Archive for the 'News' Category
The U.S. Word of Mouth Marketing Association (“WOMMA”) published earlier today a new edition of its Social Media Marketing Disclosure Guide (see: The WOMMA Guide to Disclosure in Social Media Marketing).
From WOMMA:
“As part of WOMMA’s continuing effort to advance and advocate ethical word of mouth, WOMMA has updated our social media marketing disclosure guide that highlights best practices and responsibilities of using social media.
The WOMMA Ethics Code is the cornerstone for prudent practices in the WOM industry. In light of the December 2009 effective date of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising, WOMMA leadership responded to member demand for additional disclosures for social media marketing. This is a continuation of an effort started in 2008 when WOMMA began formalizing best practices by engaging industry leaders, members, nonmembers, academics and consumers.
These guidelines are considered living documents and are updated on occasion to reflect changes in regulation and in the marketplace.
…
Scope of WOMMA Social Media Disclosure GUIDE
As social media is ever-changing, the WOMMA Social Media Disclosure Guide will be a living document – continuing to be refined to reflect evolving industry best practices. Note also that many WOMMA programs are hybrid in nature and are developed to incentivize traditional (offline) as well as digital and social initiatives. While the mechanics of these types of conversation might be different, the expectation is that such communications should be consistently ethical and credible, both in the online and offline environment. Key online platforms covered in this Guide include, but are not limited to blogs (eg., Blogger, WordPress), microblogs (e.g., Twitter, Pinterest), online comments (e.g., Disqus), social networks (e.g., Facebook, LinkedIn, Bebo, Hi5), video sharing websites (e.g., YouTube, Vimeo), photo sharing websites (e.g., Flickr, Picasa, Pinterest), curated content (Storify.com, Paper.li, Scoop.it), sponsored content, affiliate networks, referral networks and podcasts. Note, platform names are for example only and may be updated from time to time as new platforms and types emerge or evolve.
MIT Press has (recently) published a new text on cartels and bidding rings entitled The Economics of Collusion (Robert C. Marshall and Leslie M. Marx authors). From MIT Press:
“Explicit collusion is an agreement among competitors to suppress rivalry that relies on inter-firm communication and/or transfers. Rivalry between competitors erodes profits; the suppression of rivalry through collusion is one avenue by which firms can enhance profits. Many cartels and bidding rings function for years in a stable and peaceful manner despite the illegality of their agreements and incentives for deviation by their members. In The Economics of Collusion, Robert Marshall and Leslie Marx offer an examination of collusive behavior: what it is, why it is profitable, how it is implemented, and how it might be detected.
Marshall and Marx, who have studied collusion extensively for two decades, begin with three narratives: the organization and implementation of a cartel, the organization and implementation of a bidding ring, and a parent company’s efforts to detect collusion by its divisions. These accounts–fictitious, but rooted in the inner workings and details from actual cases–offer a novel and engaging way for the reader to understand the basics of collusive behavior. The narratives are followed by detailed economic analyses of cartels, bidding rings, and detection.
The narratives offer an engaging entrée to the more rigorous economic discussion that follows. The book is accessible to any reader who understands basic economic reasoning. Mathematical material is flagged with asterisks.”
We are pleased to have re-launched a new version of our Canadian Advertising and Marketing Law blog, which includes overviews of the key areas of Canadian advertising and marketing law, an Advertising Alphabet (a glossary of key Canadian advertising and marketing law terms) and recent Canadian advertising and marketing law news and trends.
To visit our new site see: Canadian Advertising & Marketing Law
Canadian advertising and marketing law is rather active just now – current and recent cases include the Rogers performance claims case (involving challenges to the performance claims provisions of the Competition Act), Richard v. Time (a deceptive contest mail-out case in which the Supreme Court of Canada considered the meaning of the “general impression test” for the purposes of the Quebec Consumer Protection Act), the Bell advertising case (which involved allegations by the Competition Bureau that certain price claims by Bell were false or misleading, and not cured by disclaimers) and the landmark Yellow Pages case (in which over C $9 million in penalties were ordered to be paid by companies and individuals involved in marketing claims ostensibly asking companies to confirm contact information in fax marketing, when in fact fine print disclaimers signed companies new contracts with significant fees). There has also been a considerable amount of sectoral regulation activity, including in the airline and cell phone industries.
The American Bar Association’s Section of International Law has issued a call for articles for three upcoming issues of its International Law News on the topics of “International Anti-Bribery Compliance and Investigation” (deadline: October 22, 2012), “Diversity Challenges in the Modern World” (deadline: December 10, 2012) and “Current Issues in International Commercial Transactions (including Mergers and Acquisitions)”.
About International Law News:
“A key purpose of the Section newsletter, the International Law News, is to keep Section members informed about current international law developments and important Section news. The ILN publishes articles on breaking issues for practitioners in the international arena to assist them in gaining helpful insights into the hot issues and obtaining concrete, how-to advice on practicing international law in the marketplace. The ILN also publishes regular columns on public and private law initiatives, survival guides to cities, and pros and cons columns on breaking issues of general interest. The ILN is intended to give practitioners helpful insights and guide lines to doing business in the international arena. Articles should be short (2,000 words maximum) and comprehensible to non-specialists.”
I am pleased to be speaking at the Canadian Bar Association’s and Canadian Corporate Counsel Association’s upcoming CBA Canadian Legal Conference in Vancouver on a panel on August 13th: “What In-house Counsel Need to Know About Recent Competition Law Developments”. From the Canadian Bar Association and Canadian Corporate Counsel Association (CCCA):
“Canada’s competition and foreign investment laws are being enforced more vigorously than ever. The Competition Bureau has broad powers allowing them to investigate conduct that might have an anti-competitive impact on the Canadian marketplace, and investigations can involve high-stakes consequences for companies including public stigma, civil or criminal penalties, or unneeded complications arising in the middle of a strategic merger. Private and class actions are also increasingly prevalent in Canada. Hear about recent trends and learn practical tips for spotting issues and minimizing potential liability from experienced in-house and external counsel who will discuss compliance, criminal developments, private actions, mergers and advertising and marketing law developments.”
My presentation will be on recent misleading advertising law developments and trends (“Misleading Advertising Trends & Tips”), with a PowerPoint presentation and paper highlighting recent cases including Rogers, Bell, Yellow Pages, Richard v. Time and best practices for in-house counsel.
On August 7, 2012, hearings in the landmark Canadian misleading advertising case Commissioner of Competition v. Rogers Communications Inc. began.
The case, the first constitutional test of increased “administrative monetary penalties” or “AMPs” under the Competition Act (the “Act”) for misleading advertising, promises to be a bit of a battle between the Competition Bureau (the “Bureau”) and Rogers in relation to a few key aspects of Canadian advertising law.
The case relates to certain performance claims made by Rogers in connection with its new cell phone brand Chatr, the effectiveness of disclaimers (like other recent high-profile Canadian advertising cases) and, perhaps the issue most likely to capture public attention, whether the potentially significant civil penalties now possible for misleading advertising are constitutional.
The Bureau is principally taking aim at two claims made by Rogers: that its (at the time) new Chatr cell phone brand had “fewer dropped calls than new wireless carriers” and that customers had “no worries about dropped calls”. According to the Bureau these claims, made to compete with new wireless entrants Mobilicity, Public Mobile and Wind Mobile, were either literally false in some cases (in markets where new entrant cell phone companies’ dropped call rates were superior to Rogers) or, where true, misleading (by conveying the general impression of appreciably lower dropped call rates, when any differences were in reality “imperceptible” to consumers).
The Bureau has also taken the position that certain disclaimers used by Rogers were ineffective in altering the general impression of its performance claims, including the view that some technical statements made by Rogers in disclaimers would be meaningless to the average consumer. For example, some Rogers disclaimers included statements such as: “Based on: cell site density; quality of indoor and underground reception; and seamless call transition when moving out of zone”.
The OECD has issued a new Policy Roundtable report entitled: Remedies in Merger Cases, which includes a discussion of Canada.
Abstract:
“Competition agencies use remedies in merger cases to eliminate any competitive harm that may result as a consequence of a merger. Generally, merger remedies are classified as either structural or behavioural (or conduct). Each of these categories has benefits and drawbacks, which must be carefully considered when deciding which type of remedy to best employ.
Horizontal and vertical mergers generally involve different competitive concerns. These differences must be taken into account when crafting an appropriate remedy. Frequently, competitive concerns in horizontal mergers can be best resolved by a structural remedy, while vertical mergers lend themselves to behavioural remedies or a combination of both.
While such generalizations may be a useful starting point, each transaction should be evaluated based on its own merits. In crafting remedies, competition agencies often seek the views of third parties in order to ensure that an optimal remedy is found.”
Publications: OECD Policy Roundtable Report: Economic Evidence in Merger Analysis – Including Canada
The OECD has issued a new Policy Roundtable report entitled: Economic Evidence in Merger Analysis, which includes a discussion of Canada.
Abstract:
“The OECD Competition Committee debated economic evidence in merger analysis in February 2011. This document includes an executive summary of that debate and the documents from the meeting: a background note by Prof. Mike Walker for the OECD and written submissions: Austria, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Indonesia, Israel, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Portugal, Romania, Russian Federation, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland, Chinese Taipei, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States, the European Union, and BIAC as well as an aide-memoire of the discussion.
Templates/precedents and checklists to run promotional contests in Canada
Templates/precedents and checklists to comply with Canadian anti-spam law (CASL)
