Christopher Cole is the co-chair of Crowell & Moring's Advertising & Product Risk Management Group in the Washington, D.C. office. Chris practices complex commercial litigation and regularly advises regarding the development, substantiation, approval, and defense of advertising campaigns. He frequently represents companies that have complex product development, reputational, and marketing concerns that require overlapping and multifaceted solutions, not only in court, but also before federal regulatory agencies. In this work, he has represented some of the world's leading companies in industries such as food and beverages, media and telecommunications, and consumer products. Chambers USA, which rates firms and lawyers, ranks Chris among the top eight false advertising litigators nationwide, and quotes clients who have described him as "outstanding – very responsive and hard-working." The Legal 500 describes Chris as having "a reputation and a level of knowledge that is second to none." Chris also regularly appears before the National Advertising Division (NAD), where he has achieved some of the most notable results for his clients in that forum over the last decade. Chris has successfully litigated many other types of cases, including patent, copyright, unfair competition, consumer class actions, general commercial litigation, and government enforcement proceedings.
Chris is a highly sought-after speaker on advertising and green marketing issues and a frequent media commentator on legal developments in the area, having been quoted in publications such as the New York Times, AdAge, Business Week, Bloomberg, and Law360. He co-teaches a course through the Institute for Perception on advertising claims substantiation, and serves as an instructor for the National Institute of Trial Advocacy.
Representative Matters:
- Represented AT&T in NAD challenge to T-Mobile's claims to have "America's Largest 4G Network."
- Represented AT&T in NAD challenge to Verizon's advertising claims that its smartphones are twice as fast as any AT&T smartphone.
- Represented Beachbody in Lanham Act false advertising litigation regarding comparative fitness claims.
- Represented Zero Technologies in simultaneous Lanham Act false advertising litigation and NAD challenge involving allegedly false claims regarding water filter performance.
- Represented Kimberly-Clark in a variety of NAD challenges against Procter & Gamble, both as challenger and advertiser, for products ranging from paper towels to diapers.
- Represented Expedia in Lanham Act false advertising litigation challenging claims by Priceline regarding cost savings.
- Represented 3M in Lanham Act false advertising litigation against a competing manufacturer of high-end, home furnace filters.
- Represented MillerCoors in challenge by Anheuser-Busch to claims for packaging technology.
- Represented Dyson in Lanham Act false advertising action brought by Hoover and Maytag to stop Dyson's iconic "No Loss of Suction" advertising claim.
- Represented Scotts in Lanham Act challenge to comparative efficacy claims made by Terracycle in advertising for its organic, "worm poop" garden products.
- Defended and actually litigated numerous cases brought by the FTC alleging serious violations of Section 5 of the FTC Act, including claims relating to weight loss, efficacy of dietary supplements, telemarketing, and negative option marketing and sales techniques.
- On behalf of Miller Brewing, obtained preliminary injunction against advertisements falsely claiming that Miller was owned by South African Breweries and is not American.
- Defended MillerCoors and Bavaria, S.A. in copyright litigation brought by photographer claiming that his work was used without permission on brand materials.
Affiliations
Admitted to practice: District of Columbia, Massachusetts (inactive), U.S. District Courts for the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Eastern District of Wisconsin, and U.S. Courts of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, Federal Circuit, and Court of Veterans Benefits Claims
Memberships:
Past Chair, Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (AAFA)
Vice Chair, ABA Antitrust Section, Committee on Private Advertising Litigation
Speeches & Presentations
Publications
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"A Bitter Loss For POM Signals More FTC Scrutiny," Law360
(March 12, 2013).
Co-Authors: Christopher A. Cole, Bridget E. Calhoun, and Dina Epstein.
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"The U.S. Fourth Circuit Finds That Google AdWords... May Give Rise to Trademark Infringement Claims," E-Commerce Law Reports, Vol. 12, Issue 2
(June 2012).
Author: Christopher A. Cole.
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ABA Section on Antitrust, Consumer Protection Law Developments, "Lanham Act" Chapter
(2011).
Co-Authors: Christopher A. Cole and Michael Bhargava.
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"Challenging a Competitor's False Advertising," Inside Counsel
(October 7, 2010).
Author: Christopher A. Cole.
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"Climate Change: 'Green' Is So Appealing," New York Law Journal
(September 15, 2008).
Co-Authors: Christopher A. Cole and Linda A. Goldstein.
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"Green Marketing: Avoiding Unwanted Attention from Regulators and Lawyers," WLF Legal Backgrounder, Vol. 23, No. 19
(May 16, 2008).
Author: Christopher A. Cole.
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"Client Strategies," Chapter in Inside the Minds: Advertising and Marketing Law, Aspatore Books
(2007).
Author: Christopher A. Cole.
Client Alerts & Newsletters
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"Recent Happenings in Advertising & Product Risk Management - May 2013,"
Advertising & Product Risk Management Alert
(May 17, 2013).
Contacts: John B. Brew, Daniel T. Campbell, Christopher A. Cole, Cheryl A. Falvey, Lynn R. Levitan, Natalia R. Medley, Ann Mason Rigby, Ariel Applebaum-Bauch, Jini Koh, Jason Crawford.
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"Recent Happenings in Advertising & Product Risk Management - April 2013,"
Advertising & Product Risk Management Alert
(April 19, 2013).
Contacts: Christopher A. Cole, Cheryl A. Falvey, John Fuson, Jeffrey L. Poston, Lynn R. Levitan, Ann Mason Rigby, Dina Epstein, Michael L. Kuppersmith.
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"This Month in International Trade - January 2013,"
International Trade Bulletin
(January 31, 2013).
Contacts: John B. Brew, Christopher A. Cole, Ian A. Laird, Laurent Ruessmann, Jonathan S. Kallmer, Cari N. Stinebower, Christopher Wilson, Francesca Condello, Michael Larmoyeux, James (J.J.) Saulino, David Wolff.
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"FTC Unanimously Upholds ALJ Decision in POM Wonderful and Imposes Heightened Substantiation Standard for POM's Food and Food-Related Product "Disease" Claims,"
Advertising & Product Risk Management Alert
(January 22, 2013).
Contacts: Christopher A. Cole, Bridget E. Calhoun, Dina Epstein.
In the News
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Conferences: Planning, Coordination, Consistency Urged In Talks Geared to Business and Its Counsel
March 25, 2013 — Bloomberg BNA Product Safety & Liability Reporter
Crowell & Moring LLP's second annual Advertising & Product Risk Management seminar is featured in Bloomberg BNA Product Safety & Liability Reporter in a piece titled, "Planning, Coordination, Consistency Urged In Talks Geared to Business and Its Counsel." According to the piece, "A holistic approach to risk management, integrating legal and business concerns, works best for companies throughout the life cycle of their products."
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