The National Law Review has published a recent article titled, Why Correctly Understanding Antitrust Risk is Crucial to Properly Addressing Brand Dilution in the E-Commerce Age, which was authored by Wiggin and Dana Partner, Benjamin Diessel and Associate, Timothy Cowan.
To read the full article, please click here.
Read More Why Correctly Understanding Antitrust Risk is Crucial to Properly Addressing Brand Dilution in the E-Commerce AgeThe Connecticut Supreme Court issued a ruling yesterday in Soto v. Bushmaster Firearms International, et al. that may greatly expand the reach of Connecticut’s principal consumer protection and business litigation statute, the Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act (“CUTPA”), to include business conduct not previously generally understood to be subject to CUTPA. CUTPA is Connecticut’s version of the Federal Trade Commission Act, but unlike the FTC…
Read More Connecticut Supreme Court Ruling in Soto v. Bushmaster Firearms International, et al. Expands Scope of CUTPAIn the 11th Circuit’s highly anticipated decision in LabMD, Inc., v. FTC, the court declined to reach the most contentious issue in the case: the scope of the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) authority to regulate data privacy and security practices as an unfair act or practice under Section 5(n) of the FTC Act absent evidence of demonstrable harm resulting from a data breach…
Read More The LabMD Decision Reins In the FTC’s Authority to Issue Broadly Worded and Ill-Defined OrdersIn an important development for colleges and universities throughout the United States, a federal district court judge on February 1, 2018 certified a class of medical school faculty members in an antitrust suit against Duke University and the University of North Carolina. The class action suit alleges that Duke and UNC had an agreement not to permit lateral moves of faculty members between Duke and…
Read More Faculty Non-Poaching Agreements Pose Significant Antitrust RisksIntroduction
Customer reviews are ubiquitous in today’s commercial environment. Whether the business is Amazon.com or the doctor’s office down the street, consumers are accustomed to rating and reviewing goods and services online and having access to reviews from other consumers to help inform their purchasing decisions. Ratings are important because consumers sometimes have limited opportunities to interact with sellers, prompting them to rely on accounts…
Read More Consumer Review Fairness Act Codified Consumers’ Right to ComplainSocial media sites such as Yelp and Facebook provide consumers with a platform to share their opinions about businesses that sell goods or services to the public.
While businesses rely on this kind of digital word-of-mouth to boost sales and positive brand awareness, unflattering online reviews are inevitable and have the potential to cause considerable damage.
But stopping customers from giving bad feedback, even if…
Read More Congress Protects Negative Online ReviewsIntroduction
Customer reviews are ubiquitous in today’s commercial environment. Whether the business is Amazon.com or the doctor’s office down the street, consumers are accustomed to rating and reviewing goods and services online and having access to reviews from other consumers to help inform their purchasing decisions. Ratings are important because consumers sometimes have limited opportunities to interact with sellers, prompting them to rely on accounts…
Read More Consumer Review Fairness Act Prevents Companies From Stifling Negative Consumer ReviewsIn PHH Corporation v. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, no. 15-1177 (D.C. Cir. Oct. 11, 2016), the Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit recently held that the organizational structure of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is unconstitutional. The appellate court concluded that the CFPB’s structure—as an independent agency with a single director—did not contain sufficient checks to satisfy basic separation of powers…
Read More Court Rules CFPB Unconstitutional and Finds CFPB Improperly Applied Mortgage Lending and Reinsurance LawsOn May 5, 2016, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued a proposed rule that drastically limits the effectiveness of arbitration clauses in consumer financial product agreements. Specifically, the proposed rule bans providers of “consumer financial products” from including arbitration clauses in their contracts that prohibit consumers from filing or participating in class actions. The proposed rule also sets out specific language regarding the right…
Read More CFPB Proposes Rule Banning Class Action ProhibitionsIn early 1978, I wrote an Op-ed piece for the New York Times describing the 1977 landmark “Chevymobile” settlement by forty-four state attorneys general with General Motors in which it was alleged that GM had failed to disclose the substitution of Chevy engines in 1977 Oldsmobiles, Buicks and Pontiacs. In my Op-ed, I had predicted that the Chevymobile matter, in which I participated as a…
Read More State Antitrust Law and the Constitution