Advertising

Reed Smith's Advertising Technology & Media practice has represented the advertising, marketing and promotion industries for more than 50 years.

Clients include name-brand advertisers, advertising agencies, production companies, advertising agency networks, talent payroll companies, media companies, technology companies, publishers, film studios, television networks, cable channels, leading trade associations, authors, musicians and celebrities.

Our practice covers areas as diverse as code compliance, consumer protection, intellectual property, celebrity endorsements, rights of advertisers pursuant to collective bargaining agreements with performing unions, e-commerce, prize promotions and competitions, sales promotions, event management, sponsorships, product placement, licensing, defamation, invasion of privacy, contracts, mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, and trade association regulation.

Advice

• Review of advertising content and marketing programs to ensure compliance with local laws and regulations, as well as with television clearance procedures
  • Television clearance procedures
  • Compliance with advertising codes
  • Deceptive or misleading advertising
  • Comparative advertising
  • Substantiation of claims
  • Surveys, clinical studies, research 
  • Sweepstakes, lotteries, prize draws, competisions and contests, coupons, gift certificates
  • Infomercials, home shopping, direct response
  • Incentives, premiums tie-ins
  • Telemarketing
  • Guerrilla or "ambush" marketing
  • Rights of privacy and publicity and "image rights"
  • Trade regulation
  • Pricing issues  
• Assistance in dealing with media suppliers, production companies, cable networks, fulfillment houses, telemarketing services, product suppliers and ancillary marketing channels

Dispute Resolution

• Controversies between advertisers or between advertisers and agencies
• Deceptive or misleading advertising 
• Defending claims, including class actions
• Confidential information breaches
• Intellectual property infringements, including copyright, trademark and domain names, passing off and defamation 
• Freedom of expression and U.S. First Amendment rights
• Union disputes (actors' and musicians' unions)

Transactions

• Advertiser/Agency contracts
• Television and film production contracts
• Celebrity endorsements
• Licensing, including trademarks, logos, musical compositions and soundtracks, motion picture and television film clips, animated characters, literary works, and other entertainment properties
• Sponsorship and events including Olympic sponsorships, concert promotions, product placements, commercial tie-ins and sporting events
• National and global media buying agreements
• Collective bargaining agreements
• Mergers and acquisitions
• Joint ventures

Brand Protection

• Intellectual property management for trademarks, copyrights and proprietary information
  • Protection and enforcement of rights
  • Portfolio management incorporating Reed Smith's proprietary Trademark Management Mapping Program: to obtain further information on this, please use the link in the sidebar.

Government Regulators

We assist clients in their dealings with regulators including, in the United States:  The Federal Trade Commission, Food & Drug Administration, Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau, Federal Communications Commission, Attorneys General and District Attorneys, Alcohol Beverage Commissions, United States Customs, and United States Postal Services; and in the UK:  Ofcom, the Advertising Standards Authority and the Office of Fair Trading.

Self Regulation

We advise with regard to compliance with the codes of the numerous self-regulatory bodies in the advertising field, such as (in the United States) the National Advertising Division, Children's Advertising Review Unit, and the National Advertising Review Board of the Council of Better Business Bureaus; and in the UK, bodies such as the Financial Services Authority, the Proprietary Association of Great Britain, the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry and the Portman Group.

Labor Relations and Collective Bargaining

As the advertising industry's lead negotiators in the United States with regard to the union collective bargaining agreements and the Screen Actors Guild, the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, and the American Federation of Musicians, the firm has expertise in:

• Interpretation of collective bargaining agreements
• Arbitrations and litigation of labor code disputes
• Labor audits
• Negotiation of agreements with actors and musicians

Global Reach

As founders of the Global Advertising Lawyers Alliance, Reed Smith has a network in nearly 50 countries of independent law firms specializing in advertising, technology and media law.  GALA allows Reed Smith to provide superior advice and service to global and Internet marketers throughout the world.