US Law Archives - Page 56 of 71

Bloggers & Advertisers Beware: FTC Rules on Sponsored Endorsements Create Major Risks for “Word of Mouth” Advertising

Digital Media Lawyer Blog: “The rules affect both advertisers and bloggers who cooperate on sponsored endorsements. For example, the new rules state that the FTC intends to hold both advertisers and bloggers liable for false and misleading statements made by either party in the course of an endorsement. This means that an advertiser who provides free products to a blogger can be liable if the blogger makes false statements about the products in her blog. And the blogger can be liable if she repeats false statements from the advertiser. Both parties can also be liable if the blogger fails to disclose her connection with the advertiser.”

New FTC Blog Rules: Overbroad or Overblown?

Law.com Legal Blog Watch: “To read reactions to the Federal Trade Commission’s new guidelines announced this week on product testimonials and endorsements, one would conclude that bloggers must now tiptoe through a minefield of disclosures or else face the strong arm of the federal government and penalties of as much as $11,000. Blogs as varied as Fashionista, Wired’s Epicenter and CNET’s Digital Media warn that any failure by a blog to disclose receipt of a freebie or payment from a company would violate the guidelines and expose the blogger to enforcement action.”

Copyright Battles to Begin in 2013

Law.com: “Over the past six years, the record industry has successfully sued thousands of people in the United States for illegally downloading copyrighted songs. . . Soon, though, the major labels are going to have a different copyright battle on their hands — one that will pit them not against those who want to listen to recordings, but those who created them in the first place. . . The looming problem is the so-called termination rights Congress gave to creators of copyrighted material when it amended the U.S. copyright law in 1976. The rights — which allow a copyright grant to be terminated after 35 years . . . [In 2013] holders of sound-recording copyrights can take advantage of this provision, which, in turn, makes recordings from 1978 potentially the first to be up for grabs.”

House Healthcare Bill Provides for Fines & Jail Time for Uninsured

On October 5, 2009, Congressman John Shadegg introduced a resolution in the House that if passed would eliminate fines and jail time for people who do not purchase health insurance under the House versions of Obamacare.

On September 24, 2009, the Joint Committee on Taxation confirmed that in addition to paying a fine for failing to purchase health coverage, the Congressional Democrats’ health plan could require an individual to pay an additional $25,000 fine or even spend up to one year in jail.”

President Obama and the Nancy Pelosi Democrats claim to be protecting the ‘little guy.’ Nothing could be further from the truth. According to the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO), American families will pay $29 billion in penalties for failing to meet the Washington’s new order. Even insured Americans are subject to these harsh penalties if Congressional Democrats and Washington bureaucrats don’t approve of their coverage!

IRS Failed to Answer 22.4 Million Calls During 2009 Tax Season

As the federal government continues to grow, it provides less service at a higher cost. During the 2009 income tax filing season 75.7 million people tried to call the IRS toll-free telephone lines. Although the IRS answered 35.8 million (47.3%) calls, 22.4 million calls were not answered because taxpayers hung up, were disconnected by the IRS or received a busy signal.

Note the alarming negative trends in the chart below that summarizes IRS phone service over the last four years – declining service and longer wait times.

IRS Phone Statistics