Product placement
No product placement please, we're British? Part 2
Following Andy Burnham's negative comments on liberalising UK TV product placement rules, the DCMS is now consulting on whether it should be permitted. What are the arguments and the prospects for dissuading HM Govt from its negative view? Carla Basso reports.

Comparative
Key implications of ECJ judgment
On 9 July 2008 Osborne Clarke held a unique workshop reporting in depth on the recent ECJ judgment in the O2/Hutchison case over using competitors' brands in ads. Speaker Nick Johnson drew seven key conclusions from the verdict.

Mobile marketing
New threat looms for Scottish viral campaigns
A new "Sexual Offences Bill" is making its way through the Scottish Parliament with new offences that could bite advertisers using flirting texts. Anna Montes reports.

Prices
Warmed over price guidance from the BERR
New Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations scrapped previous price indication laws and necessitated an update to a related pricing code. In the old code's place has appeared "Guidance" from the BERR. Are there any major changes? Omar Bucchioni reports.

Privacy
Junking junk mail for good?
The Walport data sharing review has now been published, but what does this mean for marketers and what's all this nonsense about local authorities no longer selling electoral register data? Phil Lee reports.

Promotion marketing
Property Woman of the Year Awards breach Code
Bradford & Bingley ran a national "Property Woman of the Year" contest but a disappointed entrant queried the selection process and its consistency with ads. David Pawan reports the Advertising Standards Authority's verdict and the lessons.

Regulatory
CAP Code amendments reflect Consumer Protection Regulations
With little or no fanfare, CAP introduced significant changes to the CAP Code at the end of June. See below for Nick Johnson's report as to how the changes could be more far-reaching than CAP has suggested.r

Employment - Discrimination
"No Moroccans" Dutch employer spells danger for job ads
The ECJ recently decided that a public statement by an employer that it will not recruit employees of a certain ethnic or racial origin is likely to dissuade certain candidates from applying. Is this enough to constitute direct discrimination? Naomi Flynn submits her report.

Brands
Dream it! Do it!? In your dreams, say Euro trade mark judges
The CFI has rejected an application to register as a Community Trade Mark the slogan DREAM IT! DO IT!, finding that it lacks distinctive character. But what about Nike's JUST DO IT? Emily Devlin reports.

Brands
New Ebay case
Following last month's Marketinglaw.co.uk article on the fine handed down to Ebay for allowing fake Hermes bags, Ray Coyle examines two new, and conflicting, decisions from France and the US on similar issues.

Intellectual property
Screen-scraping: Ireland hosts new aggregation site battleground
Ryanair claims that a flight aggregation site's practice of “screen-scraping” infringes their trade marks and database rights and that the use of RYANAIR amounts to “passing off”. Gemma Neylon, trainee solicitor at Mason Hayes+Curran in Dublin scans the legal issues and commercial implications.

People in advertising
Pending New York Bills to Extend Right of Publicity Beyond Death
People may soon be able to protect the commercial use of their persona after death in the State of New York under pending right of publicity bills that would expand the current protections available under state law. Lindsay M. Schoen, associate at Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP reports from the USA.

Prices
The end of "We pay you to fly with us" offers?
Euro MPs have approved a measure to ban airlines from advertising cheap flights that do not include the taxes and charges passengers have to pay. The new rules are expected to come into force across the EU by the end of 2008. Omar Bucchioni flies "free" to Strasbourg to tell us more.

Sponsorship
Chinese recipe to combat ambush marketing
The Beijing Organising Committee has put in place some of the toughest ever measures to combat ambush marketing at the 2008 Olympics, with signs already emerging of these backfiring on official sponsors. Nick Johnson takes a hop, skip and a jump through some of the measures.