[{"source":"FTC USA Business Blog Posts","description":"How an “invention promotion” outfit demoted the truth lfair September 13, 2017 | 11:15AM How an “invention promotion” outfit demoted the truth By Lesley Fair It sounds like there was some “inventing” going on at Florida-based invention promotion firm World Patent Marketing, but a Preliminary Injunction in a case brought by the FTC suggests it wasn’t the kind that unsuspecting consumers bargained for when they forked over millions of dollars based on the defendants’ misleading promises about patenting and promoting their products. For FTC watchers, the opinion is a page-turner from start to finish. We’ll focus on just a few of the claims the company “invented.” The defendants’ initial business model involved online ads that induced people to submit their product ideas. Salespeople responded, telling interested consumers that World Patent Marketing’s “review team” was researching the proposal because “the company is so selective with the ideas they choose to work with.” After a bit of a wait, salespeople called the would-be entrepreneur back to say: We had our final meeting with the Review Team regarding your idea. And basically from all the research that’s been done on [your idea], the research tells us there’s definitely potential to patent your idea. Because of that, I have the green light from the company to let you know that WPM wants to be a part of your new product idea and help you to protect it and bring it to the commercial marketplace. So, first of all congratulations! . . . The company loved your idea! They think it has a lot of potential. Especially the Sr. Product Director, who is in charge of which ideas are considered for the upcoming trade show. He sees some good opportunities ahead. But as the U.S. District Court concluded, those salespeople were reading the pitch from a script. In fact, “there is no evidence that WPM ever had a review team or rejected a large number of ideas.” What about the company’s “Global Invention Royalty Analysis” containing a marketability study created by a “Harvard University & MIT Research Team”? Despite the defendants’ claim that the “University” had given “the green light to continue,” the Court concluded that the defendants didn’t have a relationship with Harvard, MIT, or any other college. The defendants’ malarkey induced many consumers to pay between $9,000 and $65,000 for a “10 Point Patent Protection & Publicity Commitment.” (The pricier packages promised a “global patent.”) When consumers asked for updates, the defendants strung them along. Behind the scenes, the picture was less rosy because even when the company’s contract patent agents submitted applications to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, the PTO typically rejected them as deficient. In addition to patent services, the defendants claimed to offer product development and marketing know-how, touting that “some of the world’s most respected brands trust World Patent Marketing,” including, for example, Target. The FTC isn’t the only one to say that was balderdash. A representative for Target testified that the defendants had no relationship whatsoever with the national retailer. The Court also cited misrepresentations regarding purported “success stories,” licensing and manufacturing agreements, and an “Invention Team Advisory Board” with big-name members who didn’t actually advise the company or review invention proposals. One anecdote is particularly telling. When an undercover FTC investigator contacted the company, the salesperson claimed that the History Channel had run a “whole segment” on World Patent Marketing. The truth? The defendants paid $17,000 to air their own ad on the channel. It ran once – at 6:00 AM on January 29, 2015. Not surprisingly, consumers started to speak up when their hefty cash outlays","id":3197408,"url":"https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/blog/2017/09/how-invention-promotion-outfit-demoted-truth","titre":"How an “invention promotion” outfit demoted the truth","pubDate":"Mon, 05 Oct 2026 08:07:08 +0200"},{"id":2947231,"description":"Introduction The Supreme Court has wavered between two approaches to questions of executive power, which are often labeled institutional formalism and realism. Formalism treats... The post Some Realism About Constitutional Remedies appeared first on Harvard Law Review","source":"Harvard Law Review","pubDate":"Thu, 11 Jun 2026 08:30:31 +0200","titre":"Some Realism About Constitutional Remedies","url":"https://harvardlawreview.org/print/vol-139/some-realism-about-constitutional-remedies/"},{"titre":"Introduction: To Keep Government Generally Within the Bounds of Law","url":"https://harvardlawreview.org/print/vol-139/introduction-to-keep-government-generally-within-the-bounds-of-law/","pubDate":"Thu, 11 Jun 2026 08:30:31 +0200","description":"The current President of the United States has a relationship with the law that is casual at best and contemptuous at worst. Whether the... The post Introduction: To Keep Government Generally Within the Bounds of Law appeared first on Harvard Law Review","id":2947236,"source":"Harvard Law Review"},{"titre":"Habeas Class Actions","url":"https://harvardlawreview.org/print/vol-139/habeas-class-actions/","pubDate":"Mon, 11 May 2026 14:25:59 +0200","source":"Harvard Law Review","description":"Can habeas corpus cases proceed as class actions? The Supreme Court has never squarely answered that question, even in cases where lower courts certified habeas classes. But the Trump Administration’s wholesale push to expel noncitizens has forced the question to the center of modern civil rights litigation. The post Habeas Class Actions appeared first on Harvard Law Review","id":2877110},{"titre":"Jersey City UnitedAgainst the New Ward Map v. Jersey City Ward Commission","url":"https://harvardlawreview.org/print/vol-139/jersey-city-unitedagainst-the-new-ward-map-v-jersey-city-ward-commission/","pubDate":"Mon, 11 May 2026 14:25:58 +0200","source":"Harvard Law Review","description":"The compactness requirement has become a rule without a ruler. To curb gerrymandering, many state and local laws require electoral districts to be compact.... The post Jersey City UnitedAgainst the New Ward Map v. Jersey City Ward Commission appeared first on Harvard Law Review","id":2877102},{"source":"Harvard Law Review","id":2820494,"description":"The Federal Constitution has much to say about the relationship between the federal government and the states, but it is silent as to the... The post Home Rule Reinforcement: Constitutional Local Autonomy Guarantees appeared first on Harvard Law Review","pubDate":"Sat, 11 Apr 2026 08:26:13 +0200","titre":"Home Rule Reinforcement: Constitutional Local Autonomy Guarantees","url":"https://harvardlawreview.org/print/vol-139/home-rule-reinforcement-constitutional-local-autonomy-guarantees/"},{"url":"https://harvardlawreview.org/print/vol-139/liberty-of-conscience-political-process-theory-and-founding-era-free-exercise/","titre":"Liberty of Conscience, Political Process Theory, and Founding-Era Free Exercise","pubDate":"Wed, 11 Mar 2026 08:26:08 +0100","description":"Religious freedom claimants have achieved tremendous success before the Supreme Court in recent years. Yet free exercise jurisprudence has bounced between skepticism and embrace... The post Liberty of Conscience, Political Process Theory, and Founding-Era Free Exercise appeared first on Harvard Law Review","id":2750228,"source":"Harvard Law Review"},{"description":"“[W]here there is a legal right, there is also a legal remedy . . . .” Although Blackstone’s maxim has led to efforts to redress constitutional violations, courts... The post Fulton v. Fulton County Board of Commissioners appeared first on Harvard Law Review","id":2750221,"source":"Harvard Law Review","url":"https://harvardlawreview.org/print/vol-139/fulton-v-fulton-county-board-of-commissioners/","titre":"Fulton v. Fulton County Board of Commissioners","pubDate":"Wed, 11 Mar 2026 08:26:07 +0100"},{"pubDate":"Thu, 12 Feb 2026 09:37:57 +0100","titre":"Content Neutrality for Kids: Intermediate Scrutiny for Social Media Age-Verification Laws","url":"https://harvardlawreview.org/print/vol-139/content-neutrality-for-kids-intermediate-scrutiny-for-social-media-age-verification-laws/","id":2690613,"description":"The kids are not okay. Evidence of decreasing school performance, increasing rates of depression and anxiety, and declining social engagement among minors has created... The post Content Neutrality for Kids: Intermediate Scrutiny for Social Media Age-Verification Laws appeared first on Harvard Law Review","source":"Harvard Law Review"},{"pubDate":"Thu, 12 Feb 2026 09:37:57 +0100","url":"https://harvardlawreview.org/print/vol-139/fourth-amendment-equilibrium-adjustment-in-an-age-of-technological-upheaval/","titre":"Fourth Amendment Equilibrium Adjustment in an Age of Technological Upheaval","source":"Harvard Law Review","id":2690614,"description":"The Digital Fourth Amendment is written by Professor Orin Kerr, one of the country’s foremost authorities on the Fourth Amendment, electronic privacy, and criminal procedure. Kerr’s work has been deeply influential in shaping how courts are looking at and deciding issues raised by law enforcement’s powerful and novel capabilities, thanks to technological changes. The post Fourth Amendment Equilibrium Adjustment in an Age of Technological Upheaval appeared first on Harvard Law Review"},{"pubDate":"Thu, 12 Feb 2026 09:37:57 +0100","titre":"Drug Scheduling as Institutional Design","url":"https://harvardlawreview.org/print/vol-139/drug-scheduling-as-institutional-design/","id":2690615,"description":"The United States makes bad choices when it comes to psychoactive drugs. Under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), U.S. drug law has simultaneously fueled mass incarceration, inhibited needed access, and enabled an opioid crisis. The post Drug Scheduling as Institutional Design appeared first on Harvard Law Review","source":"Harvard Law Review"},{"url":"https://harvardlawreview.org/print/vol-139/people-v-thompson/","titre":"People v. Thompson","pubDate":"Thu, 12 Feb 2026 09:37:56 +0100","description":"The Supreme Court has long declared itself “supreme in the exposition of the law of the Constitution.” But that does not leave the state... The post People v. Thompson appeared first on Harvard Law Review","id":2690610,"source":"Harvard Law Review"},{"url":"https://harvardlawreview.org/print/vol-139/the-semantics-of-jury-nullification-how-terminology-shapes-and-misshapes-the-jurys-role/","titre":"The Semantics of Jury Nullification: How Terminology Shapes (and Misshapes) the Jury’s Role","pubDate":"Thu, 12 Feb 2026 09:37:56 +0100","description":"Sometimes what we call a practice can matter just as much as the practice itself. Jury nullification has a storied history dating back to... The post The Semantics of Jury Nullification: How Terminology Shapes (and Misshapes) the Jury’s Role appeared first on Harvard Law Review","id":2690612,"source":"Harvard Law Review"},{"id":2629447,"description":"Modern textualism has long criticized the use of practical, or consequentialist, reasoning when construing statutes. And yet in practice, textualist jurists long have invoked practical consequences arguments to help justify their statutory constructions. The post Practical Consequences in Statutory Interpretation appeared first on Harvard Law Review","source":"Harvard Law Review","pubDate":"Tue, 13 Jan 2026 16:49:12 +0100","url":"https://harvardlawreview.org/print/vol-139/practical-consequences-in-statutory-interpretation-2/","titre":"Practical Consequences in Statutory Interpretation"},{"pubDate":"Tue, 13 Jan 2026 16:49:11 +0100","url":"https://harvardlawreview.org/print/vol-139/dormancy-and-delaware-an-emerging-threat-to-the-internal-affairs-doctrine/","titre":"Dormancy and Delaware: An Emerging Threat to the Internal Affairs Doctrine","id":2629444,"description":"A longstanding choice-of-law rule known as the internal affairs doctrine has predominated over corporate law matters in the United States since at least the 1860s. Acknowledged by the Supreme Court and generally followed by the states, the doctrine holds that the internal affairs of a corporation are governed by the law of the state where it is incorporated, notwithstanding where it may be headquartered. The post Dormancy and Delaware: An Emerging Threat to the Internal Affairs Doctrine appeared first on Harvard Law Review","source":"Harvard Law Review"},{"description":"In recent years, the Supreme Court has developed the “major questions doctrine,” an interpretive presumption that Congress must speak clearly before delegating to an... The post The Compatibility of Substantive Canons and Originalism appeared first on Harvard Law Review","id":2567812,"source":"Harvard Law Review","titre":"The Compatibility of Substantive Canons and Originalism","url":"https://harvardlawreview.org/print/vol-139/the-compatibility-of-substantive-canons-and-originalism/","pubDate":"Fri, 12 Dec 2025 10:05:22 +0100"},{"description":"Since it burst into American public consciousness in 2018, TikTok has amassed roughly 170 million monthly U.S. users and more than one billion worldwide... The post TikTok Inc. v. Garland appeared first on Harvard Law Review","id":2497790,"source":"Harvard Law Review","url":"https://harvardlawreview.org/print/vol-139/tiktok-inc-v-garland/","titre":"TikTok Inc. v. Garland","pubDate":"Tue, 11 Nov 2025 16:06:46 +0100"},{"description":"The Supreme Court has consistently confirmed that nonobscene sexually explicit content is First Amendment–protected expression. It has treated this sexually explicit content the same... The post Free Speech Coalition, Inc. v. Paxton appeared first on Harvard Law Review","id":2497791,"source":"Harvard Law Review","url":"https://harvardlawreview.org/print/vol-139/free-speech-coalition-inc-v-paxton/","titre":"Free Speech Coalition, Inc. v. Paxton","pubDate":"Tue, 11 Nov 2025 16:06:46 +0100"},{"url":"https://harvardlawreview.org/print/vol-139/the-structure-of-religious-preference/","titre":"The Structure of Religious Preference","pubDate":"Tue, 11 Nov 2025 16:06:46 +0100","description":"A revolution has occurred in the law of religious freedom. At this point, the picture is reasonably clear. The Supreme Court has greatly expanded the scope of the Free Exercise Clause. The post The Structure of Religious Preference appeared first on Harvard Law Review","id":2497793,"source":"Harvard Law Review"},{"source":"Harvard Law Review","description":"Over two decades after then-Professor Elena Kagan published her seminal article Presidential Administration, presidential involvement in agency action has increased so much that it... The post Nebraska v. Su appeared first on Harvard Law Review","id":2175052,"titre":"Nebraska v. Su","url":"https://harvardlawreview.org/print/vol-138/nebraska-v-su/","pubDate":"Thu, 12 Jun 2025 10:06:44 +0200"},{"pubDate":"Thu, 12 Jun 2025 10:06:44 +0200","titre":"Codify Gardner","url":"https://harvardlawreview.org/print/vol-138/codify-gardner/","id":2175056,"description":"The Gardner presumption, also known as the pro-veteran canon, is a substantive canon of interpretation named after the Supreme Court case Brown v. Gardner. The canon instructs courts to construe ambiguous statutes concerning veterans’ benefits in favor of the veteran. While the canon today rarely acts as a tiebreaker, it has historically represented a strong congressional intent to care for veterans. The post Codify Gardner appeared first on Harvard Law Review","source":"Harvard Law Review"},{"id":2117261,"description":"In the past few years, hype surrounding artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) has reached a fever pitch. From newspapers to academic journals,... The post Machine Rulemaking: Arbitrary and Capricious Review in the Age of AI appeared first on Harvard Law Review","source":"Harvard Law Review","pubDate":"Thu, 15 May 2025 15:55:44 +0200","titre":"Machine Rulemaking: Arbitrary and Capricious Review in the Age of AI","url":"https://harvardlawreview.org/print/vol-138/machine-rulemaking-arbitrary-and-capricious-review-in-the-age-of-ai/"},{"url":"https://harvardlawreview.org/print/vol-138/excited-delirium-policing-and-the-law-of-evidence/","titre":"Excited Delirium, Policing, and the Law of Evidence","pubDate":"Sat, 12 Apr 2025 10:02:05 +0200","source":"Harvard Law Review","description":"Police use of force continues to be a significant problem in American law and society. Recent discussions have focused on doctrinal issues such as what type of force is considered “reasonable” under the Fourth Amendment and the propriety of qualified immunity as a defense that can shield law enforcement from civil litigation. However, there has been little commentary on how these and other legal questions might be informed by medicine — specifically, victim diagnoses that might effectively absolve officers from criminal prosecution or civil liability. The post Excited Delirium, Policing, and the Law of Evidence appeared first on Harvard Law Review","id":2049598},{"pubDate":"Sat, 12 Apr 2025 10:02:04 +0200","titre":"Co-Governance and the Future of AI Regulation","url":"https://harvardlawreview.org/print/vol-138/co-governance-and-the-future-of-ai-regulation/","source":"Harvard Law Review","id":2049593,"description":"It’s no secret that artificial intelligence (AI) has posed a challenge for lawmakers. Tackling the technological complexity, rapid pace of development, and broad variety... The post Co-Governance and the Future of AI Regulation appeared first on Harvard Law Review"},{"pubDate":"Sat, 12 Apr 2025 10:02:04 +0200","url":"https://harvardlawreview.org/print/vol-138/artificial-intelligence-and-the-creative-double-bind/","titre":"Artificial Intelligence and the Creative Double Bind","source":"Harvard Law Review","id":2049594,"description":"It has long been taken for granted that creativity is a uniquely human ability. Copyright doctrine, designed to incentivize creativity, is built on such... The post Artificial Intelligence and the Creative Double Bind appeared first on Harvard Law Review"},{"titre":"Introduction","url":"https://harvardlawreview.org/print/vol-138/introduction-10/","pubDate":"Sat, 12 Apr 2025 10:02:04 +0200","description":"Writing about artificial intelligence (AI) presents challenges. Indeed, the field has evolved rapidly and offers the potential for significant paradigm changes, making it the... The post Introduction appeared first on Harvard Law Review","id":2049597,"source":"Harvard Law Review"},{"pubDate":"Thu, 20 Mar 2025 16:34:19 +0100","titre":"Without Remedies: The Effect of Cummings and the Contract Law Analogy on Antidiscrimination Spending Clause Plaintiffs","url":"https://harvardlawreview.org/print/vol-138/without-remedies-the-destructive-effect-of-cummings-and-the-contract-law-analogy-on-antidiscrimination-spending-clause-plaintiffs/","source":"Harvard Law Review","id":1996119,"description":"It has become increasingly difficult for civil rights plaintiffs to vindicate their rights in federal court. Barriers to successful lawsuits are plentiful. Qualified immunity... The post Without Remedies: The Effect of Cummings and the Contract Law Analogy on Antidiscrimination Spending Clause Plaintiffs appeared first on Harvard Law Review"},{"description":"How to regulate speech on social media platforms has been the subject of vigorous debate and recent Supreme Court opinions. In particular, government agencies... The post People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals v. Tabak appeared first on Harvard Law Review","id":1995001,"source":"Harvard Law Review","url":"https://harvardlawreview.org/print/vol-138/people-for-the-ethical-treatment-of-animals-v-tabak-109-f-4th-627-d-c-cir-2024/","titre":"People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals v. Tabak","pubDate":"Thu, 20 Mar 2025 10:53:26 +0100"},{"url":"https://harvardlawreview.org/print/vol-138/dancing-on-their-own-alternatives-to-copyright-for-the-choreographic-community/","titre":"Dancing on Their Own: Alternatives to Copyright for the Choreographic Community","pubDate":"Tue, 11 Mar 2025 16:33:53 +0100","source":"Harvard Law Review","description":"Throughout American history, dance has been the “stepchild” of the arts family, an afterthought when it comes to recognition, protection, and celebration. Even as... The post Dancing on Their Own: Alternatives to Copyright for the Choreographic Community appeared first on Harvard Law Review","id":1973593},{"source":"Harvard Law Review","id":1972465,"description":"There has been increased skepticism of sexual harassment claims, both in the public sphere and in the courts. Recently, in Anderson v. Mott Street,... The post Anderson v. Mott Street, 104 F.4th 646 (7th Cir. 2024) appeared first on Harvard Law Review","pubDate":"Tue, 11 Mar 2025 10:38:07 +0100","url":"https://harvardlawreview.org/print/vol-138/anderson-v-mott-street-104-f-4th-646-7th-cir-2024/","titre":"Anderson v. Mott Street, 104 F.4th 646 (7th Cir. 2024)"},{"source":"Harvard Law Review","id":1905858,"description":"Copyright has become the battleground à la mode for AI-related litigation. Referring to the technology as “nothing more than a plagiarism machine” developed by... The post Recovering Personality in Copyright’s Originality Inquiry appeared first on Harvard Law Review","pubDate":"Tue, 11 Feb 2025 10:42:43 +0100","titre":"Recovering Personality in Copyright’s Originality Inquiry","url":"https://harvardlawreview.org/print/vol-138/recovering-personality-in-copyrights-originality-inquiry/"}]