Perspectives on Advertising, Data Collection & Privacy

J Crew Group Inc. was recently hit with a nationwide class action lawsuit alleging that the clothing retailer offers fictitious sales on the J Crew Factory store website.

Social media disclosures may cause heart palpitations for advertisers and copywriters, but the Federal Trade Commission isn’t backing down.

Costco Wholesale Corporation recently moved to dismiss a class action lawsuit alleging that the discount retailer printed more than the last five digits of a customer’s credit card number on her receipt, in violation of the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act.

Amazon.com, Inc. recently moved for partial summary judgment in lawsuit brought by the FTC alleging the company unfairly billed users for “in-app purchases.”

As 2016 gets underway, companies should be mindful that regulators are paying close attention to automatic recurring debit transactions.

Macy’s, Inc. and subsidiary Bloomingdale’s, Inc. were recently served with a class action complaint alleging that the retail chains misled consumers with a “phantom pricing scheme” that inflated the savings available on items marked for sale.

The Federal Trade Commission amended its Telemarketing Sales Rule at the end of 2015 to ban certain forms of abusive payment methods.

The Federal Trade Commission has a reached a settlement agreement with several major retailers, including Nordstrom, Bed Bath & Beyond, and JCPenney, over claims that they improperly labeled and advertised rayon products as being made of bamboo.

A federal judge in the Northern District of California recently dismissed a complaint in which video game producers claimed that characters from their games had been misappropriated by competing developers, in violation of copyright law.

A judge in New Jersey federal district court recently dismissed a lawsuit brought against The Cartoon Network by a renowned video gamer.

On Monday, November 30, 2015, Nordstrom and denim manufacturer AG Adriano Goldschmied filed a motion to approve a settlement in California federal court, agreeing to pay more than $4 million to settle a consumer class action suit that accused them of falsely labeling jeans as “Made in USA.”

A federal judge for the Southern District of California recently held in Branca v. Nordstrom, Inc. that a class action could proceed with claims that Nordstrom made deceptive savings claims at a Nordstrom Rack store.

The E-Warranty Act of 2015 was recently signed into law, amending the Magnuson-Moss Warranty-Federal Trade Commission Improvement Act, to permit manufacturers and sellers of consumer products the option to post written warranties online.

These action items will not only put you in a better position when a breach arises, but you will have the right answers when a regulator calls.

Wheelchair ramps and accessible parking spaces soon may not be enough for retailers to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

On Tuesday September 1, 2015, California Governor Jerry Brown signed a bill that will enable products to be labeled and marketed with an unqualified “Made in USA” statement even if not entirely made in the United States – a major departure from California’s current more stringent standard.

Nike Inc. (Nike) recently agreed to pay more than $2.4 million to settle a class action lawsuit related to the Nike FuelBand activity tracker.

California’s Song-Beverly Credit Card Act does not prohibit retailers from collecting email addresses after a credit card transaction has been concluded, according to a recent ruling by a California appellate court.

A California federal judge recently certified a class action lawsuit that alleges violations of California consumer protection laws by J.C. Penney Corporation, Inc.

On June 29, 2015, PayPal’s General Counsel released a blog post indicating that the company will be tweaking its proposed revisions to its User Agreement regarding PayPal’s ability to send its customers autodialed or prerecorded messages.

There is a split among circuit courts over whether a company faced with a privacy breach is subject to liability where a consumer suffers no discernible harm.

A “must read” for marketers that feature celebrity or consumer endorsements in their ads, or any company operating contests or sweepstakes on social media.

A California appeals court recently held that a retailer does not violate California privacy law by collecting and recording birth dates of consumers who buy alcohol with credit cards.

A California appeals court recently held in Ambers v. Beverages & More, Inc. that retailers are permitted under state law to request customers’ personal information when goods are purchased online but picked up in person.