If your advertising and marketing cannot stand up to a legal challenge, your product or service will stumble. Advertising litigation is a complex field requiring careful navigation.
Your advertising campaign was creative and carefully considered. Your product seemed certain to succeed, and some of the best advertising minds helped launch it with a campaign that spanned traditional and new media.
Then came the lawsuit.
A challenge to your marketing is a challenge to your product and your brand, and a threat to your bottom line. Veneble has one of the most extensive and successful advertising and marketing litigation practices in the United States. Whether the lawsuit comes from a competitor, a consumer, or a government regulator, our team is considered by peers and clients alike to be one of the nation’s top practices for advertising-related litigation and regulatory compliance.
Veterans of Traditional Media—On the Leading Edge of New Media
Many of Venable’s litigation attorneys focus on advertising and marketing litigation. Our advertising and marketing litigators are highly sought after because of their extraordinary perspective. They have all the tools needed to litigate and win advertising cases in any forum—extensive knowledge of advertising law, deep understanding of their clients’ businesses and product/service categories, experience in the courtroom, close ties to federal and state regulatory agencies, intimate understanding of industry self-regulatory bodies, and geographic reach. Many of Venable’s attorneys have decades of experience working with the advertising industry; indeed, some of them have held senior positions in the industry and with the agencies that regulate the clients they now advise.
We represent clients that produce products, provide services, and market products in myriad industries including, but not limited to, consumer products and services, apparel, floor care, home products, quick-serve restaurants, pharmaceuticals, dietary supplements, direct response, entertainment, telecommunications, automotive, credit counseling, and debt management.
The cases handled by Venable litigators involve every type of advertising: traditional television, radio and print media; direct mail and telemarketing; retail packaging and in-store displays; cutting-edge Internet, mobile marketing, social media, viral and other word-of-mouth marketing; affiliate marketing, keyword and other search issues; and multi-level (network) marketing. With a home base in Washington, DC, offices on the East and West coasts, and ties to firms around the world, Venable has the ability to assist clients around the globe on any advertising litigation matter.
A Track Record of Success Across a Multitude of Venues
From the highest court in the nation to industry self-regulators, Venable has established a long record of success in every venue where advertising cases are heard.
Venable’s successes range from unanimous, precedent-setting U.S. Supreme Court victories to self-regulatory matters at the National Advertising Division of the Better Business Bureau; from federal appellate decisions to state court class actions and false advertising claims; and from federal Lanham Act jury trials to federal district court victories against government regulators.
Venable regularly obtains and defends against preliminary injunctions and temporary restraining orders relating to advertising issues. Part of this success in obtaining and defending emergency actions stems from Venable’s preemptive management and advice relating to claims, substantiation, and advertising review prior to the client launching its advertising campaigns.
Venable litigators also frequently stave off advertising-related investigations from the Federal Trade Commission, state attorneys general, and district attorneys from counties around the country. Venable assists clients in responding to civil investigative demands and subpoenas, and regularly keep clients out of litigation brought by government regulators.
Litigation Focus
Lanham Act false advertising
Self-regulatory matters, including NAD
ERSP
IP-related advertising litigation
CAN-SPAM compliance
Affiliate marketing matters
Government litigation and
investigations, including: FTC investigations, State attorneys general investigations
Unfair and deceptive trade practices
Consumer class actions
Anti-counterfeiting
Advertising Focus
Traditional media, including
Television
Radio
Print
Direct mail and telemarketing
Retail packaging and store displays
Internet, mobile and social media
Word-of-mouth and viral marketing
Affiliate marketing
Keyword and other search issues
Network marketing
Industry Focus
Apparel companies
Banking and financial services
Communications
Consumer products and services
Credit counseling and debt management
Dietary supplements, cosmetics, and functional foods
Drugs, medical devices, and biologics
Electronics
Healthcare
Home products
Hospitality and lodging
Life sciences
Manufacturing
Marketing
Media and entertainment
New media
Pharmaceuticals
Software
