Find Lawyers in Ottawa, Ontario for Advertising and Marketing Law
Practice Area Overview
The field of advertising law in Canada has a wide scope – it encompasses the substantive laws, both federal and provincial, that govern the content of advertising, as well as the myriad and increasingly complex commercial and transactional arrangements involved in the creation and delivery of advertising messages.
Lawyers practising in this area routinely advise their clients regarding proposed advertising claims and claims support, packaging and labelling, promotions and contests, ad agency and media contracts, advertising pre-clearance, comparative advertising, advertising disputes, mobile advertising and social media, and privacy issues, including those relating to outbound e-marketing and online behavioural advertising.
They must be familiar with not only the key legislation of general application to advertising content, such as the federal Competition Act and provincial consumer protection legislation, but also with legislation affecting certain regulated categories of products or services, such as foods, drugs, cosmetics, natural health products, tobacco products, automobiles, and financial services, among others.
Advice provided by advertising lawyers may be informed by other disciplines, such as corporate and commercial law, intellectual property law, administrative law and litigation, as lawyers practising in this area may be called upon to advise on contracts, the use of intellectual property (belonging to the advertiser or third parties) and regulatory investigations or proceedings or private actions for misleading advertising.
In the age of social media in particular, they also must be attuned to both the legal risks, and the reputational risks, associated with certain types of promotional campaigns.
A creative mindset and approach is important in this practice area, as advertising lawyers need to help their clients create and deliver advertising that respects the law while remaining compelling to consumers.
David Elder is counsel who practices communications, competition and privacy law. He is Chair of the Communications and Privacy & Data Protection Groups and a member of the Competition & Foreign Investment, Government Relations, and International Regulation & Compliance Groups. He also serves as the firm’s Chief Privacy Officer. David is recognized as one of the country’s foremost authorities on Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL), having been involved in all s...
Laura Gomez is an Ottawa-based partner who advises on regulatory law, practising primarily in the area of product regulation, compliance and enforcement and corporate commercial law. Laura assists clients with regulatory and commercial issues relating to the commercialization of foods, supplemented foods, non-prescription (OTC) and prescription drugs, natural health products, cosmetics, devices, cannabis, consumer products and controlled drugs. She has particular experience in advising client...
Susan Hutton is a senior counsel in the Competition & Foreign Investment Group. She provides Competition Act and Investment Canada Act advice in respect of numerous complex mergers and acquisitions. She provides clients with ongoing compliance advice and has guided clients through civil and criminal investigations, as well as complaints under the Competition Act . Susan is recognized as a leading lawyer by Chambers Global and Chambers Canada , which quotes sources as saying she "is superb...
Lewis Retik is a partner in Gowling WLG's Ottawa office, practising primarily in the area of corporate commercial and regulatory law. Lewis' practice focuses on regulatory and commercial issues relating to the commercialization of products, including regulatory licencing, product distribution, manufacturing, advertising, packaging and labelling. Lewis has extensive experience working with companies of all sizes, ranging from recent startups to large international companies in a variety of spe...
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