While no one admitted any wrong, two former officers of Nature’s Sunshine Products Inc. and the company have agreed to pay a total of $650,000 in civil penalties in connection with a Securities & Exchange Commission investigation of NSP’s Brazilian subsidiary. The Utah-based maker of nutritional supplements still faces a class-action lawsuit regarding the filing [...]
GUEST COLUMN by Judith L. Grubner, Esq., Arnstein & Lehr Partner and Intellectual Property Practice Group Leader Some of us remember when parents would chase their children out to play in the sun, with no protection other than play clothes. Today, the Federal Trade Commission tells us overexposure to the sun’s invisible rays – ultraviolet [...]
A recent study by LegalMetrics, a litigation analysis firm, named the Southern and Middle Districts of Florida among the top five districts for speed to resolution in patent infringement cases. Since Florida has not been known as a “rocket docket” in the past, these results may seem surprising. However, for intellectual property litigation attorneys, the [...]
Following up on a post from June 30, the question of consumer confidence in nutritional supplements arises again. The Times-Herald reports that many supplements have quality problems. No one knows just how many of 40,000 products underdeliver on the goods listed their labels and over-deliver on unlisted, harmful ingredients and contaminants. “I believe that the problem is narrow, that the well-established and reputable brands deserve their reputations,” Michael McGuffin, president of the American Herbal Products Association, tells the paper that serves the Hudson Valley of New York.
QVC has agreed to pay $7.5 million to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that it made false and unsubstantiated claims about three types of dietary supplements in violation of an FTC order, and about an anti-cellulite skin cream in violation of the FTC Act. The agency alleged that QVC violated a 2000 FTC order barring [...]
Because Coca-Cola Co. and partner Nestle by were unable to substantiate claims that Enviga causes weight loss, the beverage has lightened the pockets of both companies by $650,000. The companies have just agreed to a settlement with 27 states over claims that Enviga green tea energy drink burns calories, resulting in weight loss. Connecticut Atty. [...]
