Category Archives: Publications

June 11, 2015

Competition Bureau Highlights Priorities, Compliance Guidelines in New Advertising Publication

The Canadian Competition Bureau has been increasing its advocacy, outreach and compliance efforts since the (relatively) new Commissioner of Competition (John Pecman) took office. As part of this effort, it appears to be focusing on introducing more new media (and also an increasing range) of … Read the rest of this entry »

June 9, 2015

Competition Bureau Makes Major Changes to Canadian Competition Law Compliance Programs

On June 3, 2015, the Canadian Competition Bureau (Bureau) finalized its new core competition law compliance materials. They are essential reading for corporate compliance officers, senior management and in-house counsel. In announcing its new Corporate Compliance Programs Bulletin, the Commissioner of Competition said: “This bulletin … Read the rest of this entry »

November 25, 2014

Water Heater Supplier Scalded With $7 Million Advertising Law Settlement, Tough Compliance Terms (and Monitor)

Misleading advertising is squarely part of Canadian competition law. Violation of the Competition Act’s civil or criminal misleading advertising provisions can also lead to significant liability for companies or individuals. As a recent reminder of this, the Competition Bureau has announced that water heater supplier … Read the rest of this entry »

November 11, 2014

Numerous Warning Letters Serve as a Reminder that the FTC is Always Watching

November 11, 2014 Guest post by Shannon Harell (Information Law Group) The Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) has been very active in its enforcement efforts in the past couple of months. In addition to other actions which we have blogged about, the FTC recently sent dozens … Read the rest of this entry »

September 18, 2014

Canadian Competition Bureau Issues Updated Competition Compliance Guidelines

Canada’s Competition Bureau (the “Bureau”) has been working over the past year or two to update its competition law compliance guidelines and policies. Competition law compliance has also figured prominently in recent remarks by Canada’s new Commissioner of Competition, John Pecman (see for example: here). As … Read the rest of this entry »

September 8, 2014

Magic Green Beans for Weight Loss? Not Worth Trading a Cow For Says US FTC

In an interesting case that caught my eye earlier today, the U.S. FTC announced a proposed settlement with Texas-based Applied Food Sciences Inc. (AFS) in relation to allegedly “baseless” green coffee extract weight loss claims. According to the FTC, AFS, which sells a green coffee … Read the rest of this entry »

August 29, 2014

IP Law: A Primer on Canadian Trademark Law

WHAT ARE TRADEMARKS? A mark (words, names, symbols, devices, sounds, smells, trade dress) used to distinguish the goods and services of one business from similar goods and services of all other businesses. In Canada, it is possible to register the non-functional shape of a product … Read the rest of this entry »

June 29, 2014

CASL (Anti-spam Law): A Few Impacts of the New Law as the “Coming Into Force Dust Settles”

CANADIAN CASL (ANTI-SPAM LAW) PRECEDENTS Do you need a precedent or checklist to comply with CASL (Canadian anti-spam law)? We offer Canadian anti-spam law (CASL) precedents and checklists to help electronic marketers comply with CASL.  These include checklists and precedents for express consent requests (including … Read the rest of this entry »