Alan M. Pate

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FTC Issues Native Ad Guidance

Photo of Fernando A. Bohorquez, Jr.By Alan L. Friel, Fernando A. Bohorquez, Jr. and Alan M. Pate on Posted in Uncategorized
We have been closely following the evolution of “native advertising” and the regulatory response since before the FTC’s Workshop “Blurred Lines: Advertising or Content?” over two years ago. Applying traditional FTC truth-in-advertising principles, we have recommended how to avoid deception claims by the FTC or the NAD by providing clear and conspicuous disclosure that advertisements … Continue Reading

FTC Issues Native Ad Guidance

Photo of Fernando A. Bohorquez, Jr.By Alan M. Pate, Fernando A. Bohorquez, Jr. and Alan L. Friel on Posted in Advertising, Native Advertising
We have been closely following the evolution of “native advertising” and the regulatory response since before the FTC’s Workshop “Blurred Lines: Advertising or Content?” over two years ago. Applying traditional FTC truth-in-advertising principles, we have recommended how to avoid deception claims by the FTC or the NAD by providing clear and conspicuous disclosure that advertisements … Continue Reading

Industry Regulatory Organization to Outbrain and Gravity: Interest-Based Native Advertising Must Comply With Self-Regulatory Principles

By Alan M. Pate on Posted in Uncategorized
In two decisions issued last week, major native advertising players Gravity and Outbrain were found to have failed to comply with the online advertising industry’s self-regulatory principles for interest-based ads. The decisions, issued by the Better Business Bureau’s Online Interest-Based Advertising Accountability Program (OIBAAP), are the first to address whether native advertising targeted toward consumers’ … Continue Reading

Industry Regulatory Organization to Outbrain and Gravity: Interest-Based Native Advertising Must Comply With Self-Regulatory Principles

By Alan M. Pate on Posted in Advertising, Native Advertising
In two decisions issued last week, major native advertising players Gravity and Outbrain were found to have failed to comply with the online advertising industry’s self-regulatory principles for interest-based ads. The decisions, issued by the Better Business Bureau’s Online Interest-Based Advertising Accountability Program (OIBAAP), are the first to address whether native advertising targeted toward consumers’ … Continue Reading

All Native Advertising is Not Equal: Why that Matters Under the First Amendment and Why it Should Matter to the FTC – Part V

Photo of Fernando A. Bohorquez, Jr.By Fernando A. Bohorquez, Jr. and Alan M. Pate on Posted in Uncategorized
In this five part series, originally published in the Summer 2014 edition of the Media Law Resource Center Bulletin,[1] we take an in-depth look at the native advertising phenomenon and the legal issues surrounding the practice.  After canvassing the many faces of native advertising and the applicable law, the series ultimately examines the pervasive assumption … Continue Reading

All Native Advertising is Not Equal: Why that Matters Under the First Amendment and Why it Should Matter to the FTC – Part IV

Photo of Fernando A. Bohorquez, Jr.By Fernando A. Bohorquez, Jr. and Alan M. Pate on Posted in Uncategorized
In this five part series, originally published in the Summer 2014 edition of the Media Law Resource Center Bulletin,[1] we take an in-depth look at the native advertising phenomenon and the legal issues surrounding the practice.  After canvassing the many faces of native advertising and the applicable law, the series ultimately examines the pervasive assumption … Continue Reading

All Native Advertising is Not Equal: Why that Matters Under the First Amendment and Why it Should Matter to the FTC – Part III

Photo of Fernando A. Bohorquez, Jr.By Fernando A. Bohorquez, Jr. and Alan M. Pate on Posted in Uncategorized
In this five part series, originally published in the Summer 2014 edition of the Media Law Resource Center Bulletin,[1] we take an in-depth look at the native advertising phenomenon and the legal issues surrounding the practice.  After canvassing the many faces of native advertising and the applicable law, the series ultimately examines the pervasive assumption … Continue Reading

All Native Advertising is Not Equal: Why that Matters Under the First Amendment and Why it Should Matter to the FTC – Part II

Photo of Fernando A. Bohorquez, Jr.By Fernando A. Bohorquez, Jr. and Alan M. Pate on Posted in Uncategorized
Editor’s Note: This blog post was originally published on September 8, 2014, courtesy of iMedia Connection’s Blog. It is repurposed with permission. In this five part series, originally published in the Summer 2014 edition of the Media Law Resource Center Bulletin,[1] we take an in-depth look at the native advertising phenomenon and the legal issues surrounding the … Continue Reading

All Native Advertising is Not Equal: Why that Matters Under the First Amendment and Why it Should Matter to the FTC – Part I

Photo of Fernando A. Bohorquez, Jr.By Fernando A. Bohorquez, Jr. and Alan M. Pate on Posted in Uncategorized
Editor’s Note: This blog post was originally published on September 2, 2014, courtesy of iMedia Connection’s Blog. It is repurposed with permission. In this five part series, originally published in the Summer 2014 edition of the Media Law Resource Center Bulletin,[1] we take an in-depth look at the native advertising phenomenon and the legal issues … Continue Reading

Challenging Delegated Top-Level Domains: ICANN’s Trademark Post Delegation Dispute Resolution Procedure

By David Einhorn and Alan M. Pate on Posted in Uncategorized
This year, hundreds of new generic top-level domains (gTLDs) are changing the landscape of the Internet.  The long-awaited result of ICANN’s new gTLD program, top-level domains such as .NYC, .WINE, and .WTF will now join the familiar ranks of domains such as .COM and .NET.  As we’ve written about previously, ICANN provided brand owners, trademark … Continue Reading

Instagram Federal Class Action Over User Terms Dismissed; Plaintiffs Switch to State Court

By Alan M. Pate on Posted in Uncategorized
Earlier this month, Judge William Alsop of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California dismissed a proposed class action lawsuit against Instagram. The complaint alleged that certain changes to Instagram’s terms of use, announced in December of 2012 and effective January 19th, 2013, misappropriated users’ rights to their photos. The lawsuit, brought … Continue Reading

Federal Judge Orders Service of Process through Facebook

By Alan M. Pate on Posted in Uncategorized
In March, Judge Paul Engelmayer of the Southern District of New York ordered service of process on several international defendants through novel means—Facebook. The case, FTC v. PCCare247, Inc., involves a group of individuals based in India who allegedly “tricked American consumers into spending money to fix non-existent problems with their computers.”   After problems with … Continue Reading

Know Your Remedy: ICANN’s New gTLD Objection Procedure and String Contention Auctions

By Alan M. Pate on Posted in Uncategorized
Last month we wrote about ICANN’s new gTLD objection procedure.  Another aspect of the procedure is the possibility that disputing parties could be forced into an auction for the right to operate their applied-for gTLDs. For Legal Rights, Limited Public Interest, and Community Objections, the result of winning an objection is relatively straightforward—the application is … Continue Reading

Controversial “Six-Strikes” Copyright Alert System Debut Delayed

By Alan M. Pate on Posted in Uncategorized
The Center for Copyright Information, an organization founded and funded by media industry organizations, their members and Internet Service Providers (ISPs), yesterday announced that it would push back the start date and will likely begin to roll out its long anticipated “Copyright Alert System” in the early part of 2013.  The announcement comes on the … Continue Reading
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