Archive for the 'Associations' Category
From the Canadian Council of Chief Executives (CCCE):
“On September 24-25, 2012, the Canadian Council of Chief Executives will host “Canada in the Pacific Century”, a conference bringing together leaders from business, government, academia, and other key groups to discuss Asia’s rise and the implications for Canada.”
For the updated Agenda see:
“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 experiences. The old path-to-purchase model worked well with traditional media and brick-and-mortar stores: it was linear and predictable, starting with an ad and ending with an in-store purchase. But today’s digital path-to-purchase is non-linear and dynamic, with multiple touch points and interactions: consumers are doing everything from downloading product reviews while they’re shopping, to holding up their smartphones on a street to see where the best restaurants are. It’s a seismic shift that is reshaping the marketing and media landscape.
The 2012 Digital Day Conference, presented by Marketing magazine and the Canadian Marketing Association, will explore how best to navigate this fast-changing world and reach audiences at key points along the new purchase-decision journey. The focus will be on real-world examples, creative solutions and inspiring next steps in social media, mobile, online video, gaming, e-commerce, content creation and more.
Join us for a full day of keynote presentations, workshops and panel discussions featuring media, advertising and marketing leaders from across Canada and around the globe.”
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.
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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.
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.
I am pleased to be delivering the Competition Law and REALTORS compliance course for members of the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board on Thursday August 16th. From the Alliance for Canadian Real Estate Education (ACRE):
“Competition Law and REALTORS®: What You Say and Do Matters was designed by ACRE with the assistance of CREA to help Canadian REALTORS® understand and comply with Canadian competition law. While Canadian competition law applies to all real estate professionals, this course was designed specifically for REALTORS®. This course provides an overview in plain language of Canadian competition law and practical compliance guidelines to assist REALTORS® in complying with Canadian competition law and a number of illustrative case studies.”
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On July 30, 2012, the Competition Bureau announced that the Corporate Research Group Ltd. (CRG) has pleaded guilty to a criminal charge of bid-rigging for federal government contracts in relation to real estate advisory services and was fined $125,000. In making the announcement the Bureau reflected its continuing focus on criminal competition law matters and reliance on its Immunity and Leniency Programs:
“The Bureau’s investigation benefited from cooperation under the Bureau’s Immunity and Leniency Programs, which create incentives for parties to address their criminal liability by cooperating with the Bureau in its ongoing investigation and prosecution of other alleged cartel participants.
Cracking down on cartels, including bid-rigging offences, is a top priority for the Bureau. Under the Competition Act, it is a criminal offence for two or more bidders, in response to a call or request for bids or tenders, to agree among themselves on the bids submitted, to agree that one party will refrain from bidding or to agree to withdraw a submitted bid, without informing the person calling for the bids of this agreement.”
Under section 45 of the Competition Act (the criminal conspiracy offences of the Act) three types of agreements between competitors are “per se” illegal (i.e., with no adverse competitive impacts required to be proven): (i) price-fixing agreements (agreements to fix, maintain, increase or control the price for the supply of a product or service), (ii) market allocation/division agreements (agreements to allocate sales, territories, customers or markets for the production or supply of a product) and (iii) output/supply restriction agreements (agreements to fix, maintain, control, prevent, lessen or eliminate the production or supply of a product). Other types of agreements between competitors are potentially subject to review under a second and separate non-criminal reviewable matters agreement provision (section 90.1).
In anticipation of its upcoming fall Canada in the Pacific Century Conference, the Canadian Council of Chief Executives (CCCE) is publishing a series of Asia investment related papers:
“As part of the Canada in the Pacific Century initiative, the CCCE will publish a series of papers in 2012 dealing with a wide range of issues in the Canada/Asia relationship.”
The CCCE has published the most recent paper in this series by Graham Orpwood, entitled “Competing in the 21st Century Skills Race” – see: Canada in the Pacific Century – Papers
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For more information about our regulatory law services: Contact
For more regulatory law updates follow us on Twitter: @CanadaAttorney
Templates/precedents and checklists to run promotional contests in Canada
Templates/precedents and checklists to comply with Canadian anti-spam law (CASL)
