Archive for the 'Competition Bureau' Category
April 27, 2014
Co-author with Mark Katz (Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg)
Information surveys are one of the most important functions that an association can perform for members. Surveys can be used to facilitate research initiatives and benchmarking exercises, increase market transparency and customer knowledge, promote improved products and services, and support industry lobbying and advocacy efforts.
April 25, 2014
Information about an interesting new competition law and associations webinar come into my inbox this morning entitled: Antitrust Risks for Trade Associations and Members: Ensuring Compliance Amid Intensive Federal Scrutiny. Given that I work with many associations, I thought I would post the details. While this particular webinar is US-based, many of the same issues and compliance strategies are the same in Canada. Strafford is also an excellent CLE provider (and no I have not been paid to say that!)
April 20, 2014
Recently I was asked why an association should have a competition compliance program. Sometimes I am asked why a company, association or other organization should have a compliance program. And others, I am asked what a “compliance program is”. These are both very valid questions. Here I thought I would write a short note on the first question (i.e, the “why”).
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 winners are chosen by random draw), skill contests (e.g., essay, photo or other types of contests where entrants submit content that is judged to enter the contest or for additional entries), trip contests and more. Also available are individual Canadian contest/sweepstakes precedents, including short rules (“mini-rules”), long rules, winner releases and a Canadian contest law checklist. For more information or to order, see: Canadian Contest Law Forms/Precedents. If you would like to discuss legal advice in relation to your contest or other promotion, contact us: Contact.
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TopDog Social Media has posted a new podcast on social media contests entitled Is Your Social Media Contest Breaking the Law (and thank you TopDog for chatting with me about social media contest laws and rules). Some of the topics discussed in TopDog’s new podcast include:
The 5 most common illegal contest mistakes by businesses running contests online and over social media; Apple’s restrictions on giving away iPads & iPhones; one mistake that cost a business $170,000 in fines; two major components to ensuring your social media contest is legal; some of the basic rules you legally need to include in any contest; some of the legalities surrounding the use of third party materials; a few ways to tell if your advertising may be false or misleading; what you can and can’t legally use information for that you collect in a contest; social networks with the most and least strict policies for contests; some of YouTube’s quirky rule about using entrant information; some of what Facebook expects you to say when you run a contest; how Quebec’s strict rules could provide an opportunity for businesses; and thinking about whether your social media contest is in fact an “illegal lottery”.
April 12, 2014
I recently read remarks delivered by European Commission competition head Joaquin Almunia in Brussels on the topic of cartel enforcement (see: Fighting against cartels: A priority for the present and for the future). He discussed, among other things, recent European cartel cases, fines achieved, cartels in innovation and fast moving markets and recent detection strategies (see highlights at the bottom of this post).
April 10, 2014
Parties in price-fixing, market division and other competition/antitrust cartels can go to some fairly extensive lengths to conceal agreements.
April 8, 2014
Earlier today, the Competition Bureau announced that one company and two individuals have pleaded guilty to price-fixing under the Competition Act in relation to an ocean freight cartel (see: here). According to the Bureau, these pleas relate to a price-fixing cartel for various ocean freight related surcharges (including surcharges for currency exchange rate fluctuations and fuel) in operation from 2005 to 2011, which included agreements on rates or formulas used to calculate rates for various surcharges.
April 7, 2014
Earlier today the Competition Bureau issued remarks from the Canadian Commissioner of Competition’s (John Pecman) talk in Vancouver at the Grocery Showcase West of the Canadian Federation of Independent Grocers (CFIG).
Templates/precedents and checklists to run promotional contests in Canada
Templates/precedents and checklists to comply with Canadian anti-spam law (CASL)
