Sales and Marketing Law

1. Introduction to the field of law and the administration of justice

2. Sources of Canadian and British Columbia law

          a. distinction between private and public law

          b. Acts of the Canadian Parliament and the provincial legislatures (emphasis on British Columbia)

          c. Canadian Constitution and the Charter of Rights and Freedoms

          d. subordinate legislation including by-laws and government regulations

          e. the court process, case law, and judicial precedent

 3. Intellectual Property

          a. trade-marks law

                       i. passing off

                       ii. registration of trade-marks

                       iii. infringement

                       iv. depreciation of goodwill

                       v. expunging marks from trade-marks registry

                       vi. domain name issues

                       vii. distinguishing guise

          b. copyright

                       i. creation of copyright protection

                       ii. moral rights

                       iii. infringement and exceptions, including fair dealing

          c. patents, trade secrets and confidential information

          d. licensing of intellectual property rights

4. Labeling and packaging

          a. label disclosure requirements, including marking of imported goods and general requirements under the Consumer Packaging and Labeling Act

          b. bilingualism requirements pursuant to Charter of French Language

5. Tort Law Applicable to Sales and Marketing

          a. injurious falsehood

          b. defamation

          c. deceit

          d. conspiracy

          e. interference with contractual relations

          f. misappropriation of personality

          g. negligence (particularly regarding product liability)

6. Competition Act

          a. agreements to restrict competition

          b. multi-level marketing (ie pyramid schemes)

          c. bait and switch selling

          d. refusal to deal

          e. price maintenance

          f. tied selling

          g. abuse of dominant position

          h. misleading advertising (including comparative advertising)

7. Promotional Contests

          a. requirements for skill-testing questions

          b. prohibitions against purchase requirements    

8. Privacy

          a. rules governing the collection, use and disclosure of personal information

          b. requirements to obtain consent

          c. exemptions to requirements under the federal and provincial privacy regimes

          d. telemarketing issues, including Unsolicited Telecommunications Rules and ‘do not call’ lists

          e. anti-spam legislation

9. Consumer Protection

          a. key provisions of the British Columbia Sale of Goods Act

                       i. contracts of sale of goods

                       ii. risk and passing of property

                       iii. the implied conditions and warranties of the consumer protection provisions

                       iv. special remedies under the Sale of Goods Act

                b. relevant provisions under the British Columbia Business Practices and Consumer Protection Act