Marketing Practices

Your business needs to be able to reach consumers through various media to offer your products and services in innovative and dynamic ways.  Today’s competitive, multi-media marketing environment is complex and rapidly evolving, and it is critical to grasp and maintain a global understanding of consumer and marketing practices to succeed.  Sonnenschein attorneys advise clients on a wide-range of regulatory issues, including consumer communications compliance, advertising and claims substantiation, promotions, privacy and product safety.  We can:

• Review advertising and promotional campaigns, from initial concept stage through final publication, to identify express and implied claims and assure effective and reliable substantiation, and to conform advertising to governing regulations and applicable media guidelines.
• Represent companies and their brands before the NAD and the NARB and further provide strategic counsel and representation in connection with false advertising, infringement and fair use proceedings.
• Defend Federal Trade Commission or state Attorney General investigations and enforcement actions in all genres of consumer protection matters, defend third party challenges to your marketing claims or strategies, or investigate damaging or deceptive third party claims with an adverse affect on you.
• Provide consumer communications compliance, including up-to-the-minute counsel on questions relating to direct mail marketing, telemarketing, state and National Do Not Call regulations, Junk Fax regulations and CAN SPAM compliance.
• Navigate the complex issues related to marketing promotions such as rebates and gift cards, “free” offers, sale pricing, loyalty programs, the FTC Mail Order Rule, disclosures and disclaimers, order fulfillment, expiration date restrictions, and escheat.
• Review proposed contest and sweepstakes promotion designs and official rules to ensure compliance with Federal and state laws and lawful maximization of business objectives.
• Draft privacy policies and design and implement data collection, retention, notice of breach and security compliance programs.
• Prepare warranties complying with the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act and U.C.C. warranty provisions, and draft domestic and international warranties.
• Offer regulatory counseling to ensure proper packaging and labeling, such as child resistance standards, warnings, Made in the USA, Country of Origin, environmental, and other claims.            
• Assist with all matters before the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, including product recalls and corrective action plans, civil penalty enforcement proceedings, compliance with voluntary and mandatory industry-wide standards, and responses to consumer complaints and Freedom of Information Act requests.