Advertising law and consumer protection

Approximately 20 experienced lawyers specialise in this field of law in our office. We work for local and international companies, from individual retailers to large international chains or brick-and-mortar and online stores operating in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. We have many years of experience in administrative proceedings with supervisory authorities and in representing clients in litigation matters.

ADVERTISING LAW

Advertising allows for a large degree of creativity, but when creating and disseminating it, it is necessary to bear in mind that it is a strictly regulated area supervised by many administrative bodies (the Czech Trade Inspection Authority, trade licensing authorities, the State Agricultural and Food Inspection Authority, the Council for Radio and Television Broadcasting and others). Specific legislation regulates in greater detail the advertising for food, alcohol, pharmaceuticals, the provision of financial products and others. There are also significant legal restrictions, in particular on the use of third-party trademarks or photographs.

CONSUMER PROTECTION

Consumer law is also closely related to advertising, as both Czech and Slovak law provides a significant degree of protection for consumers. For example, the consumer must always be thoroughly informed about the product offered or about the options for withdrawing from the contract. Specific regulation addresses in particular complaints, disputes, and pricing or promotional sales. All this applies both to sales in bricks-and-mortar shops and online shops.

It is not only the risk of inspections and possible fines that makes it necessary to comply with all consumer protection regulations and to ensure that advertising complies with the law.

We deal primarily with these areas:

• Drafting business terms, complaints procedure rules, contract withdrawal forms and other documents in B2C and B2B relations
• Individual assessment of all types of advertising messages in all possible forms and shapes in order to comply with the law
• Legal revision of consumer and other marketing competitions
• Drafting contracts with ambassadors, celebrities or advertising space providers
• Regulation of internet business and e-commerce, including marketplaces and other less traditional forms of online sale
• Cross-border aspects of advertising and product information (e.g., cross-border e-shops)
• Revising existing contractual relationships with consumers and modifying them to comply with current legislation and market standards
• Assessing any marketing or sales activities by clients or their competitors directed at consumers with a view to eliminating unfair commercial practices or unfair competition
• Legal arrangement of correct pricing and promotional sales, including tax assessment
• Labelling of different types of products to include all information required by legislation (including food)
• Monitoring of identical or similar trademarks that a third party tries to register
• Representation in proceedings before the supervisory authorities overseeing advertising regulation or consumer protection, representation before courts or in out-of-court proceedings

We cover all these topics in our specialist publications and lectures, and always also provide up-to-date information on our blog: https://www.havelpartners.blog/spotrebitel/.