Edited by
Jeffrey D. Knowles 
,
Roger Colaizzi ,
Gary D. Hailey and
Gregory J. Sater
News
FTC Reopens Comment Period on Proposed Changes to EnergyGuide Labels
On March 21, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced that it was reopening the public comment period on its recent proposal to update EnergyGuide label information and issue special labels for refrigerators and clothes washers. The proposed updates are intended to make it easier for consumers to compare products subject to new Department of Energy tests for measuring energy costs. Advertising Law News and Analysis covered the FTC's original notice of the comment period here.
The comment period will remain open until April 1.
Click
here to read the FTC's March press release and submit
comments on the proposed rule changes.
Click here to read the text of the FTC's proposed rule changes.
Venable's Advertising Practice Named to Chambers USA Shortlist
Chambers USA, a leading publisher of legal rankings, earlier this week announced the short list for the 2013 Chambers USA Awards for Excellence. Each year, only one firm in each area of practice receives an award, which recognizes pre-eminence in key practice areas and reflects the firms' outstanding work, impressive strategic growth and excellence in client service.
This year marks the fourth consecutive year Venable has been named to the Chambers shortlist in the Advertising category. Venable, which received the Advertising Award for Excellence in 2010 and 2011, is also the only law firm named to the shortlist every year since the creation of the Advertising category. The winners of the 2013 Chambers Awards will be named May 23 in New York City.
Click here to see the full list of firms named to the Chambers shortlist.
Analysis
Protect Your Brand Against New Top-Level Domain Names
Today, there are only a handful of top-level domains such as .com, .net, .org, .gov, .mil, .edu, .mobi, and .jobs, write Venable partners Janet F. Satterthwaite and Jacqueline Levasseur Patt in a recent client alert. However, later this year, the number of top-level domains will explode to more than 1,000 with the introduction of generic top-level domains (gTLDs).
In the past, there have been sunrise periods for certain top-level domains to give trademark owners the first opportunity to register their brands before the new domain is open to the public. Because the cost and effort of complying with more than 1,000 different sunrise and objection processes would be overwhelming for even the largest brands, ICANN has launched a central trademark clearinghouse (TMCH) so that one set of paperwork can be submitted to create a single database of authenticated trademark rights. The TMCH provides a central, one-stop process for registrations and/or objections to registrations that conflict with the registered brands for all gTLD sunrises. Although some questions remained unresolved, the TMCH went live on March 26, 2013.
All trademark owners should be prepared to register their key brands in the TMCH in order to prepare for the vast expansion of domains across the gTLD space.
Click here to read the full text of the client alert by Satterthwaite and Patt.
Attention,Telemarketers: NY TCPA Class Action Dismissed...For Now
On March 12, a judge in the Eastern District Court of New York state entered a memorandum and order in Bank v. Independence Energy Group LLC, which dismissed claims arising under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act and its accompanying rules and regulations (collectively, the TCPA), for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. Citing Second Circuit precedents, the judge held that state courts have exclusive jurisdiction over private actions brought under the TCPA and that the New York Civil Practice Law and Rules (CPLR) bars TCPA class actions in the federal courts. This is because TCPA creates a private right of action only "if otherwise permitted by the laws or rules of a State," but New York's CPLR prohibits class actions predicated on statutory damages, write Venable attorneys Edward P. Boyle, Emilio W. Cividanes, Stuart P. Ingis, and Michael C. Hartmere in a recent client alert.
However, the attorneys write, New York telemarketers should not rev up their dialers just yet because the decision lacks any discussion of the Supreme Court's decision in Mims v. Arrow Financial Services, LLC, which held that federal and state courts have concurrent jurisdiction over private actions brought under the TCPA.
Click here to read the full text of the client alert covering the Bank decision.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.