The Federal Trade Commission has published guidelines for advertising mobile applications. In general, the guidelines incorporate the FTC’s policies on truthful advertising and data privacy. On the advertising side, if you make objective claims about your app, then you will need proof to support your claims. The proof necessary to support objective clams is competent… Continue Reading
Tag Archives: FTC
Magic Bracelets, Marvel Avengers Edition
Posted in Advertising, Branding, False Advertising, Guest Bloggers, Marketing—Laurel Sutton, Principal at Catchword Brand Name Development Being a Make Mine Marvel type, I am of course very excited to see the Avengers movie, which will feature all of the Marvel heroes together! In one place! With Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) there to help them save the world. I was disturbed, however, to… Continue Reading
Testify!
Posted in AdvertisingNo, I’m not referring to the Rage Against The Machine song. I’m talking about something much more exciting: commercial testimonials and endorsements! Have you ever watched commercials containing celebrity endorsements or customer testimonials and wondered where the line is for the things they say? For example, when you see an absolutely atrocious commercial for something called the Cookie Diet… Continue Reading
Retailer Ann Taylor Dodges FTC’s First Endorsement Enforcement Bullet
Posted in Guest Bloggers—Paul W. Mussell, Senior Counsel in Intellectual Property Group, Wells Fargo The FTC recently completed its first investigation under the “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising” See guidelines here. The guidelines, which officially went into effect on December 1, 2009, call for online publishers to disclose "material connections" they have with a… Continue Reading
Let’s Play “Truth or Consequences”: The New FTC Guides for Endorsements & Testimonials Bring Truth a Little Bit Closer
Posted in Guest BloggersWe all would agree that “As Seen on TV” is one of the great brands of all time. The brilliant marketeers behind it recognized the extraordinary power of television – people believe as true what they see on TV. Why that is I’m sure has been the subject of enumerable studies; after all it defines who… Continue Reading
Toys “R” Us, Indeed
Posted in Branding, Domain Names, Trademarks–Dan Kelly, Attorney A couple of weeks ago, news reports came out that KB Toys, which had filed for bankruptcy in December, sold its trademarks and domain names to a company called CE Stores LLC for $2.1 million. Last week, Toys “R” Us disclosed that it owns CE Stores. While this may be somewhat unremarkable, consider… Continue Reading
Duets Blog Authors
Steve Baird
Just so you know, I'm all about brands and the law, both professionally and personally. I regularly annoy family and friends in retail stores by focusing on product labels—not to buy the product, but to read the fine print and ask, "Who owns these brands" and "Did they really register those marks?" More...
Brent Lorentz
Although I wish I could say my path to the law was the result of a lifelong dream or calling, it was more the result mere curiosity and an affinity for leather-bound books. More...
Tiffany Blofield
Although my initial career path was to be one of the Supremes (not the musically talented ones with platform shoes and sequins, but rather, the nine wearing sensible shoes and pressed black robes in DC), I will likely stay in Minnesota as I have never lived anywhere else. More...
Brad Walz
My law career started on the ice…as a defensive hockey player (we’re not talking professionally…and if I were, I probably wouldn’t have gotten into law). More...
Derek Allen
In hindsight, writing about creativity and the law may have always been in the cards for me. I began training for a career in litigation at an early age by finding ways to disagree with pretty much anyone about pretty much anything. In my longest-running “case,” I argued with my middle school math teacher, Mrs. Jabs, for the better part of four years over whether, even if I got the right answer, I had to show my work to get full credit. More...
Martha Engel
Although my interest in gadgetry and my aptitude for math eventually led me to become an engineer, my ad executive father and artistically gifted mother fostered an appreciation for the creative from a young age. More...
Anjali Shankar
When I was in elementary and middle school, I loved writing short stories. Creativity and imagination seem to come naturally to people when they are young. More...
Timothy Sitzmann
I have always considered myself to be a creative person. Full disclosure: I'm not claiming that I've created anything good, merely that I have created things that exist.More...