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Federal
Trade Commission
- Guides for the Law Book Industry -
Summary and Analysis
The FTC Guides (16 CFR Part 256) were developed in the 1970s in response
to widespread complaints about legal publishers. It should be noted that
these are guides only and do not necessarily have force of law.
It is useful to librarians primarily as a standard of acceptable practices
by legal information providers.
The primary focus of the Guides are accurate and complete disclosure of
information the customer needs in order to make decisions regarding purchase
or continuation of a product, as well as billing information that is complete
and comprehensible. The Guides do not treat pricing or customer
service beyond disclosure. Unsolicited shipments are referred to
in a note, citing U.S. Postal law.
The FTC Guides do not currently treat legal materials in electronic format.
The FTC has recently notified CRIV that it is considering electronic
formats and the need to update the Guides.
Disclosures on products (Part 256.1 & 256.11)
A product
should clearly and conspicuously disclose:
- The
full title, including subtitles
- The
title of the series, if any
- The
number of the edition, if other than first
- If
a revision or replacement, the title of the original product within
5 years of the revision
- The
authors and/or editors
- If
the product is a reprint, the title and authors of the original source
- Type
of binding
- The
price and a description of what the price includes
- The
address of publisher of both new and reprinted materials
Supplementation (see also Upkeep Service, below)
Publishers
must provide the following information (Part 256.2):
- Whether
the product will be supplemented. The anticipated type and frequency
of supplementation
- The
cost. Any discounts in connection with the initial purchase and applicable
time period. How much supplementation has cost in the last two years
- Whether
updates have been discontinued or if the publisher plans to discontinue
updates within one year
Supplements
should disclose (Part 256.13):
- The
full title and series
- The
authors or editors of the titled product and of the supplement, if the
authors are different
- Coverage
date or date of issuance of the product. On each replacement sheet or
unit, the month and year of issuance
Treatises and Texts (Part 256.3)
In
promotional material, the vendor should provide a general description
of the product (i.e., the time period covered, the topic areas, costs,
number of volumes and so on)
Multivolume
sets (Part 256.3)
For
a multivolume set, publisher should disclose how many volumes are anticipated
and when the set is expected to be complete
Revisions
or Replacements (Part 256.4)
If
a product is scheduled for revision or replacement within one year,
the publisher should notify the customer prior to purchase. If not notified,
the publisher is obligated to offer to the customer:
"New" or "Current" Products (Part 256.5)
A
product cannot be promoted as current or up-to-date unless the volume
or its supplementation is up-to-date according to the legal activity
in the area of law treated by the product or 18 months from the date
of the advertisement of the product.
Misleading
titles (Parts 256.1 & 256.6)
Publishers
should clearly disclose:
- The
correct and current authors of a product
- The
titles of any other work, including chapters in other treatises or journal
articles containing substantially the same material
- In
revisions, the title of the original work within 5 years of the revision
Advertisements
for product not yet published (Part 256.7)
A
legal publisher should not promote a product which has not yet been
published, unless the publisher is soliciting for the purpose of determining
the demand for such a publication. If that is the case, it should be
clearly indicated in any advertisement or offer.
Jurisdictional
designations (Part 256.8 & 256.12)
A
product should not be described as covering a jurisdiction unless that
jurisdiction is specifically treated within the publication. For example,
an ad for a treatise should not imply that all 50 states are covered
if only one state is discussed. Conversely, it should not be implied
that a treatise extensively covers the state of Colorado if it in fact
a general work that touches on Colorado in a superficial way.
Catalogs
(Part 256.9)
Descriptions
in catalogs should conform with Parts 256.1 - 256.8
Renewal
notices (Part 256.10)
Subscription
renewal notices should not be sent to locations other than that designated
on the bill to address. In other words, a notice should not be sent
to the accounting department if the librarian is the specified agent.
The number
of the notice (first renewal notice, second notice) should be clearly
designated
Upkeep
service (Part 256.14)
The nature
and extent of basic supplementation service should be disclosed prior
to sale or contract
Basic upkeep
should include only that material which is absolutely essential and
without which the set would cease to be functional
Automatic
shipment should be available without the necessity of purchasing additional
products
The publisher
may offer other products, but not make the purchase of them a condition
for upkeep of an existing subscription
If a customer
does not choose automatic upkeep, the total price of purchasing the
product on an individual basis should not exceed the cost of automatic
upkeep.
Unsolicited
Shipments (Part 256.14, Notes 4 & 5)
The
FTC refers to Section 3009 of the Postal Reorganization Act, which designates
that "(a)...the mailing of unordered merchandise...constitutes...an
unfair trade practice."
Any
shipment in violation of Section 3009 may be treated by the recipient
as a gift and it may be disposed of as the recipient sees fit.
Billing
(Part 256.15)
Vendors
should notify customers to cite their account numbers in any correspondence
or payments, including checks
Upon request,
any customer may receive an itemized statement of accounts showing each
purchase, payment or credit
The publisher
has the responsibility of applying all correspondence and payments to
the correct account. If there is any question, the customer should be
notified before action is taken.
Invoices
and billing statements should show:
Date and
customer’s account number, if any
Invoices
numbers and a clear and readable description of each item charged. If
abbreviations are used which are not readily understandable, an attachment
to the statement providing a clear interpretation of such abbreviations
should be provided.
A price
for each item. Penalty, interest or carrying charges, if any, clearly
and separately identified.
Purchases
sent on approval, if any, clearly and separately identified, and the
time period
Added
materials (Part 256.16)
Adding
material to a product, the overall content of which is not substantially
related to the basic work is an unfair trade practice.
Misrepresentations
(Part 256.17)
A
legal information product should not be advertised or published in a
manner which misrepresents the grade, quality, material, size, contents,
etc. of the product
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