New New York Federal Court Ruling Not in Bed with Ninth Circuit on Embedding Issue
Alert to Businesses Who Link or Embed Copyrighted Content on their Website or Social Media Embedding or "on-line linking" has been considered an accepted method of posting others' copyrighted material. Get the content directly from the third-party server, skip putting it on your server, and all's good. In fact...
What Do You Need to Know about Commercial Co-Ventures?
Join me this Friday, February 16, from 1:00 to 2:30pm to learn the specific legal issues that are arising within commercial co-venture campaigns. With many companies today engaged in cause marketing, including commercial co-ventures in which a portion of their sales are donated to charity, it is important to...
Order to Show Cause to Provide Feedback on This Blog
----------------------------------------------------------------- In re the Application of ROB LAPLACA, d/b/a www.YouMightBeaWinner.com: Petitioner ----------------------------------------------------------------- SUPERIOR COURT OF THE BLOGOSPHERE JUDICIAL DISTRICT OF LEGAL BLOGS ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE TO PROVIDE FEEDBACK ON THIS BLOG WHEREAS, this blog (the "Blog") started in 2016 and has had (surprisingly) a good number of readers...
The 2018 Most Interesting Super Contests for the Super Bowl
The noted football lover, Karl Lagerfeld, once said, "Clear thinking at the wrong moment can stifle creativity." (This coming from a man who has dressed in the same outfit for 50 years.) This year, the marketers have thrown away the playbooks, sidestepped clear thinking and used Bill Belichik-like creativity...
A Post Guaranteed to Give a Lesson on Money Back Guarantees (or Your Money Back)
Ever hear of the "Trial Mark"? In 1869, for his home brewed medicinal products J.R. Watkins created bottles that included an embossed "Trial Mark." Mr. Watkins sold his products door-to-door and offered the first Money Back Guarantee to consumers, provided their use of the product did not extend beyond...
Is a Gangsta A Gangster?: Does the Judges' Discretion put Contestants in Jeopardy?
We're starting off the year packing heat. On New Year's Day, the Jeopardy judges exercised their discretion to bump off a contestant who thought he was in the pink. Answer (it's Jeopardy ): "A song by Coolio from 'Dangerous Minds' goes back in time to become a 1667 John...
FTC 2017: Consumer Protection Year in Review (aka. If you do it, we'll catch you)
The FTC put out its consumer protection year in review providing a comprehensive list of significant consumer protection developments in 2017. Let us indulge you with a recap of a few illustrative actions affecting the promotion world. "Free" Samples In October 2017, the FTC charged A1 Janitorial Supply Corp...
On Air with Ken and Matt: An Employment Law Update
In case you missed it, labor and employment attorneys Benjamin Ford and Tawny Alvarez were live on air in the Newsradio WGAN studio on the morning of Friday, December 22, discussing the firm's upcoming 2018 Annual Employment Law Update on January 25 in Portland. The morning news segment with...
2017: The Stories that Weren't, Taken from the Tales of the Twilight Zone
"It is a dimension as vast as space and as timeless as infinity. It is the middle ground between light and shadow, between science and superstition, and it lies between the pit of man's fears and the summit of his knowledge. This is the dimension of imagination. It is...
No Room at the Inn (For Bad Reviews)
It's story time here at youwmightbeawinner. Young Aaron from Portland, Maine writes, "Mr. Blogger, what do you have to say about the tale of the Innkeeper who had no room for guests writing bad reviews? " My child I'd say that this Innkeeper was living in Christmas Past where...
Sandy Hook Five Years Later: Skill v. Chance Enacting Legislation
In some ways enacting laws is like a contest – a game of skill between qualified legislators – or maybe it's really more like a game of chance – where winning depends upon luck. The disappointing facts since the Sandy Hook massacre demonstrate how both legislative skill and bad...
Daily Fantasy Sports Update: From Skill v. Chance to Legislative Dance
Sports have given us the Icky Shuffle, the Mark Gastineau sack dance and George "Twinkle Toes" Selkirk. Perhaps the greatest dance of all has been the state legislatures side-stepping the skill v. chance issue. I really thought we'd get practical guidance from the Daily Fantasy Sports skill v. chance...
The U.S. Supreme Court Tackles Sports Gambling Law
Today (Monday December 4, 2017), the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral argument in the case Christie v. National Collegiate Athletic Association involving sports-gambling. I bet many of you have heard about the case and know that it has something to do with a fight between New Jersey and...
Here's a Form to Use to Create a Commercial Co-Venture Program
"Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose." From the French for (roughly): there's a form for that. Answer these 17 simple questions to create your own commercial co-venture program: 1. What is your company's full name, street address, URL and contact. 2. What is the Charity's full name...
Time to Take Your Shot: Prize Indemnity Insurance Edition
We're getting into the swing of the basketball and hockey seasons and you know what that means? (Yes, the Knicks still haven't been mathematically eliminated.) But also, it's time for the Half-Court Shot Contests and Blue Line Shot Contests to give weekend warriors the chance to quit their day...
The Bare Minimum (Big Suggestions For Little Promotions)
Client: Do we need Official Rules for our sweepstakes? Attorney: Yes. Client: But we're only running a one-day sweepstakes giving away a one-way bus ticket to Cleveland. Attorney: Sorry. Client: But we're no Goliath. In the sweepstakes world size doesn't always matter. While as practical matter, a tiny sweepstakes...
Commercial Co-venture Registration: Things You Should Know
When embarking on your first foray into commercial co-venture land, you may have learned that a commercial co-venturer has to register in six states. But how much do you know about what that entails? Here's a primer: ALABAMA (Ala. Code § 13A-9-70) See here Annual registration: 1. Complete the...
What Prizes Can/Can't Be Given Away
Some things you may not be able to give as prizes: - Smokes (MA, MI, VA) - Gas (NJ, VA) - Beer (many states) - Milk (restricted in a number of states) - iPad (formerly) - Yankees tickets (because they may contain a no-transfer provision) - Puppies (most states...
Why Are Ad Men Called Mad Men? Is It Because They Can Get Sued?
We all know that the first ad agency was created by William Taylor in 1786 perhaps to help sell the recently invented threshing machine to those farmers sick and tired of separating Recently, ad agencies have come under fire for a number of reasons: Days ago, Uber sued its...
Age Doesn't Matter Except When it Does
Marx once remarked, "Age is not a particularly interesting subject. Anyone can get old. All you have to do is live long enough." Well, thanks Groucho, for that word of advice, but let's look anyway into the importance of age in sweepstakes. Minimum Ages 13 or older: If the...
Sweepstakes Rules: How Much Is Too Much?
William J. Shakespeare recognized over more than 400 years ago in As You Like It that, "Excess may do you harm." This may still hold true today for sweepstakes and contest Official Rules. The internet has allowed Official Rules to be as long as a lawyer's imagination. But don't...
You Can’t Do That (Strange But True Illegal Contests)
We all know that promotions involving such things as dairy, gasoline, and cigarettes are illegal in some states, but if you dig a little deeper, you'll learn that a red flag should go off if, for instance, a sponsor wants to run a dance marathon/kissing contest next Valentine's Day...
Vacation Sweepstakes Edition (The More You Give, The Less You May Get)
It's summer vacation time and what better way to spend it then basking in the sun after winning that all-expense-paid prize trip. Or is it? Sponsors want to create buzz for their sweepstakes. And vacation prizes over the summer months may do just that. In my unofficial count, there...
Where's the Beef? Selling Internet Time Could Get You Time (The Sweepstakes Legitimate Product Requirement)
In 1984, Clara Peller, when opening a bun and finding only a tiny burger, first asked the famous line, "Where's the beef?" This question is still relevant today in sweepstakes world. Even if you have an AMOE, when you provide entries for purchasing a product, it better be a...
Commercial Co-Ventures: What a Charity Needs to Know
Yay! Big brand wants to team up and donate part of the purchase price of its sales to your charity. Do you just have to sit back and watch the money come pouring in? Procedurally, no; substantively, (mostly) yes. Even though the "work" in a commercial co-venture may be...
Liability For Inherently Dangerous Contests (How Many Nathan's Famous Are Too Many)
It's fun to watch Joey Chestnut race to scarf down 72 hot dogs in 10 minutes on the 4 th of July, isn't it? At least the thousands of fans who packed the Coney Island boardwalk and over 1 million television viewers think so. To a person, weren't we...
How About Some Updates?
You may or may not have heard of some recent developments in the promotion world. If you haven't, great, let me be the first to tell you. If you have, my update is better. Endorsements/Influencers Back in the 1940s, a sociologist named Paul Lazerfield introduced the psychology behind the...
Some Common Sweepstakes and Contests Questions Answered
Our teachers have told us that there's no such thing as a bad question. In that light, I've come up with 11 common (simple) questions about running a sweepstakes or contest. And to prove that there are no bad questions, I've also gone ahead and answered them. Enjoy! Social...
Should Your Company Engage in Cause Marketing? Here's What Consumers Think
Cause marketing is good marketing according to a recent study . The marketing research firm Toluna conducted a survey of 1,000 U.S. adults and here's what they had to say: Almost half felt that "it's a great way to bring attention to different national or global issues." Over half...
With A Nod to May Day, Let's Look at Beauty “Contests”
Beauty pageants have been around since the Middle Ages when during the English May Day celebrations a May Queen was crowned. But unlike our current pageant winners who go on to work toward advanced degrees and to advanced popular causes, folklore has it that our early May Queens' reign...
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