Legal Advice | Affiliate Manager | Affiliate Marketing | Contract Term

This article draws attention to that as an "Affiliate Manager," you are a trusted legal advisor." As such, affiliate managers must know enough about the legal landscaping of affiliate marketing to speak intelligently and provide resources for more information. This scope extends to online marketing. 

Highlights of their session are provided below:

• Misleading advertising
• Ensure that your advertisement meets the requirements of the Federal Trade Commission FTC.
• Disclaimers can be helpful, too, but it should be a good disclosure.
• Disclosure is a fluid concept, dependent on many factors.
• Consider the appointment of disclosure.
• Be very vigilant when you use the word "free."
• Omission can also be a violation and can be considered misleading.

Each individual marketer is responsible, from affiliates to affiliate networks. This means that you need to monitor the marketing efforts of affiliates and ensure that they are consistent with your brand. 

Copyright and trademark 

The first step is to debunk the myth that everything on the Internet is free. Copyright is defined as the original work of authorship. It contains images and content. You cannot take anything online and use it in your promotion. Photographers are very violent when they see their photos online. Be careful and careful here. 

Trademarks are less stringent. You can use another person's trademark without permission, but you cannot do it confusingly. 

Affiliate Marketing Contract 

Gary also talked about legal issues in affiliate marketing contracts and what should be included in these contracts. I know that I will double-check future contracts for all my online services, not just affiliates: 

To have the contract term. 

• Sides to be bound; Do not use a personal name; use a business name.
• One word and cancellation. Do not make evergreen contracts that have no limits.
• Fees - Think of penalties/holdbacks.
• Include escalation provisions for disputes.
• IP Ownership - Make sure that you own the data.

To Include a restricted contract.

• Be careful about the non-compete and non-solicitation clauses (customers and employees).
• If something goes wrong, then you need to protect yourself. Create a limit of liability.
• Indemnity Clause: Helps if a third party makes a claim.

Secluded 

And of course, there cannot be a legal discussion about online marketing without addressing privacy. It is essential and essential for affiliate managers to understand the FTC Fair Information Practice Principles. Rules can vary based on audience and products. There are some essential components here. 

• Be sure to inform consumers about your privacy policies.
• Give them options to include or opt-out.
• Give them access to opt-out or communicate with questions.
• Make sure your data is secure. If the information is no longer secure, provide a plan of what you will do.
• Be careful what data you collect online. Just because it is available online does not mean it is wise to collect it. Although there is no law that says that social media harvesting is against the law, but it can be considered unfair

COPPA Children's Online Privacy Protection Act - You cannot collect information from children under 13 without parental authority. The FTC defined personal information as a persistent identifier. Due to the recent COPPA update, you cannot make a cookie for a user under the age of 13. 

Social Media 

We also discussed social media. You are also responsible for your colleagues. So make sure that your allies are playing by the rules. Here is a quick overview summary - but do your research. 

If you are using social media for business purposes then make sure that you are familiar with the terms. They change all the time. 

Approval and Testimonials: If they are hired or receive any compensation then you need to fully reveal your relationship with the testimonials. Bloggers need to decline if they are being sponsored to promote the product. It includes free products. 

You cannot fake reviews on your products. 

Everyone needs to follow the longstanding principles of truth in advertising. 

There are no magic legal words. It is about using honest and clear communication. 

How to disclose on twitter. Must use hashtags like #spon #paid to let people know your relationship with the company. Make sure your blogger colleagues know this. 

Control your content. Be careful what you say online and what people say online including your colleagues. 

Behavior Tracking 

He touched lightly on industry changes and the demand for more user control over behavioral tracking. This can have a huge impact on our partner industry as cookies can also be affected. 

Many browsers are implementing browser browsers allowing consumers to choose "do not track". It is a voluntary process. Many browsers are developing within their systems. IE defaults. Safari blocks 3rd party cookies. This can have a big impact on affiliate marketing as we are cookie based. It is important to follow this issue. 

Note: In this Article, comments are for general information purposes only and should not be taken as legal advice. Please consult your lawyer for legal advice specific to your situation.