Insights

Chicago – February 3, 2026: World Trademark Review has once again recognized Crowell & Moring as a top trademark firm in its 2026 guide. Crowell received the highest ranking—gold—in Illinois for enforcement and litigation, and prosecution and strategy. The firm also achieved “Recommended” status in the International category and silver in the U.S. National and Belgium categories, and earned recognition as a top firm in California. Crowell is one of only three firms in Illinois to earn a gold ranking both for litigation and prosecution. 

Washington – August 15, 2024: The 2025 edition of The Best Lawyers in America® has recognized 42 Crowell & Moring lawyers as "Best Lawyers" and 29 lawyers as “Ones to Watch.”

On July 8, 2025, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit vacated the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) Rule Concerning Subscriptions and Other Negative Option Plans, commonly known as the “Click-to-Cancel” rule. As detailed in a previous client alert, the rule was intended to regulate negative option plans[1]— such as subscriptions and automatic renewals — by imposing stringent requirements on businesses, including streamlined cancellation processes and enhanced disclosure obligations. The Eighth Circuit vacated the Click-to-Cancel rule because it found that the FTC had failed to comply with mandatory procedural requirements. As a result, the rule is no longer in effect, and businesses are not currently subject to its mandates.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and National Advertising Division (NAD) of BBB National Programs laid out their enforcement priorities during the 2025 ANA Masters of Advertising Law Conference, at which Crowell & Moring attorneys spoke on and attended various panels.

The Southern District of New York issued a recent opinion in Lehrman et al v. Lovo, Inc., 1-24-cv-03770 (SDNY Jul. 10, 2025) (J. Paul Oetken) regarding copyright infringement issues involving artificial intelligence models, focusing this time on voice cloning. Two voice-over actors, Paul Lehrman and Linnea Sage, filed a lawsuit against Lovo, Inc., a company specializing in AI-driven text-to-speech services. The Plaintiffs alleged that Lovo used artificial intelligence to clone their voices without authorization, raising complex legal questions regarding intellectual property and privacy rights in the age of AI.

After the recent barrage of lawsuits filed by copyright owners against artificial intelligence platforms, it will likely take a few years for the dust to settle on multiple legal issues surrounding the new technology and intellectual property rights, says Crowell & Moring partner David Ervin, who co-leads the firm’s Advertising & Brand Protection Group.

The landscape for advertisers and marketers has been shifting in an exciting direction. Over the past decade, industries have firmly embraced multichannel communication and brand building, creating a strategy based on a mix of traditional media and social media, with the persona of the “influencer” as the modern incarnation of brand communication. However, early adopters are on to the next, new universe for connecting with a different, wider, and younger audience around their brands: the metaverse.

The 2016 ANA/BAA 38th Marketing Law Conference, at the Downtown Chicago Marriott, Nov. 9-11, 2016 builds on the tradition as the broadest marketing and advertising law conference with deep practical legal content, fruitful networking and major CLE credits. Deep dives into all aspects of Marketing and Advertising Law and Digital Media; IP and Privacy, FTC, State A.G. and state-regulation (NAD, CARU), Lanham Act, Class Actions, with many new sessions and 5 more sessions added to the total; Hear from 125 of the nation's leading inside and outside counsel and federal, state and self-regulatory officials. In 2015 a record attendance of 750, with over 200 major brands present.

Program: 1:00 p.m. - 5:30 p.m. Eastern

Gift cards, rewards points, and other loyalty programs have improved the way retailers, consumer brands, entertainment companies, restaurants, and other merchants connect with their consumers. However, with these innovative programs comes risk and compliance concerns. Specifically, stringent federal and state consumer protection laws that are sometimes in conflict make compliance associated with these programs tricky and expensive. At the same time, arcane escheat laws subject companies to potential liabilities in the millions for unclaimed property obligations. The risks to companies holding unredeemed account balances has increased as cash-strapped states have ramped-up their enforcement efforts, including Delaware’s recent challenge of third party gift card service provider models and separate issuer entities.