Issuance of Commission report: The Commission has issued a study, “2007 Report on Ethanol Market Concentration,” its third annual report on the state of ethanol production in the United States, as required by the Energy Policy Act of 2005. On the assumption that U.S. fuel ethanol is a relevant market, the report concludes that the […]
Monthly Archives: November 2007
FTC Wraps Up Case Against Alleged Bogus Business Opportunity Purveyors
The Federal Trade Commission has wrapped up its case against the purveyors of an envelope stuffing business opportunity by settling charges with the remaining defendants, who falsely promised that consumers would earn a substantial income merely by stuffing envelopes or mailing brochures. These defendants and their spouses will give up all of their frozen assets. […]
FTC Settles Charges Against Barr Laboratories, Protects Consumers from Anticompetitive Agreements in Prescription Drug Market
The Federal Trade Commission announced today that it has agreed to settle its complaint against Barr Laboratories, whose agreement with Warner Chilcott, the Commission alleges, unlawfully delayed entry of Barr’s generic version of Warner Chilcott’s Ovcon birth control pill into the market. As a result of the settlement, Barr must refrain from entering into anticompetitive […]
Agencies to Issue Proposed Rules and Guidelines that Address Accuracy and Integrity of Consumer Report Information and Rules to Allow Direct Disputes
The Federal Trade Commission and the federal financial regulatory agencies (the Agencies) have approved proposed regulations and guidelines to help ensure the accuracy and integrity of information provided to consumer reporting agencies and to allow consumers to directly dispute inaccuracies with financial institutions and other entities that furnish information to consumer reporting agencies. This information […]
Major Online Advertiser Settles FTC Charges. “Free” Gifts Weren’t Free; Settlement Calls for $650,000 Civil Penalty
A large online advertiser that drove traffic to its Web sites using spam e-mails with misleading subject lines has agreed to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that it failed to disclose that consumers have to spend money to receive the so-called “free” gifts it offers. The settlement, filed by the Department of Justice on behalf […]
FTC Releases Survey of Identity Theft in the U.S.Study Shows 8.3 Million Victims in 2005
The Federal Trade Commission today released a survey showing that 8.3 million American adults, or 3.7 percent of all American adults, were victims of identity theft in 2005. Of the victims, 3.2 million, or 1.4 percent of all adults, experienced misuse of their existing credit card accounts; 3.3 million, or 1.5 percent, experienced misuse of […]
FTC Challenges A&Ps Proposed Acquisition of Pathmark Supermarkets
The Federal Trade Commission today announced a complaint challenging The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company, Inc.’s (A&P) proposed $1.3 billion acquisition of Pathmark Stores, Inc. The complaint charges that the proposed acquisition would result in reduced competition between the two supermarket firms in Staten Island, New York and Shirley, Long Island, New York. Under […]
FTC Reviews Environmental Marketing Guides, Announces Public Meetings
The Federal Trade Commission is beginning a regulatory review of its environmental marketing guidelines, also known as the Green Guides. The guides outline general principles for all environmental marketing claims and provide specifics about certain green claims, such as degradabilty, compostability, recyclability, recycled content, and ozone safety. In a Federal Register Notice, the Commission is […]
FTC Approves Final Consent Order in Sixth Alternative HRT Matter
For Your Information November 23, 2007 Commission approval of final consent order: Following a public comment period, the Commission has approved the issuance of a final consent order in the sixth matter related to the advertising and sale of alternative hormone replacement therapy (HRT) products, Merilou Barnekow, individually and doing business as Women’s Menopause Health […]
Federal Court Finds Kevin Trudeau in Civil Contempt
On November 16, 2007, a U.S. District Court judge found Kevin Trudeau in contempt of court for violating a 2004 permanent injunction. The Court found that Trudeau violated the permanent injunction when he misrepresented the contents of his book, “The Weight Loss Cure ‘They’ Don’t Want You to Know About,” in several infomercials. The permanent […]