Health and beauty
FMCG titans clash over tooth paste claims  GlaxoSmithKline asked the Advertising Standards Authority to investigate the veracity of print and online ads for Colgate Palmolive's Colgate Sensitive Pro-Relief toothpaste which included claims to be "the most effective sensitive toothpaste." Did Colgate come up whiter than white? Simon Fisher reports.

On-line advertising
ICO revises guidance on new cookie laws  Back in May 2011, the UK data protection watchdog published advice on compliance with new consent laws for users of cookies and other technologies to access or store information on devices such as laptops, tablets and smart phones. Now it has published a revised version as Stephen Groom reports.

Sponsorship
Ofcom in Downton breakbumper verdict  Aviva's sponsorship of ITV's successful "Downton Abbey" upstairs/downstairs drama series looked an excellent call until Ofcom received complaints that the breakbumpers buffering the commercial breaks broke the relevant content rules. Nick Johnson reports Ofcom's reasoning and decision.

Ambush marketing
Olympic advertising lockdown mini database  Looking for official guidance on the various rules on mentioning the London 2012 games in advertising? Look no further as Nick Johnson has collected a set of links to the principal LOCOG and IOC materials and other useful third party source material.

Misleading advertising
Possible wider implications of Reggae Reggae sauce IP rights clash  In a recent high profile court battle, Dragons' Den victor Levi Roots defended his right to sole ownership of the recipe for his successful spicy sauce brand. But did his evidence and the verdict create potential problems even though the challenger failed? Catherine Lee reports.

Privacy
Radical shake-up for EU data protection laws  The EC data protection directive is nearly 16 years old and in dire need of reform. Brussels has been on the case for a while, but the precise nature of the suggested reforms has not been revealed. Not that is until mid December 2011, when a copy of the draft instrument amending Directive 95/46/EC was supposedly leaked. Mark Smith reports.

"Inspired by" advertising
Right to parody copyright works moves closer  Creative ad agencies are watching closely as after various false starts, a head of steam finally seems to be building behind the introduction of a right to create pastiches without infringing the underlying copyright. Tom Harding reports on the latest developments in a long saga.

People in advertising
Rooney triumphs in image management contract dispute Previously on marketinglaw.co.uk we have reported on the battle between footballer Wayne Rooney and his former image rights management company over whether the former was within his rights to exit the contract and sue. Jonny Mayner report the Appeal Court verdict.

Food
Tesco defends "from farm to store in 24 hours" claim  National press ads proclaimed: "Tesco British Iceberg. Goes from farm to store within 24 hours. So one day it's in the field. The next day it's in your salad." Sainsbury's crisply challenged the claim in a complaint to the Advertising Standards Authority, but Tesco defended stoutly. Hannah Willson reports on the verdict.

Regulatory
What's in store for marketing law in 2012?  What will be the key marketing law events of 2012? At both "sittings" of Osborne Clarke's thirteenth annual "Look Back, Face Forward" marketing law forum on 15 December 2011, Stephen Groom made some serious (and not so serious) predictions.