A recent California appellate court decision, Balsom v. Trancos, has serious implications for companies — and their service providers — using commercial E-mail to market products and services. The ruling requires that commercial E-mails sent from or received in California must contain in the...More>>

Social media marketing offers unique opportunities for direct response marketers to reach consumers in a highly targeted way. Given how heavily DR marketers have relied upon consumer testimonials, opinions and reviews of their products, social media marketing is a natural expansion of DR marketing...More>>

The early weeks of 2012 may go down in history as the great awakening to piracy and counterfeiting issues. However, the issues created by pirates and counterfeiters were not the topic du jour. Instead, the public and media focused on the issues created by those trying to stop counterfeiting. The...More>>

Exponential growth in smartphone usage, enhanced ability to deliver interactive digital content, increased sophistication in location-based marketing software and the arrival of true M-commerce have all led not only to the true convergence of mobile and the Web but to the emergence of the...More>>

In November, a California Court of Appeals decision set the stage for a likely California Supreme Court showdown with implications for any company that monitors its own telephone calls for quality assurance, regulatory or other purposes. At issue in Kight v. CashCall Inc. is whether businesses must...More>>

In 2011, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) continued vigilant enforcement of product categories and sales channels that are of concern to DRTV marketers. The FTC brought several cases against companies selling dietary supplements and weight-loss products and was extremely active in pursuing...More>>

The America Invents Act (AIA), the most dramatic change to U.S. patent law since the 1952 revision, was signed into law on Sept. 16. A driving force behind the Act’s passage was the perception that “reform” of the patent system has an important role to play in stimulating the economy,...More>>

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) was once termed “The National Nanny” by the Washington Post. We never had nannies growing up, but we did have moms. They always told us that if something sounds too good to be true, it probably is.More>>

In the February issue of Response, we wrote about the legal issues that can arise when your employees, agents or affiliates promote your products or discuss your competitor's products through social media. This month, we write about what should go into a social media policy to address those issues.More>>

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced on May 26 that it planned to update its Dot Com Disclosures: Information About Online Advertising guidance document. More>>