The growing prevalence in the use and importance of Social Media and the Internet has resulted in unprecedented challenges to businesses actively engaging in advertising and marketing. A single advertisement in traditional media can give rise to several legal conflicts over trademarks, copyright and consumer protection which are compounded by a marketing campaign involving digital media. Advertising laws and regulations throughout the world have had to adapt to keep pace with the innovative ways in which businesses engage with consumers in the digital space.
The Seminar aimed to sensitize Caribbean business managers, marketing and communication professionals and legal advisers, among others, to these emerging issues and challenges and help equip them to navigate the minefields of potential pitfalls.
The seminar brought together local, regional and international speakers to explore the revolutionary impact of social media and the internet on laws and regulations in the Caribbean as they affect the advertising industry. Keynote speaker, The Most Honourable P.J. Patterson, ON, OCC, PC, QC, former Prime Minister of Jamaica, addressed participants on The Evolving Role of Media in the Caribbean.
Representatives from Jamaica’s key regulatory agencies – Kent Gammon, Chairman, Consumer Affairs Commission, David Miller, Executive Director, Fair Trading Commission and Cordel Green, Executive Director, Broadcasting Commission examined the existing advertising regulatory framework and the challenges of the digital environment, while Chief Technical Director, ICT, Ministry of Science Energy & Technology, Jamaica, Wahkeen Murray, spoke on aspects of the Data Protection Act which is now before the Joint Select Committee.
President of the Caribbean Advertising Federation, Arnold JJ Foote and President of the Advertising Agencies Association of Jamaica, Kingsley Morris gave industry perspectives, while Ambassador Wayne McCook, Undersecretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade gave international perspectives.
The Global Chairman of GALA and Managing Partner of Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz PC, New York, Jeffrey Greenbaum updated participants on current trends in advertising in the digital era with discussions on the use of influencers, Native Advertising, Hashtags and other Do’s & Don’ts in Social Media from a US perspective.
Intellectual Property (IP) Attorneys Jaime Angeles from Angeles Pons, Dominican Republic, Regional President of GALA for the Americas and Foga Daley IP Partner, Dianne Daley McClure highlighted the plethora of IP issues that can arise in the business of advertising while GALA Advertising Lawyers from the Caribbean, Mrs. Karyl Bertrand Partner, Bertrand Legal, Curaçao and GALA Dutch Caribbean Member, and Mrs. Olive Ramchand, Partner, Fitzwilliam, Stone, Furness-Smith & Morgan, Trinidad & Tobago informed participants about legal developments in advertising regulation and other hot topics in their respective jurisdictions.
A panel of In House Counsel from Cable & Wireless, Rochelle Cameron, Kerry-Ann Heavens from GraceKennedy and Shena Stubbs-Gibson from the RJRGleaner Communications Group addressed the tensions that can arise between marketing and legal departments as advertisers seek to push legal and ethical boundaries.
News coverage of the Advertising and Law Seminar was highlighted in the Jamaica Observer 1 2 and Jamaica Gleaner newspaper.
