On August 5, 2025, the CPSC and the DOJ announced a defunct New Jersey importer of consumer appliances pled guilty to one count of willfully violating the Consumer Product Safety Act for its failure to report dangerous defects in portable air conditioners that had been linked to multiple fires and one death.Continue Reading When Silence Speaks: How Saying Nothing Led to a Defunct New Jersey Importer Pleading Guilty to Criminal Charges for Failing to Report to the CPSC
In May 2025, the Trump Administration, asserting Executive authority, terminated the three Democratic Commissioners of the Consumer Product Safety Commission. On June 13, 2025, a Maryland district court aborted the without-cause termination while a legal challenge proceeds, leaving the Commissioners in place. No longer.Continue Reading Commission In Limbo: SCOTUS Decision Puts CPSC Democrats Back Out of Action
Register now to join Crowell & Moring partners Joanna Forster, Cheri Falvey, Clay Marquez, Meghan McMeel, Stefan Meisner, and counsel Shauneida Navarrete as they discuss significant legal changes in the first half of 2025 that impact retailers/e-commerce in the United States. The webinar will take place on Wednesday, July 30, 2025 from 12:00 – 1:00 p.m. ET. Continue Reading Register Now! H2 2025: What Retailers/E-Commerce Need to Know Webinar
On July 14, 2025, the FTC announced its enforcement action against telemedicine company NextMed over charges it used misleading prices, fake reviews and deceptive weight-loss claims to sell GLP-1 weight-loss drugs. The FTC has now settled its charges that NextMed used deceptive practices to lure consumers into buying their weight-loss membership programs that had hidden terms and conditions. With the rise of both authentic and counterfeit GLP-1s throughout the nation and the proliferation of the availability of GLP-1s from telemedicine/telehealth companies, online pharmacies and medspas, this announcement is a sign that the federal government will actively monitor these entities to ensure consumers are getting genuine, authentic GLP-1s, that consumers are making informed decisions about weight-loss drugs, and that consumers are not being deceived and duped in the frenzy over GLP-1s.Continue Reading FTC Uses Its Consumer Protection Powers to Regulate Sellers of GLP-1s
More than 200 businesses across California have been served with Notices of Violation (NOVs) of California’s Proposition 65 (“Prop 65”) for issuing thermal receipts at the register and using thermal labels and stickers in their stores. The targeted businesses include large and small retailers, restaurants, banks, gas stations, and grocers. This sudden influx of NOVs
Merger consent orders have returned to the FTC, with the agency’s latest decision highlighting how the current leadership is evaluating divestiture proposals. The FTC has approved a proposed consent agreement in Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc.’s (ACT) acquisition of retail fuel outlets from Giant Eagle, Inc. that paired standard retail divestitures with a “prior notice” requirement that
On June 16, 2025, the first-ever sentences were handed down in a criminal prosecution for failure to report under the Consumer Product Safety Act (CPSA). Judge Dale S. Fischer of the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California sentenced two former Gree USA, Inc. (Gree USA) executives to 38 and 40 months in prison, respectively, for conspiracy to defraud the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and for failure to report information related to defective dehumidifiers under Section 15 of the CPSA.Continue Reading Corporate Executives Are Sentenced in First-Ever Criminal Prosecution for Failure to Report Under the CPSA
Despite other sweeping changes to the federal government under the Trump administration, the Modernization of Cosmetics Regulation Act of 2022 (MoCRA), passed under former President Biden, remains good law. Below, we report on recent trends in FDA’s implementation and enforcement of MoCRA in the early months of Trump’s presidency.
FDA is continuing to monitor the cosmetic industry’s compliance with MoCRA. On March 13, 2025, FDA released data summarizing the number of active facility registrations and product listings submitted pursuant to MoCRA’s requirements.Continue Reading MoCRA Under the Trump Era: A Look at FDA’s Monitoring and Enforcement Two Months In
In the recent article, “Facebook and Google settled biometrics lawsuits. Look for more.” featured in Crain’s Chicago Business, Partner Jason Stiehl analyzes wider repercussions of Snapchat’s recent settlement after accusations that it used facial recognition technology that collected and stored users’ biometric information without consent. Stiehl explains that he expects more litigation due to Illinois’
On November 11, 2021 activewear apparel brand lululemon athletica canada inc. (“lululemon”) sent a cease and desist letter to interactive fitness platform Peloton Interactive, Inc. (“Peloton”), alleging that five of Peloton’s products, including four bras and a pair of leggings, were infringing upon six of lululemon’s design patents and that Peloton’s One Luxe Tight infringed upon lululemon’s Align pant trade dress.
Rather than spinning its wheels, on November 24, 2021, Peloton responded with an action for declaratory judgment against lululemon in the Southern District of New York, seeking (1) a determination that Peloton did not infringe lululemon’s design patents, (2) invalidity of these patents, and (3) a declaration that lululemon does not have trade dress rights in the Align pant and/or that Peloton did not infringe upon this trade dress. Specifically, Peloton argues that there are clear and obvious differences between its products and lululemon’s design patents, the presence of the brands’ trademarks on the products eliminates confusion, and the design patents are anticipated and/or obvious based on prior art. For example, Peloton emphasizes that the back of its Peloton Branded Strappy Bra is cut straight across and has a mesh layer, while the design patents depict a scooped back and no mesh layer, among other differences. Peloton also argues that the asserted Align trade dress does not possess the requisite distinctiveness to be protectable, and even if it does, Pelton’s One Luxe Tight is not likely to cause marketplace confusion.
Continue Reading Peloton and lululemon Yet to Work Things Out, File Cross Lawsuits