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Getting the Yardage: District Court Locks in on Rangefinder Company’s False Claims

By Leonard L. Gordon & Michael A. Munoz

October 30, 2020

A case about golf and advertising was too good for us not to write about. Recently, the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California issued a tentative preliminary injunction against GolfzonDeca, Inc. for marketing its GolfBuddy rangefinder. For you non-golfers, a rangefinder is a device that tells a golfer how far they are from the hole or other point on the course.[1] Golfers continually strive for equipment that might help them lower…

All About Advertising Law

FTC Commissioner Warns Larger Companies and Payment Processors, Seeks Greater Financial Penalties

By Leonard L. Gordon, Ellen T. Berge & Mary M. Gardner

October 30, 2020

On October 19, 2020, the Federal Trade Commission issued its annual report to Congress regarding the FTC’s efforts to protect senior citizens from fraud and abuse. In the report, the FTC noted that adults over 60 are more likely to report losing money to certain types of alleged scams, including romance scams, imposter scams, and online shopping programs. Moreover, the FTC reports that seniors were more than six times more likely than younger consumers to…

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Demonstrating the Strength of the “Opinion Defense,” Rose McGowan Defeats Defamation Suit

By Lee S. Brenner & Rachel Richards

October 22, 2020

Well known for their highly publicized interactions with the legal system, Rose McGowan and her former defense attorney Jose Baez faced off this year over conflict of interest allegations in Baez v. McGowan, 2020 Ill. Cir. LEXIS 458 (2020). Jose Baez is best known for his successful defense of Casey Anthony, a young woman tried for the murder of her two-year-old daughter in 2011, while actress, activist, and author Rose McGowan famously accused media…

All About Advertising Law

Ad Law in the Age of COVID-19 and Regulatory Reactions

By Melissa Landau Steinman & Kristen R. Klesh

October 20, 2020

The COVID-19 crisis has spawned a new wave of predatory behavior toward consumers, with the marketing of coronavirus-related products and untested cures. Regulators have responded to these behaviors swiftly and in a variety of ways. Richard Cleland, assistant director – division of advertising practices at the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), and Venable attorneys Melissa Steinman and Kristen Klesh addressed the advertising enforcement trends stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic and offered their reflections on best practices…

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Section 230 – Everything You Love and Hate About the Internet

By Lee S. Brenner & Alicia Sharon

October 19, 2020

Lauded as the “the most important law protecting free speech”[1] and the law that “gave us the modern internet,”[2] Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act (Section 230) has been a fixture of recent internet policy debates and blamed for everything from the proliferation of sex trafficking[3] to enabling anti-conservative social media bias[4]. Section 230 says, “[n]o provider or user of an interactive computer service shall be treated as the…

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D.C. District Court Decries Vague Assertion of Damages

By Lee S. Brenner & Namita S. Dhawan

October 15, 2020

The District of Columbia Circuit Court recently dismissed attorney John Szymkowicz’s defamation lawsuit against the author of the website “Legal Profession Blog,” finding that Szymkowicz failed to demonstrate that his potential damages met the $75,000 threshold required to establish federal jurisdiction. In Szymkowicz v. Frisch, No. CV 19-3329 (BAH), 2020 WL 4432240 (D.D.C. July 31, 2020), Georgetown University Law Center professor Szymkowicz brought a claim for defamation, invasion of privacy—false light, and intentional infliction…

All About Advertising Law

A Fireside Chat and Crystal Ball Readings with FTC Attorney Advisors

By Eric S. Berman & Daniel S. Blynn

October 12, 2020

Venable attorneys Eric Berman and Dan Blynn hosted a virtual fireside chat with attorney advisors to four current Federal Trade Commission (FTC) commissioners. Touching on each commissioner’s background and enforcement priorities, the FTC attorney advisors offered insights into best practices and insider perspectives on interacting with the FTC through a series of questions and answers, posed by the Venable team and submitted by audience members. Each panelist spoke on their own behalf, and not on…

All About Advertising Law

Disgorgement Denied: Third Circuit Hands FTC a Tough Pill to Swallow Over Section 13(b) Authority

By Leonard L. Gordon, Mary M. Gardner & Michael A. Munoz

October 1, 2020

Yesterday, the Third Circuit issued an opinion in Federal Trade Commission v. AbbVie, Inc., joining the Seventh Circuit in holding that the FTC is not entitled to seek disgorgement under Section 13(b) of the FTC Act. The decision reflects a potential turning of the tides on how courts view FTC’s statutory authority to seek monetary relief. By way of background, the district court ordered the AbbVie defendants to disgorge $448 million in alleged ill-gotten…

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The Academy’s New Standards For Best Picture—A Bold Chapter In The Name of Inclusivity

By Belinda Martinez Vega

September 30, 2020

In a now famous Oscar speech from 2018, Frances McDormand encouraged more diverse hiring in the film industry. “I have two words to leave you with tonight,” she told the audience as she accepted her Best Actress trophy,—“Inclusion Rider.” Most viewers had no idea what she meant, prompting immediate online searches of the term. Prior to this, April Reign had created the hashtag #OscarsSoWhite in response to the lack of diversity at the 2015 Oscars,…

All About Advertising Law

VoIP, Meet VoIR—FTC Settlement Signals That Voice over Internet Robocall Service Providers Are Fair Game

By Leonard L. Gordon, Elliot Kelly & Helen M. Chen

September 29, 2020

The FTC’s pursuit of companies purportedly engaged in telemarketing scams is nothing new, but its recent settlement with a company that allegedly assisted a fraudulent telemarketer by providing a Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) service is the first of its kind. VoIP is a technology that allows a company to make voice calls using a broadband Internet connection instead of a regular (or analog) phone line. VoIP services can make telemarketing more efficient and cheaper—particularly for…

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Getting the Yardage: District Court Locks in on Rangefinder Company’s False Claims

FTC Commissioner Warns Larger Companies and Payment Processors, Seeks Greater Financial Penalties

Demonstrating the Strength of the “Opinion Defense,” Rose McGowan Defeats Defamation Suit

Ad Law in the Age of COVID-19 and Regulatory Reactions

Section 230 – Everything You Love and Hate About the Internet

D.C. District Court Decries Vague Assertion of Damages

A Fireside Chat and Crystal Ball Readings with FTC Attorney Advisors

Disgorgement Denied: Third Circuit Hands FTC a Tough Pill to Swallow Over Section 13(b) Authority

The Academy’s New Standards For Best Picture—A Bold Chapter In The Name of Inclusivity

VoIP, Meet VoIR—FTC Settlement Signals That Voice over Internet Robocall Service Providers Are Fair Game

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