The success of any given business relies heavily on how effectively that business can bring its products or services to market. This marketing objective is both regulated and assisted by the law. The government has an interest in protecting its citizens from unfair dealing on the part of dishonest or overzealous marketers.

Many legal problems include issues from several categories of law. Such is the case with marketing. Marketing a product may raise potential issues in the law of contracts, torts (e.g. defamation, products liability), intellectual property rights, advertising and labelling, broadcasting, licensing and merchandising, promotions and incentives, lobbying and online marketing rules.

When designing and implementing a marketing campaign, marketers and advertising agencies must take into account federal law.

Marketing practice is deceptive if it is likely to mislead consumers and affect a consumer's decision about the product or service.

To determine whether a practice is fair, the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) generally looks to whether the practice injures consumers, whether the practice violates public policy and whether the practice is unethical or unscrupulous. The most important factor is the issue of injury. The FTC is concerned with substantial injury not outweighed by benefits, caused by benefits of the practice. A substantial injury typically involves monetary harm, as when a seller coerces consumers into buying unwanted goods or services or when consumers are sold defective goods and are unable assert the defect as a defence against payment.

However, the government also has an interest in promoting innovation and invention for the benefit of society. To achieve these goals, the law seeks to regulate the acceptable methods of marketing and allow inventors to profit from the fruits of their labor. Two ways the federal government accomplishes those goals are with the Federal Trade Commission and the Intellectual Property Law. These two bodies of law join together with other areas of law, like contracts and torts, to form the fabric that governs the marketplace.

Legal definitions

The World Intellectual Property Organization gives the following definition:

Intellectual property refers to creations of the mind: inventions, literary and artistic works, and symbols, names, images and designs used in commerce. Intellectual property is divided into two categories:

1. Industrial property includes patents, which give the exclusive right to make, use and sell an invention in a given geographical area; trademarks (words or symbols that differentiate a company); and industrial designs. A granted patent gives patent protection for 20 years in the UK. After that time you must renew the patent. In order to trademark, or register your trademark, you will need to complete a registration process.
2. Copyright protects literary and artistic works. Copyright protected work includes novels, plays, films, musical works, and artistic works such as drawings, photographs, and architectural designs. Copyright protected work is said to be subject to copyright.

Legal problems may arise if another person had used copyright protected work without the copyright owner’s (or holder’s) permission. The UK Patent Office says: “Intellectual property (IP) crimes include counterfeiting and privacy. Counterfeiting is deliberate or willful trademark infringement and privacy is willful copyright infringement. Infringement means reproducing copyright work without permission from the IP owner”.

If a trademark or copyright holder believes that another person has made unauthorized use of trademark or copyright, then this may lead to a lawsuit, where one company takes another to court to enforce the trademark or copyright. The infringer, the person who has broken the copyright, may have to pay damages or compensation to the trademark holder, normally financial.

Most company websites include a page called terms and conditions or copyright information. Visitors to the site must agree to the terms and conditions. The terms and conditions usually contain what a visitor may download or take from the web page and post or upload to the web page, and a disclaimer to say the company is not legally responsible for the misuse of its web pages.

The Consumer Protection Act is a law in the UK that protects the consumer from faulty or defective product, or products that are not as safe as they are generally expected to be. Consumers are legally entitled to goods of a satisfactory quality. Producers, suppliers and importers are liable for – that is, responsible for – the products they sell. Death, personal injury involving physical damage to a person – and damage to private property are covered under the act.

Enforcement of the act – that is, making sure the act is respected – is the job of the trading standards officer. Businesses need to monitor and control their produce to make sure they are fulfilling, or carrying out, all safety regulations.

A central part of the law is product liability, which means that any person who is injured or physically hurt by a defective product does not have to prove a manufacturer negligent – that is, at fault – before suing, or taking the manufacturer to court.