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As content producers, advertisers and their agencies devise new strategies for expanding the intersection of Hollywood Boulevard and Madison Avenue, the perspective of counsel with broad experience on both sides of the equation becomes increasingly important in creating the win-win relationship that everyone is seeking. The Advertising Practice at Sheppard Mullin uniquely combines those capabilities.

Beyond providing superior technical legal analysis, Sheppard Mullin’s Advertising Practice supports and complements its clients’ objectives with tactics and strategies that are innovative, aggressive and practical. The Practice’s ability to provide "big picture" services on time and on budget is enhanced by access to the skill, knowledge and relationships of the attorneys in Sheppard Mullin’s Entertainment, Intellectual Property, Litigation, Labor and Employment, Corporate and Securities Practices—each a leader in its field.

Scope of Practice

Any discussion of advertising law necessarily touches on a wide variety of legal practice areas, including entertainment law, copyright and trademark law, the law of unfair competition, the law governing privacy and publicity rights, constitutional law, e-commerce law and government trade regulations. The practice of advertising law similarly requires a cross-disciplinary approach.

Drawing on the extensive and diverse experience of its dedicated team of professionals, Sheppard Mullin’s Advertising Practice serves advertisers, ad agencies, Internet professionals, creative and production units, broadcasters, publishers, brand consultants, in-house and outside advertising and marketing agencies, and other advertising enterprises and professionals. We are experienced in preparing endorsement, sponsorship, sports marketing and entertainment marketing agreements, licensing and protecting intellectual property rights, reviewing and clearing advertising copy for use in online and offline media, complying with privacy concerns, preparing advertising agency and media agreements, and advising clients in complying with state and federal regulations governing some of the highest profile contest and sweepstakes promotions in the country. Our work generally covers the full spectrum of advertising, marketing and promotion issues, including each of the broad categories identified below.

Sports Marketing/Sponsorships/Endorsements:

Sponsorship and event marketing (including ambush marketing issues), as well as celebrity endorsements, have long been integral to sports marketing and are increasingly becoming part of a general integrated marketing stable, tying one popular product or celebrity persona to another. Sheppard Mullin’s Advertising Practice advises clients on the key points relating to such arrangements and drafts and negotiates the fine points of major sponsorship and related ancillary agreements as well as the endorsement agreements covering the terms of the celebrity endorsements and services.

Entertainment Marketing:

Branded entertainment and promotional tie-ins are old concepts that are evolving. As Hollywood content producers in search of supplemental production and marketing funds interest with the brand builders of Madison Avenue, the line between advertising and entertainment begins to blur. Sheppard Mullin's Advertising Practice is on the cutting edge of this hot area, having a wealth of experience in documenting the terms of such agreements, which are limited only by the imagination, and providing for alternatives in the event there is conflict between the creative vision and the branded message.

Contests and Sweepstakes:

Aside from the watchful eye of the FTC and various states’ Attorneys General, sponsors and promoters of sweepstakes, contests and promotions, both online and offline, can also find themselves the target of hostility from the very entrants at whom their promotions are aimed. Sheppard Mullin’s Advertising Practice is well versed in helping clients structure and execute all aspects of such promotions and create the Official Rules that will govern the relationship between the sponsor and the entrants in ways that protect the client and satisfy the myriad federal and state regulations governing such promotions.

Clearance and Compliance Review:

To minimize the risk that the creative message will be challenged by competitors, consumers or government regulators, Sheppard Mullin’s Advertising Practice reviews online and offline advertising copy to make sure that the factual statements being made can be substantiated and that the use of third party intellectual property images are used either with permission or in a way that minimizes the risk of getting sued on a successful infringement claim. The Practice’s clearance review covers copyright, trademark, privacy, publicity, defamation, libel, regulatory, self regulatory and related issues. The Practice’s review further addresses children's advertising, ambush marketing, comparative advertising concerns, advertising for online gambling operations located outside of the United States, and television network standards and practices to the extent clients contemplate broadcasting the advertised message.

Production and Distribution:

Contractually documenting relationships between advertisers and their agencies, media buyers, and production units is an important and increasingly creative first step that should not be overlooked. Sheppard Mullin’s Advertising Practice counsels clients on structuring these relationships so that the rights, obligations, and expectations of the parties are clearly communicated and protected in the inevitable event such relationships come to an end. In addition, the Advertising Practice’s hands-on familiarity with all aspects of commercial production, including drafting and negotiating talent agreements and music and film clip licenses and addressing American and Canadian guild concerns, provides clients with confidence that the production of their advertising message will proceed smoothly.

Interactive Marketing:

Sheppard Mullin’s Advertising Practice advises clients in all aspects of interactive marketing, including webmaster programs, online games, RSS, buzz, viral and text messaging campaigns, and structuring information collection policies and practices in ways that address increasing privacy concerns and protect against liability arising from doing business on the World Wide Web. The Practice also advises clients on such topics as domain name acquisition, registration and protection, litigating such disputes if and when necessary, website design and hosting, and ad serving and insertion.

Gift Certificates and Rebates:

With an increasing number of state laws prohibiting dormancy fees and expiration dates, as well as imposing certain redemption obligations, gift certificate and rebate programs are under increased scrutiny from government regulators and private citizens. Sheppard Mullin's Advertising Practice has extensive experience litigating on behalf of and counseling major national retailers, manufacturers and others on issues related to Gift Cards, Gift Certificates, and Rebates, advising clients and government liaisons on pending legislation, and structuring gift card and rebate programs in ways that minimize the risk that they will be challenged.

Going Global:

With the worldwide reach of the Internet and the globalization of client land-based business interests, international advertising regulations are playing a broader role in advertising review and compliance procedures. The Advertising Practice’s network of international law firms makes Sheppard Mullin a one-stop shop for our clients’ global advertising needs.

The Firm’s experience across every legal discipline affecting the world of advertising sets Sheppard Mullin’s Advertising Practice apart. In steadily increasing numbers, in-house counsel and production executives involved in advertising, marketing and the Internet, corporate agency and marketing professionals, as well as others in the advertising community rely on Sheppard Mullin’s Advertising Practice as committed partners covering their legal needs with insight, skill and efficiency.

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