iLegal

FTC Approves New Rules Under the CAN-SPAM Act
In a long expected move, the FTC has approved four new rules under the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003. While I normally wouldn't bore you with the minutiae of an FTC announcement, this one is important enough to our industry that I've copied their release in full below. More...

iLegal - adtech San Francisco - Legal Hope in the Air
When I’m at a show like adtech, even though I’m not attending in a legal role, I often end up in conversations with people about legal issues facing our industry. More...

LeadsCon Las Vegas - A Different Kind of Conference
LeadsCon, in its inaugural outing, established itself as the premier national conference for both buyers and sellers in the online lead generation space. More...

iLegal - Verdict Against FTC in Important Affiliate Marketing Case
The FTC was handed a stunning defeat this Monday by a jury in Seattle, Washington. Much to the surprise of many (if not most) watching this case, a jury in U.S. District Court held that Impulse Media Group, Inc., More...

iLegal - Affiliate Summit - A Focus on Relationships
I just got back from Affiliate Summit in Las Vegas, and as always, it was a phenomenal event. It was the biggest ever (by some reports over 3,000 attendees), and we had the chance to visit with a lot of old friends. More...

iLegal - FTC Issues List of Top Areas for Consumer Fraud Complaints in 2007
In order to make sure our clients stay ahead of the curve and are doing the right things in the eyes of the FTC and other government regulatory agencies, professionals in this area spend a lot of time trying to understand the FTC's view of the online advertising world. More...

The FTC Puts the Heat on Payday Loans and Consumer Finance Advertising Online
Recent legal community buzz involves talk of a new direction for FTC prosecutions of online marketers. Apparently, the FTC has decided that it’s time to get seriously involved in the protection of consumers responding to ads... More...

The Useful Settles With Florida Attorney General; or The Price of Leadership in Online Advertising: $1,000,000.00
In a press release eerily similar to that issued by Azoogle upon its settlement and million dollar payment to the Florida Attorney General, The Useful / World Avenue USA has announced that the Florida Office of Attorney General has closed its investigation into the company’s activities and will be dismissing its lawsuit. More...

iLegal 2007 - The Year in Review
Well, the year is coming to a close, and it seems like a good time to look back on the major trends of the year in our industry. More...

iLegal - FTC Offers Tutorial for Businesses on Protecting Personal Information
Protecting the personal information of customers, clients, and employees is always good business practice, but often the expertise on how to do it is not available within small to midsize organizations. More...

iLegal - Ringtone Investigations - A Lesson on “Free” Offers
The Florida Office of Attorney General is continuing to pursue its investigation into the “free” ringtones industry. More...

iLegal - Thinking through Azoogle’s Settlement with the Florida AG
iLegal - Thinking through Azoogle’s Settlement with the Florida Attorney General - What Does it Mean for the Industry? More...

iLegal - Confusion over FTC Press Release
Confusion over FTC Press Release - “FTC Approves Affiliate Marketing Rule Regarding Use of Consumer Information” More...

FTC Stops International Spamming Enterprise that Sold Bogus Hoodia and Human Growth Hormone Pills
Agency Brings First Action Using US SAFEWEB Act
As most affiliate marketers have noticed by now, the internet has been flooded with offers for hoodia diet products and HGH type nutritional products for quite some time. More...

iLegal - What to Do When Someone Won’t Pay?
Unfortunately, every now and then we all have to deal with a person or entity who shirks their financial obligations. There are many reasons why companies fail to pay their obligations when they are due. More...

FTC Charges Online Marketers of ‘Debt Meltdown Program’ with Failing to Deliver Promised Debt Reduction Services
As an affiliate marketer, it’s imperative that you stay up to date with the latest FTC actions against online advertisers. You want to look out for trends, and you also want to be informed when any offers you might be running have attracted unwanted attention from the FTC. Be aware; it’s your best defense. More...

iLegal - Best FTC Compliance Resources
I’ve written many articles here in the iLegal column on the various resources available at the FTC which can help affiliates to stay in compliance, and out of trouble. I still receive inquiries on a regular basis regarding the best places to... More...

Mergers and Acquisitions - What Does it all Mean?
In the latest major acquisition announcement to rock the industry Yahoo revealed that it will acquire BlueLithium for roughly $300 million in cash. Yahoo said its purchase of the three-year-old company will allow it to accelerate its... More...

iLegal - The Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) - A Brief Introduction
I’ve had many people tell me that COPPA doesn’t apply to their data collection, and they do so with some confidence. Yet often when I ask them to what or whom does COPPA apply, they are unable to provide a simple summary. More...

iLegal - FTC Continues to Prosecute Alleged Weight Loss Spammers
The FTC is clearly on the tail of those making bogus weight loss claims, and this week they announced another prosecution. This one is against Sili Neutraceuticals, LLC and Brian McDaid, individually and doing business as... More...

iLegal - Weight-Loss Patch Manufacturer Banned from Selling Weight-Loss Patches, Will Pay $180,000
There are a lot of outrageous claims made by advertisers on the Internet, and as an affiliate, one needs to be careful not to get caught knowingly passing along bogus claims. This week the FTC announced that it has stopped a... More...

iLegal - Be Careful…and Get Paid
It would be an understatement to say that getting paid is an important part of any business. Yet in our industry, I’ve seen some pretty loose due diligence, billing and payment practices; practices which unduly increase a company’s... More...

$111,440.00 Attorneys’ Fee Award - CAN-SPAM Plaintiff Slammed in Washington - The Trend Continues
For some time we’ve been watching the trend of anti-spammers getting slammed for their outrageous behavior, and celebrating the fact that in the United States, we live by the rule of law, and everyone must comply. Spam is a... More...

iLegal - The FTC’s ValueClick Investigation and What it Means to You
Back in May in this column you read about the FTC’s current approach towards the incentivized advertising space. At that time, we discussed that large publicly traded companies could be involved. Well it’s old news in the industry... More...

iLegal - To Comply or Not to Comply...That is the Question
As a participant in the world of online advertising you are subjected to many laws, rules and regulations. State, Federal and local government agencies want you to comply, every time, all the time. Much is at stake. And yet, we all... More...

Get Out of Jail Free - The DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act)
Ever play Monopoly? Most people have, and they’ll tell you that a "Get out of jail free," card is an excellent thing to have on hand. It allows you to keep playing the game, instead of losing a turn, even when you end up getting sent to "jail." More...

“Compliance” as a Sales Tool
When I approach compliance as a lawyer, I am primarily thinking of compliance as a legal issue. That is, what can a company do to assure that they are in compliance with all applicable laws, rules and regulations? This is... More...

iLegal - Balancing Your Contracts
I’ve advised this before, but it’s worth saying again; whether you’re a large or small organization, a multi-division company or a solo affiliate, you must read and understand all of the contracts you sign. More...

Determining the Validity of “Claims” Advertising
Previously in this column we’ve discussed the fact that when you run an offer on your network, or as a publisher, you have a responsibility to reasonably verify claims made in that offer. I know that’s an unpopular burden to bear, but... More...

iLegal - “Spam King” Arrested in Washington State
I’ve written quite a few columns lately about illegitimate anti-spammers getting shut down by the courts, but here is the other side of the picture. It seems that U.S. Prosecutors in Washington state have nailed one of the real bad guys... More...

Yet Another Loss for Anti-Spammers Who Don’t Play by the Rules
Though I’ve been closely monitoring anti-spam litigation, and I’ve been telling you things are shifting, even I’m surprised by the pace. It seems like new cases deciding against overly aggressive anti-spammers are coming down... More...

Another Setback for Illegitimate Anti-Spammers
The legal climate surrounding anti-spam litigation appears to be changing. Recently a court awarded $2.5M in damages against anti-spammer Mark Mumma for defamation. It seems that at least one court has recognized that... More...

iLegal - The FTC, Incentivized Offers and the “Dot.com Disclosures”
There is quite a bit of concern in the online advertising industry right now around the subject of incentivized offers. Several large companies, including some that are publicly traded, generate large portions of their revenues in the... More...

iLegal - “Incentivized” Offers and the FTC - Things Are Heating Up
The subject of "free" offers is something I’ve discussed previously in the iLegal column, and circumstances have once again pointed me in this direction. As I’ve stated before, one of the FTC’s current hot buttons is investigating... More...

iLegal -Live from adtech San Francisco - Indemnity Clauses
In my day to day capacity as a General Counsel in the affiliate industry, I have the opportunity to review dozens upon dozens of contracts. “Agreements,” “insertion orders,” “Contracts,” “terms and conditions;” they go by many names, but across the board they contain many of the same, “standard” terms. Unfortunately, some of what is presented as “standard” is not necessarily so in legal terms. More...

Dealing With Negative Web Publicity
In comparison to the way things were even five years ago, it’s amazing the relative ease with which one can put up a website or a blog these days. This is true communication democracy. The cost to entry is low and so everyone with... More...

The Future of Online Security - Be Aware
Part of what I do here in the iLegal column is attempt to assist affiliates who might not have the resources to hire their own counsel. That means directing them to resources they can use to keep themselves educated and out of... More...

Beware of Offers from “Outer Space”
Last week I received a rather bizarre request. According to the sales department at our company, we had a new client, and I was needed to review the contract and the creative. This is normal protocol in the company, but the... More...

The FTC is Watching - General Rules and Regulations
I’ve been getting quite a few emails asking that I cover more generally, the things which are most likely to be in the sights of the FTC. The big, general category that the FTC is monitoring is "unfair or deceptive advertising." The More...

Marketing in the "Green Zone"
Marketing trends follow social trends, and as society goes green, so go marketers who wish to appeal to the masses. More and more, consumers wish to buy products that either benefit the environment, or have a lower... More...

Email Marketer Strikes Back Against “Spammer” Claims
In an apparent effort to stem the tide of bogus spam complaints, email marketer David Linhardt and his company e360insight last week launched a salvo in the battle against people who claim "spam" and attempt to have... More...

Live From Marketing Sherpa
Compliance = Reputation = Deliverability = Profits: This week I had the pleasure of attending Marketing Sherpa’s Email Summit in Miami, Florida. I’m always... More...

When "Free" Really Isn't
One of the FTC's current hot buttons is investigating advertisers who are running offers for all things "free." Specifically, the FTC becomes interested when things advertised as free truly... More...

The Grandma Standard
One of the most important things you can do to reduce your exposure to legal liability when running advertising, is to make sure that the ads you run are actually true. According to the Federal Trade Commission, as an affiliate, you... More...

The Legal Minefield
The world of online marketing is heavily regulated, and constantly watched by both government authorities and consumer advocates. Honest marketers must tiptoe carefully through the minefield of regulations and laws, and make... More...