The Advertising Law Blog provides commentary and news on developing legal issues in advertising, promotional marketing, Internet, and privacy law. This blog is sponsored by the Advertising, Marketing & Promotions group at Olshan. The practice is geared to servicing the needs of the advertising, promotional marketing, and digital industries with a commitment to providing personal, efficient and effective legal service.
On May 20, 2019, Senator Josh Hawley, the Junior Senator from Missouri, announced that he will introduce the Do Not Track Act to aid consumers in controlling their personal data. The Do Not Track Act is similar to the national “Do Not Call” list, which gives individuals the power to block online companies from collecting data beyond what is necessary for their online services.
Kawhi Leonard, an NBA player who plays for the Toronto Raptors, sued Nike on June 3, 2019 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California, Case 3:19-cv-01035-BAS-BGS, seeking declaratory relief of non-infringement and a declaration that he created and owns the KL2 logo: 
, that Nike did not author the logo and has no rights to the logo, that Nike is not entitled to copyright registration of the logo and that Nike defrauded the Copyright Office by intentionally misrepresenting the author of the logo.
An advertising agency that promoted sales events on behalf of numerous Indiana motor vehicle dealerships is the subject of an Indiana Attorney General lawsuit focusing on allegedly false sweepstakes promotions. The lawsuit highlights the governments’ continued focus on direct mail sweepstakes promotions.
Following other states that have recently enacted regulations and additional restrictions on automatic renewal provisions in consumer contracts, on April 9, 2019, North Dakota House Bill 1195, which enacts a new chapter of the North Dakota Century Code relating to certain marketing practices involving automatic renewal, was signed by Governor Doug Burgum and filed with the Secretary of State.
5-4 decision rejects traditional principles of contract interpretation
Olshan’s Advertising, Marketing & Promotions Practice Group chair Andrew Lustigman and associate Morgan Spina authored an article for the ABA’s Spring 2019 What’s In Store newsletter titled “Are FTC Enforcement Powers Being Reined In?”
Andrew Lustigman, head of Olshan’s Advertising, Marketing & Promotions Practice Group, was quoted in a Legaltech News article titled "Fake Accounts Mean Litigation Could Be a Key Part of Facebook's Future"
Consumer not permitted to revoke consent given as part of a transaction
As we have discussed previously, the prevalence of Internet usage in everyday life has led to an e-commerce market whereby consumers are able to post online reviews of a vast range of products and services. For the most part, such reviews are made public without regard to the relevant expertise of the reviewers, and with little to no oversight as to the legitimacy of such reviews. You can see our prior articles on this topic here and here. Against this backdrop, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) has brought a claim against a marketer for the deceptive use of fake, paid-for reviews on an independent retail website for the first time. The FTC’s enforcement efforts in this regard should signal to marketers that the FTC is taking such actions seriously.
The Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) and Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) have issued joint warning letters focusing on disease claims being made by dietary supplement marketers. In addition, the FDA announced new steps it is undertaking with a goal toward protecting the public from potentially harmful products and unapproved claims.