April 11, 2013
In recent news that may serve as a cautionary tale for telemarketers, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) recently announced that Comwave Telenetworks Inc. has paid a $100,000 penalty as part of a settlement for telemarketing practices involving the National Do Not Call List (DNCL) rules (which are a subset of the CRTC’s Unsolicited Telecommunications Rules).
April 9, 2013
Yesterday the U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) announced that it had reached a settlement with Chiropractic Associates Ltd. of South Dakota (CASD), an association composed of approximately 80% of practicing chiropractors in South Dakota, in relation to the association’s collective negotiations with insurers to set chiropractic service prices. According to the DoJ, apart from CASD members that were part of the same practice groups, the association’s members were not clinically or financially integrated and CASD’s actions were not necessary to achieve any consumer benefits.
April 8, 2013
Steve Szentesi &
Mark Katz (Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP)
(Upcoming note for Associations+)
Just as with any other board of directors, directors of trade and profession associations generally owe duties of loyalty, care and skill to their organizations. While the applicable standards may vary to some extent or be expressed differently between provinces, association directors are generally required to act honestly and in the best interests of the association and to exercise diligence and skill in the course of fulfilling their duties. Based on this duty of care, directors have an obligation to take steps not only to advance the interests and objectives of their association, but also to protect their association against risk, including the risks entailed by non-compliance with the law.
April 6, 2013
Yesterday, Canada’s Interim Commissioner of Competition, John Pecman, delivered remarks at the C.D. Howe Institute in Toronto – his fifth speech since taking the position of Interim Commissioner last fall (see: Remarks by John Pecman, Interim Commissioner of Competition). In general, his remarks reflected some fairly well known aspects of his views as an antitrust official, notably his focus on enforcement (a theme consistent with the previous Commissioner who stepped down last fall).
April 5, 2013
After some months of advance access publication, Oxford Journals has launched the inaugural edition of its very good Journal of Antitrust Enforcement (see: here). The first issue includes articles on: “The Competition and Markets Authority: can the whole be greater than the sum of its parts?” (P. Freeman), “Models for merging the US antitrust agencies” (W. Blumenthal), “Antitrust compliance programs and optimal antitrust enforcement” (W.P.J. Wils), “Do expert agencies outperform generalist judges? Some preliminary evidence from the Federal Trade Commission” (J. D. Wright, A.M. Diveley), “Why not court? A study of follow-on actions in the UK” (B.J. Rodger) and “Justifying criminal sanctions for cartel conduct: a hard case” (C. Beaton-Wells and C. Parker).
April 5, 2013
Yesterday, the Competition Bureau announced that in connection with its ongoing motor vehicle components cartel investigation, Furukawa Electric Co., Ltd. (Furukawa), a Japanese supplier of motor vehicle components, pled guilty and was fined $5 million by the Ontario Superior Court for participating in a bid-rigging agreement to relating to bids provided to Honda of Canada Manufacturing Inc. (see: $5M Fine for a Japanese Supplier of Motor Vehicle Components).
March 30, 2013
Yesterday the Japanese Fair Trade Commission announced that it had issued cease and desist orders and surcharge payment orders of about 13 billion Yen (about USD $141 million) against four bearing manufacturers (NTN Corporation, NSK Ltd., Nachi-Fujikoshi Corp. and JTEKT Corp.) for fixing the price of bearings (see: JFTC Issues Cease and Desist Orders and Surcharge Payment Order Against Bearing Manufacturers).
March 29, 2013
CANADIAN CONTEST RULES/PRECEDENTS
Do you need contest rules and forms for a Canadian contest/sweepstakes? I 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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Want to win a house for $100? That’s exactly what one Ontario couple offered recently as a prize through a contest they came up with after watching the movie Spitfire Grill, where the main character holds a contest to give away her diner (see: Aylmer Couple Holds Essay Contest to Sell Country Home for $100).
Templates/precedents and checklists to run promotional contests in Canada
Templates/precedents and checklists to comply with Canadian anti-spam law (CASL)
