Advertising and Entertainment Disputes

Consumer Class Actions 

Winston & Strawn has developed a consistent record of success handling class action cases in state and federal courts, at both the trial and appellate levels. Our experience spans a broad range of consumer class actions related to advertising, including consumer fraud, privacy issues, and unfair competition. Our attorneys regularly handle claims brought under California's Business and Professions Code Section 17200. As a measure of our success in class actions, U.S. News & World Report recently ranked Winston & Strawn as National Tier 1 for Mass Tort Litigation/Class Actions in its "Best Law Firms" issue.

False Advertising and Advertising/Promotions-Related Litigation

Given our exceptional reputation in both the consumer protection and dispute resolution fields, we regularly defend major brands in competitor-to-competitor litigation. Notably, in 2012, Chambers rated Winston & Strawn nationally for Advertising Litigation.

National Advertising Division of the Better Business Bureau  

Since the inception of this practice in 1972, Winston & Strawn has successfully represented clients before the National Advertising Division of the Council of Better Business Bureaus (NAD) and its appellate body, the National Advertising Review Board (NARB), as well as the Children's Advertising Review Unit (CARU). We have represented major brands on a wide variety of advertising and promotional issues, including taste/perception claims, free offers, nutrition claims, children's advertising, sweepstakes/prize representations, consumer surveys, savings and pricing issues, as well as those relating to product performance.

FTC, State Attorney General, and Regulatory Investigations 

Winston & Strawn has a unique depth of experience in handling FTC and state attorney general investigations relating to advertising, unfair trade practices, privacy, and other consumer protection laws and regulations. Our attorneys have successfully defended clients in virtually every industry sector in connection with these law enforcement proceedings, as well as defended companies in litigation pursued by the FTC or state attorneys general.

Right of Publicity

Our seasoned trial lawyers have extensive experience handling right of publicity claims, and our counseling teams regularly assist clients in this area. Our work includes representations of brands, celebrities, publishers, authors, broadcasters, and other media clients in suits involving claims of defamation, libel, right of publicity, and invasion of privacy claims.

Cybersquatting and Domain Name Disputes  

We have extensive experience in obtaining the transfer of infringing domain names from cybersquatters pursuant to the procedures set forth in the ICANN Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP), as well as through litigation under the Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act and informally through domain name industry channels.

Screen Actors Guild

We regularly advise our clients on the development of endorsement agreements under the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Commercials Contracts. Given the amorphous nature of the SAG Commercials Contract, disputes between SAG and our clients routinely arise, and our attorneys have defended clients in both litigation and arbitration matters relating to these disputes.