Archive for the 'Contests' Category
The following are a few advertising and regulatory law developments that caught my eye today:
The CRTC has published final regulations to regulate loud television commercials: CRTC moves a step closer to making loud TV ads a thing of the past. Slaw.ca posted an interesting note by David Canton on the use of social media and Facebook for operating online contests: Commercial Users of Social Media Need to Check Terms of Use. The U.S. FTC published tips to protect information and computers from online scammers: Secure Your Computer. The Minister of Public Safety addressed trade, security and competition in remarks at the Can/Am Border Trade Alliance Conference: Speaking Notes for the Honourable Vic Toews Minister of Public Safety at the Can/Am Border Trade Alliance Conference. The Globe published an interesting article on fraudulent advertising and phishing in relation to bank log-in websites: Phishing, other malicious websites soar 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 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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On April 26, 2012, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced that it negotiated a settlement of about $15.5 million with operators of an allegedly deceptive prize promotion scheme.
Given the recent high-profile contest case decided by the Supreme Court of Canada late last month (see: Supreme Court Awards Compensatory and Punitive Damages in Misleading Contest Case), this short note posted by Consumer Protection BC earlier today on sweepstakes scams caught my eye: Seniors Continue to be Victims of a Classic Scam.
Consumer Protection BC discusses, among other things, enforcement efforts in a recent BC deceptive sweepstakes case and tips to avoid becoming a victim of fraud.
Some of the suggestions made by Consumer Protection BC include not paying for prizes upfront, being suspicious of free gifts, not sending contest organizers personal information, shredding personal information before disposing and explaining scams to vulnerable family members.
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) has published a very interesting list of top 10 consumer complaints:
1. Identity theft:
CANADIAN CONTEST RULES/PRECEDENTS
Do you need contest rules and forms for a Canadian contest/sweepstakes?
We offer a selection of Canadian contest rules and forms for random draw, skill and other common types of Canadian contests (i.e., contest precedents and forms).
For more information see Canadian Contest Forms/Precedents.
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On February 28, 2012, the Supreme Court of Canada awarded compensatory and punitive damages to a contest entrant for misleading claims in a contest mail-out (see: Jean-Marc Richard v. Time Inc. and Time Consumer Marketing Inc.).
The decision is interesting not only that a contest case made it to the Supreme Court, but that our highest court also allowed punitive damages. The Supreme Court also had interesting comments in this Quebec Consumer Protection Act case regarding the importance of the “general impression” test for evaluating advertising (the “general impression” is also relevant for evaluating whether advertising is false or misleading under the federal Competition Act).
In this case, the plaintiff received an “Official Sweepstakes Notification” that suggested he won USD $833,337. The prize notification letter included conditional clauses which began “If you have and return the Grand Prize winning entry in time” and information that the recipient would qualify for a $100,000 bonus prize if the entry was validated within five days. The mailing also included the official rules in small print and an offer to subscribe to Time magazine. The rules provided that a winning number had been pre-selected by computer and that the holder of the number could receive the grand prize only if the reply coupon was returned by the deadline (otherwise the prize winner would be selected by random draw from all eligible entries with odds of winning of about 1 in 120 million).
The plaintiff returned the coupon and subscribed to Time. Though he began receiving his magazines, no cheque arrived. Contacting Time, he was told that he would not be receiving a cheque, his document had not contained the winning entry for the draw and was merely an invitation to participate in the sweepstakes.
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 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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Promotional contests in Canada are largely governed by the Competition Act, the Criminal Code, privacy legislation and the common law of contract. In addition, Quebec has a separate regulatory regime governing contests and contest authority (the Régie des alcools, des courses et des jeux). Canada’s federal anti-spam legislation (CASL) also commonly applies to Canadian contests and other promotions (see below).
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 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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Promotional contests in Canada are largely governed by the Competition Act, the Criminal Code, privacy legislation and the common law of contract. In addition, Quebec has a separate regulatory regime governing contests and contest authority (the Régie des alcools, des courses et des jeux). Canada’s federal anti-spam legislation (CASL) also commonly applies to Canadian contests and other promotions (see below).
CANADIAN CONTEST RULES/PRECEDENTS
Do you need contest rules and forms for a Canadian contest/sweepstakes?
We offer a selection of Canadian contest rules and forms for random draw, skill and other common types of Canadian contests (i.e., contest precedents and forms).
For more information see Canadian Contest Forms/Precedents.
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Promotional contests can be a fun, entertaining and commercially effective way to market an existing or new product. They are also common and straightforward right? Well, not quite.
Templates/precedents and checklists to run promotional contests in Canada
Templates/precedents and checklists to comply with Canadian anti-spam law (CASL)
