ADVERTISING

FTC Reaches Settlement with Company Engaged in Deceptive Negative Option Marketing
April 6, 2012
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recently reached a settlement with several defendants that were accused of marketing “free” trial offers for free credit reports, health and beauty products, work-at-home schemes, access to government grants, and more. Instead of being free, the offers typically cost consumers $79.95 per month with an additional monthly fee for what the defendants referred to as “bonus” offers. These offers targeted consumers in the United States and abroad.

Google and Slide Face TCPA Law Suit over Text Messages
April 4, 2012
Google, Inc. and Slide, Inc. have joined the list of marketers that are being sued under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). The TCPA provides a cause of action where an automatic dialer is used to make unsolicited calls to a mobile phone. The term “calls” includes text messages. The lawsuit, filed in the US District for the Northern District of California, alleges that the defendants violated the TCPA by sending text messages in violation of the Act.

Identity Theft Tops FTC's List of Complaints for 2011
April 4, 2012
The FTC released a list of the top ten consumer complaints received by the bureau in the year 2011. The top ten include the following:

1. Identity Theft
2. Debt Collection Complaints
3. Prizes, Sweepstakes, and Lotteries
4. Shop-at-Home and Catalog Sales
5. Banks and Lenders

Friends CANnot SPAM Friends on Facebook without Giving Rise to a CAN-SPAM Violation
March 1, 2012
A recent decision from the US District Court from the Northern District of California serves as a reminder to advertisers that encouraging users to send commercial messages from their Facebook accounts may result in civil liability under the CAN-SPAM Act. And, where a company intentionally attempts to avoid blocks put in place by social media sites, those actions may constitute a violation of other laws as well.

DATA SECURITY & PRIVACY

FTC Continues to Focus on Privacy and Issues Settlement with RockYou
April 4, 2012
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced a recent settlement with RockYou, a game site targeted at kids and tweens. The settlement was a reaction to the security breach of the site, which exposed the data of 32 million users, some of which were children under the age of 13.

FTC Releases Final Privacy Report
March 30, 2012
This past month marked two notable announcements for privacy advocates. Most recently, the six major mobile app platform providers have agreed to take steps to improve privacy notification and protection in mobile apps.

ENTERTAINMENT

Electronic Artists Inc. Sued Over its Unauthorized Use of Trademarked Military Helicopters in Battlefield 3 Video Game
March 19, 2012
In January 2012, EA filed a declaratory judgment action, seeking confirmation that its use of the Bell Helicopters in connection with Battlefield 3 is protected as an expressive work under the First Amendment, and as nominative fair use. Bell Helicopter Textron Inc. and Textron Innovations, Inc., the party that owns the intellectual property rights to the Bell Helicopters (collectively, “Bell”), paint a very different story.

Former Rutgers Quarterback Seeks to Revive Flat-Lining Lawsuit Against Videogame Maker
March 6, 2012
A former quarterback for the Rutgers University football team has asked the US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit to overturn a New Jersey federal court's dismissal of his class action lawsuit claiming that Electronic Arts, Inc. (EA) violated college football players’ publicity rights by using their likenesses and attributes in its hit videogame franchise NCAA Football. Hart v. Electronic Arts, Inc., No. 11-3750 (3d Cir. Feb. 10, 2012).