The Advertising Law Blog provides commentary and news on developing legal issues in advertising, promotional marketing, Internet, and privacy law. This blog is sponsored by the Advertising, Marketing & Promotions group at Olshan. The practice is geared to servicing the needs of the advertising, promotional marketing, and digital industries with a commitment to providing personal, efficient and effective legal service.
On October 13, 2025, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law the nation’s first statute aimed at regulating “companion chatbots,” which are AI systems that simulate human-like relationships with their users. The new law, which has been added to California’s Business & Professions Code, sets out disclosure, safety, and reporting requirements. Users who suffer harm from a violation of this law now have a private right of action that allows them to seek at least $1,000 per violation plus attorney’s fees. The law will take effect on January 1, 2026.
Andrew Lustigman, Chair of Olshan's Advertising, Marketing & Promotions Group and Co-Chair of the firm’s Brand Management & Protection Group, and Branding Department associate Morgan Spina published an article in New York Law Journal entitled “Continued Focus on Subscription-Based Practices Leads to $2.5 Billion Amazon Settlement With FTC.”
On September 1, 2025, Texas Senate Bill 140 (“SB 140”) expanded the state’s telemarketing law to cover text messaging under Chapter 302 of the Texas Business & Commerce Code. Previously, these rules primarily applied to telephone calls, but SB 140 was designed to include unwanted or “spam” text messages. Critical to businesses that use text messaging for marketing purposes, SB 140’s broad language appears to expose such businesses to burdensome registration and bonding requirements, even if the businesses limit their marketing texts to consumers who have opted in voluntarily. This uncertainty prompted a same-day legal challenge in federal court, filed by Flux Footwear, Postscript, and the Ecommerce Innovation Alliance (EIA).
Amazon’s recent massive $2.5 billion settlement with the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) regarding its Prime subscription model is a game-changer with respect to the exposure for difficult cancellation paths. It is also a strong reminder that the FTC, under Commissioner Ferguson and the Trump/Vance administration, intends to enforce the consumer protection laws in effect.
On September 1, 2025, Texas’s amended telemarketing law became effective. It significantly broadened the state's rules by explicitly adding text messages (SMS), multimedia messages (MMS) and other electronic communications into the definition of “telephone solicitation.” The law, amended through Senate Bill SB 140, does not change the consent requirement for telemarketing but in addition to expanding the registration requirements, it establishes harsher penalties for violations compared to the federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). Because the law contains a private right of action, we are expecting a sharp increase in consumer lawsuits in Texas.
Chair of Olshan’s Intellectual Property Law Group and Co-Chair of the firm’s Brand Management & Protection Group Mary Grieco and Branding Department associate Morgan Spina published an article in Bloomberg Law entitled “OpenAI Trademark Victory Sets Roadmap for Avoiding IP Missteps.” In the article, Mary and Morgan discuss the key takeaways in the recent California ruling in which U.S. District Judge Yvonne Rogers sided with OpenAI in its trademark suit against Silicon Valley entrepreneur Guy Ravine and his company “Open Artificial Intelligence,” ruling that Ravine had violated OpenAI’s trademark rights, even though he registered the “open.ai” domain months before OpenAI’s founding.
Olshan announced that nine of the firm’s lawyers have been recognized for inclusion in the 2026 edition of The Best Lawyers in America, including Andrew Lustigman and Mary Grieco, and four lawyers have been recognized to the “Ones to Watch” list.