Tag Archives: advertising

May 16, 2013

No Free TV Down Under Apparently: Australian ACCC Settles with Cable Co. & A Few Tips for Canada

There used to be a saying that nothing in life is free.  In Australia, it seems, there are no free TVs, or at least not that many.  In a curious case posted by the Australian ACCC earlier today (or was that yesterday?), it announced that … Read the rest of this entry »

May 6, 2013

“Babies Can Read” is Back – A Curious Advertising Tale on a Monday Afternoon

Advertising can be funny sometimes, or odd, or a bit like faith or all of these.   Let me explain what I’m talking about.  A few months ago, in perhaps one of the strangest advertising law tales I’ve seen in awhile (or ever), I wrote about … 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 »

August 31, 2012

New Publications: Intellectual Property Perspectives on Marketing and Advertising

Carswell is publishing a new IP and advertising law related text entitled Intellectual Property Perspectives on Marketing and Advertising (Henry Lue). From Carswell: “There are several forms of intellectual property law that are associated with marketing and advertising law. These include patents, trade-marks, copyright and … Read the rest of this entry »

August 29, 2012

“Babies Can Read!” or Consumers Can’t Think – May Be a Close Call – FTC Seeks $185 Million Settlement

In a recent case that I can only describe as bizarre, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission has announced that it has filed false advertising charges against the marketers of “Your Baby Can Read!”, a learning program for toddlers that, according to the FTC, was “widely … Read the rest of this entry »

August 19, 2012

Advertising: Conferences: “Digital Day Conference 2012: The New Digital Path to Purchase”

“Emerging technologies, new platforms and evolving digital tools are changing the way audiences consume media, connect with brands and ultimately make purchase decisions. With the rise of smartphones, tablets and social media, today’s empowered consumers are seeking out information, interacting with brands and sharing their … Read the rest of this entry »

August 19, 2012

Northern Gateway Pipeline: Were Enbridge Promotional Videos Misleading?

In a curious twist in the growing dispute between the Alberta and British Columbia governments, stakeholders and individuals on either side of the environmental debate, with some political seesawing by the Federal Government thrown in, a British Columbia resident has recently alleged that Enbridge promotional … Read the rest of this entry »