Marketing Lawyer—Advertising Legal Counsel

Intro:

In Canada, marketing and advertising is regulated by a multitude of laws, regulations and guidelines whose primary goal is preventing and correcting deception in the marketplace. The rules vary widely depending on the nature of the product advertised, the media through which the advertising is circulated, the consumer targeted by the advertising and, sometimes, the province where the advertising is published.

Available Services:

  1. Conduct searches and prepare opinions respecting the availability and/or registrability of proposed trademarks.
  2. Review product labels and packaging for compliance with legal requirements, including statements respecting quantity, country of origin and hazards.
  3. Evaluate product claims and determine whether the available scientific evidence supports the proposed claim.
  4. Review product claims for compliance with any legal restrictions respecting the nature of the claim, including cosmetic claims, therapeutic, organic, nutrient content and environmental claims.
  5. Review content of proposed advertisements for compliance with legal requirements, including evaluation of sale price claims, cost of credit claims and use of testimonials.
  6. Prepare rules for contests, promotions and loyalty programs.
  7. Prepare terms of use and privacy policies for web sites and social media accounts.
  8. Prepare web site development agreements, copyright assignments, software as service licenses and other agreements related to the provision of advertising services.
  9. Prepare endorsement agreements, talent agreements, music licenses and other related agreements.

Useful Information to Provide Legal Counsel:

  1. Accurate identification of any proposed trademarks, including any graphic elements, punctuation or significant use of capital letters as well as a description of associated goods, services or business to be promoted under trademark.
  2. Copies of all product labels and packaging expected to appear on a product, including graphics, layout and position of label on the product or packaging.
  3. Text of proposed product claims and copy of any label or advertisement on which claim will appear or a detailed explanation of context in which claim will be promoted.
  4. Copy of any available scientific studies, survey evidence or other existing material relied upon to support product claim.
  5. Copy of proposed advertisement, including graphics, layout and nature of media in which advertisement is intended to be circulated.
  6. Detailed description of proposed contest and prizes, including value of prizes, any regional allocation of prizes, proposed method of selecting winning entries, closing date, any eligibility restrictions and, if contest is to be conducted via Internet, the identity of any social media platforms that may be involved (ie. facebook, twitter, etc.).
  7. Hyperlinks and passwords to access any web site or social media platform under development or detailed description of content, including a copy of text, graphics and expected layout, as well as a detailed description of any services to be offered (ie. retail, software as service, etc.).
  8. Legal names of intended parties and principle terms of any proposed agreements.