Podcast of Mobile Presence Radio Interview - Mobile Marketing and the Law
Posted by: Andy Lustigman
July 13, 2009

A podcast of Part I of Andrew Lustigman's radio interview on Mobile Presence is now live. The interview on Webmaster Radio FM highlights recent legal developments in mobile marketing law, particularly as it relates to message delivery. Included in the interview is a detailed discussion of the recent Satterfield decision out of the Ninth Circuit.

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Ninth Circuit Throws a Wrench Into Third-Party Opt-In Campaigns
Posted by: Andy Lustigman
July 07, 2009

by Andy Lustigman & Adam Solomon

On June 19, 2009 the Ninth Circuit ruled that the District Court had erred in ruling in Simon & Schuster's favor in a class action suit brought by Laci Satterfield. In Satterfield v. Simon & Schuster the Court of Appeals reversed the lower court's decision which had vindicated the company of violating the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) when it sent text messages to promote Stephen King's novel "The Cell". The Ninth Circuit decision raises serious questions as to the reliance on opt-ins for third-party marketing in both sms campaigns and in other marketing channels.

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Pharmaceutical Company Manager Sentenced for Off-label Marketing
Posted by: Sheldon Lustigman
July 01, 2009

A Branchburg, New Jersey woman who was employed as Regional manager of a Pharmaceutical company was sentenced upon criminal conviction for having instructed sales reps to market a drug product for conditions for which it had not been approved. The drug, Bextra, was a Cox-II inhibitor which had been approved for symptoms of osteoarthritis, and rheumatoid arthritis but which had not been approved for acute pain in general, including the pain of surgery. The FDA had told the company that it could not approve the product for these other conditions without further tests and studies to assure safety and efficacy.

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New Federal Law Regulates Gift Certificates and Gift Cards
Posted by: Sheldon Lustigman
July 01, 2009

On May 25, 2009, President Obama signed the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure (CARD) Act of 2009. The Act amends the Truth in Lending Act and imposes a number of new requirements on gift certificates, store gift cards, and general use prepaid cards by putting limits on expiration dates and fees that can be imposed, and setting forth new disclosure requirements. The new law will become effective on August 22, 2010.

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