Código Del Consumidor

POLITICAL AND LEGAL FACTORS

Every aspect of the marketing mix is subject to laws and restrictions. It is the duty of marketing managers or their legal assistants to understand these laws and conform to them, because failure to comply with regulations can have major consequences for a firm. Sometimes just sensing trends and taking corrective action before a government agency acts can help avoidregulation.

Marketers must balance caution with risk. It is all easy for a marketing manager or sometimes a lawyer to say “no” to a marketing innovation that actually entails little risk. For example, an overly cautious lawyer could hold up sales of a desirable new product by warning that the package design could prompt a copyright infringement suit. Thus, it is important to have a thoroughunderstanding of the laws established by the federal government, state governments, and regulatory agencies to govern marketing-related issues.

FEDERAL LEGISLATION

Federal laws that affect marketing fall into several categories of regulatory activity: competitive environment, pricing, advertising and promotion, and the newest, protection of consumer privacy.

These key pieces of legislationare summarized in Exhibit 3.2. The primary federal laws that protect consumers are shown in Exhibit 3.3.

STATE LAWS

State legislation that affects marketing varies. Oregon, for example, limits utility advertising to 0.5 percent of the company´s net income. California has enacted legislation to lower the energy consumption of refrigerators, freezers, and air conditioners. Several states,including New Mexico and Kansas, are considering levying a tax on all in-state commercial advertising. California has enacted a Notice of Security Breach Law. If any company or agency that collected the personal information of a California resident discovers that nonencrypted information has been taken by an unauthorized person, the company or agency must tell the resident. (Some 30 other states areconsidering similar laws.) Marketers must be aware of pending legislation and legal trends in all 50 states.

EXHIBIT 3.2

LEGISLATION

• Sherman Act of 1890: Makes trust and conspiracies in restraint of trade illegal; makes monopolies and attempts to monopolize a misdemeanor.

• Clayton Act of 1914: Outlaws discrimination in prices to different buyers; prohibits lying contracts(which require the buyer of one product to also buy another item in the line); makes illegal the combining of two or more competing corporations by pooling ownership of stock.

• Robinson-Patman Act of 1936: Prohibits charging different prices to different buyers of merchandise of like grade and quantity; requires sellers to make any supplementary services or allowances available to allpurchasers on a proportionately equal basis.

• Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (Financial Services Modernization Act): Requires financial companies to tell their customers how they use their personal information and to have policies that prevent fraudulent access to it.

EXHIBIT 3.3

PROVISIONS

• Prohibits adulteration and misbranding of foods and drugs involved in interstate commerce;strengthened by the food, drug, and cosmetic Act and the Kefauver-Harris Drug Amendment.

• Requires warning labels on hazardous household chemicals.

• Requires the manufacturers conduct test to prove drug effectiveness and safety.

• Requires that lenders fully disclose true interest rates and all other charges to credit customers for loans and installment purchases.

• Preventsmarketing of products so dangerous that adequate safety warnings cannot be given.

• Prohibits cigarette advertising on tv and radio and revises the health hazard warning on cigarette packages.

• Requires safety packaging for products that may be harmful to children.

• Established the Environmental Protection Agency to deal with various types of pollution and organizations...