This page contains information about legal issues to consider in relation to marketing.

Because of these laws I highly recommend services such as AWEBER to cover your backside and keep you out of trouble.  If you are unaware of these issues or how to handle them, I highly suggest getting professional advice.

The information below is not legal advise.  We are not lawyers.  I advise you to consult a lawyer for detailed questions about the law and how it pertains to your business.

You can always hire us to help you walk through these issues.

The Can Spam Act of 2003

The actual name of the regulation is “Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography And Marketing Act of 2003″… which is just a long name.    For details you can check out more info on Wikipedia or  here’s the Cliffs notes:

What you can do:

Recipients must give confirmation to receive emails

You must include a link for people to opt out of future email

You must provide a physical mailing address in each email

Email headers and subjects must NOT be deceptive

FINES for breaking the law:

Imprisonment up to 5 years.

Fines up to $3 million; fines may be higher if they are tied to actual damages incurred by recipients of fraudulent e-mail.

Confiscation and forfeiture of any property (including computer hardware and software) that was used to commit the crime, and any property (including personal property) that can be traced to proceeds from the crime.

FCC Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising

The FCC requires you to inform website visitors if you receive compensation for links on your website, such as an affiliate link.  This law may also apply to emails, but legal data is not available at the time of writing this.

The FCC also requires companies to clearly explain any compensation for testimonials or reviews.  So if you have a giveaway to everyone who becomes a friend on Facebook, you may be in violation of the FCC regulations.  This usually isn’t a major issue from my research… but something to be aware of.

You can see the legal stuff HERE or search the FCC website.

Colorado Law – collection of sales and use taxes on sales made by out-of-state retailers (online)

Colorado Law 1193 has some reporting requirements for reporting income from online sources.  You can see a copy of the law with this link: colorado law 1193_01

or you can download it from the Colodaro website HER