FTC Lawsuit Accuses DIRECTV of Deceptive Advertising, ROSCA Violations

March 13, 2015 This Wednesday, the Federal Trade Commission (the “FTC or Commission”) sued satellite television service provider DirecTV, Inc. and its subsidiary (“DIRECTV”) in federal court in San Francisco.  The Commission has accused DIRECTV of violating the FTC Act and the Restore Online Shoppers’ Confidence Act (“ROSCA”) with purportedly deceptive advertising and sales practices. […]

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Kansas Takes a Step Toward Legalizing Fantasy Sports

March 12, 2015 In August 2014, the Kansas Racing and Gaming Commission issued an opinion that fantasy sports contests that require an entry fee to participate, and that pay out cash prizes, constitute illegal lotteries under Kansas State law.  Based on that Kansas Racing and Gaming Commission opinion, many high profile pay-to-play fantasy sports venues

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Jury Finds Pharrell Williams and Robin Thicke Guilty of Copyright Infringement

March 12, 2015 On March 20, 2015, a jury awarded $7.4 million to the family of artist Marvin Gaye for Pharrell Williams and Robin Thicke’s alleged infringement of Gaye’s song “Got to Give it Up.”  Gaye’s family alleged that Pharrell and Thicke’s song “Blurred Lines” infringed Gaye’s intellectual property rights.  Although many have viewed the

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First Target of Canada’s Anti-Spam Law (CASL), Fined $1.1 Million

March 11, 2015 Last week, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (“CRTC” or the “Commission”) issued its first Notice of Violation under Canada’s Anti-Spam Law (“CASL”).  Canadian corporate training company compu.finder Inc. (“Compu-Finder”) has received a fine of $1.1 million for allegedly sending email without the recipients’ consent or a properly functioning unsubscribe mechanism. What

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Direct Marketer Pays $8 Million for Alleged Deceptive Practices, TSR Violations

March 10, 2015 Last week, the Federal Trade Commission (the “FTC” or “Commission”) announced its $7.5 million settlement with Allstar Marketing Group, LLC following allegations of Telemarketing Sales Rule (“TSR”) violations and unfair or deceptive business practices.  The FTC’s investigation was conducted in conjunction with the New York State Office of the Attorney General, which

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Feds Crack Down on Major Telemarketing and Robocalling Campaign

March 9, 2015 The Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) and 10 state attorneys general have charged Caribbean Cruise Line, Inc. (“CCL”) and seven of its telemarketing partners with violating the federal Telemarketing Sales Rule.  The suit alleges that CCL and its telemarketing partners made billions of robocalls from October 2011 through July 2012, aimed at skirting

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Major League Baseball Commissioner Goes to Bat for Legalized Sports Betting

March 6, 2015 Sports betting is currently illegal in every state except Nevada (and, in some limited form, Delaware, Oregon and Montana).  While some states including, recently, New Jersey, have attempted to legalize sports betting within their respective borders, federal courts have consistently overturned such legislation as being in violation of the 1992 federal Professional

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Facebook Sued for Alleged TCPA Text Messaging Violations

March 5, 2015 This Tuesday, Mr. Noah Duguid filed a class action lawsuit in California federal court against Facebook for allegedly sending automated text messages to mobile phone users without their prior express consent in violation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”). Mr. Duguid’s claim was initially brought in federal court in New York

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