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Trademark, Copyright, Advertising & the Law

Providing practical knowledge, interesting updates and insights for companies and legal practitioners to help navigate complex trademark, copyright, advertising and related legal issues

Trademark, Copyright, Advertising & the Law Blog
Recent FTC and FDA Warning Letters May Hold Lessons For Cannabis Advertisers
Blog July 12, 2019
Last month the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) sent joint warning letters to four companies that manufacture and advertise flavored liquids used in vaping (“e-liquids”).  While the letters focus on the nicotine content of the products, they should nevertheless be of interest to cannabis advertisers because they demonstrate a continued regulatory focus on vaping and suggest a framework that may soon apply more broadly to the promotion of retail……
Mandatory Oversharing on Food Labels:  A Good Week for the Resistance
Blog February 05, 2019
People on social media, and in some face-to-face social settings, often reveal more about themselves than they need to or really should. When someone makes an embarrassing but unnecessary disclosure, we call it “oversharing.” We might respond, “Oh, wow, TMI” (the online code for “too much information”). Last week, two court rulings – one dismissing a litigation, and the other ruling an ordinance unconstitutional – helped food companies resist efforts by activists to compel them to……
Proposed Rule Would Require List Price Disclosure on Consumer Prescription Drug Ads
Blog October 19, 2018
Check out our recent Alert on the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services proposed new rule, which would require prescription drug companies to disclose list prices of most drugs in all direct-to-consumer advertising.  I join with Foley Hoag FDA attorneys Brian Carey, Paul Kim and Christian Springer to break it down.  Of particular interest to advertising and marketing lawyers, CMS proposes that the main enforcement mechanism should be industry self-policing through Lanham Act false……
British Regulator Seeks to Stamp Out Harmful and Offensive Gender Stereotypes in Advertising
Blog June 07, 2018
The wedding of Prince Harry and Ms. Meghan Markle is officially in the books.  Like many of you, I learned some interesting things about the royal couple in the media hysteria leading up to the wedding. For example, when she was eleven years old, Ms. Markle (now the Duchess of Sussex) took on a major national advertiser for its use of gender stereotyping in a commercial for dishwashing liquid and prevailed…
Green Guide Annual Review: Environmental False Advertising in 2017/2018
Blog April 17, 2018
Earth Day is coming up on April 22, and you may be looking to capture some environmentally-minded consumers with nifty green-themed advertising campaigns. But before you do, remember that the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) monitors environmentally-themed marketing for potentially deceptive claims, and evaluates their compliance with Section 5 of the FTC Act by reference to the “Green Guides.” The Green Guides…
The Black Hole of Misappropriation: Astronaut's Right of Publicity and Trademark Claims Survive Summary Judgment
Blog April 11, 2018
Is astronaut David Scott more like fellow astronaut Buzz Aldrin or NASA pilot Chuck Yeager? Scott was the Commander of the Apollo 15 mission and the seventh person to walk on the moon, so the obvious answer is Aldrin. However, when it comes to the right of publicity, Scott has much more in common with Yeager, at least according to Judge Nathanael Cousins of the Northern District of California in Scott v…
The Adver-series: State Attorneys General Play Increasing Role in Advertising Regulation
Blog March 13, 2018
Introduction Every day, consumers are bombarded with advertising messages: print ads on the subway, promoted posts on social media, thirty-second spots on the radio, native ad thumbnails on the internet, email blasts from retailers, product labels touting savings and benefits, billboards along the highway, commercial breaks before the “big reveal” on reality TV, robocalls, and the Saturday morning infomercial, to name just a few. And, for those fortunate or unfortunate enough to have an……
The Foley Hoag Advertising and Marketing Law Blog: A Mission Statement of Sorts
Blog February 27, 2018
Welcome! We were delighted last month when Foley Hoag LLP named us as the new co-chairs of the firm's Advertising and Marketing Law group.  This month, as our first official act, we are pleased to announce the launch of the Advertising and Marketing Law Blog. Advertising and marketing regulation and litigation can be a complicated game.  Really complicated…
Cannabis Regulators Establish Ground Rules For Marijuana Advertising In Massachusetts
Blog February 05, 2018
With the first retail sales of adult use marijuana slated to take place in just over five months, the Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission (the “Commission”) is working overtime to regulate an industry that some project will exceed $1 billion in revenue by 2020.  As the July 1st target date for the opening of retail cannabis shops approaches, one area that will undoubtedly become the focus of much attention is the ability of retailers to market their wares…
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ABOUT

Foley Hoag’s Trademark, Copyright, Advertising & the Law blog aims to provide practical knowledge and insights for companies and legal practitioners to help them navigate complex trademark, copyright, and advertising law legal issues. 

Our authors, comprised of attorneys from the firm’s Trademark, Copyright & Unfair Competition and Advertising & Marketing practices, have been active in trademark, copyright, and advertising space for decades. We advise our clients on the availability of marks and names, prepare and prosecute domestic and foreign applications for marks, and monitor and maintain thousands of registrations worldwide. We help clients exploit their brands through trademark licensing and provide clients with the legal and contractual protection they need to maximize the commercial potential of their brands without jeopardizing their rights. We have extensive experience in the policing, enforcement and defense of our clients’ trademark rights, representing our clients in civil litigation, administrative proceedings and arbitration in the U.S. and abroad. We also specialize in advising clients on trademark matters in connection with emerging media and the Internet, including domain name and Internet keyword disputes.

Our team also handles a variety of copyright matters. We offer advice regarding copyright registration and assist clients in policing and enforcing copyrights against infringers, including actions involving the Internet and the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). We are counsel to some of the largest corporations in the U.S. in defending against claims of copyright infringement. We also focus on related complex unfair competition matters, as well as disputes involving trade secrets, false advertising, comparative advertising, defamation, and commercial disparagement. We work with clients to determine acceptable limits in client advertising and assist clients in evaluating advertising and related statements by competitors that cross the line into deception, disparagement, and defamation. We also help clients evaluate and address the theft of trade secrets, including by ex-employees, data thieves, and hackers.

Foley Hoag lawyers are leaders in their field. In addition to being well known in the business community and the courts, they are active members and leaders of the International Trademark Association, the Food and Drug Law Institute, the National Advertising Division of the Better Business Bureau, and other professional organizations. They frequently lecture, teach, and publish in the fields of trademark and unfair competition. As members of these organizations, they participate actively in shaping law and policy.

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Foley Hoag’s Trademark, Copyright & Unfair Competition practice group presents a webinar series designed exclusively for in-house counsel and business executives that discusses timely legal issues impacting business decisions in the areas of trademark, trade dress, copyright, trade secret, Internet, domain name, false advertising, defamation, commercial disparagement and other unfair competition.

Click here to subscribe to our webinar series invitation list.