional shape of a product … Read the rest of this entry »