Marketing and Promotion Compliance
Amid continuous updates to regulations such as the Advertising Law and the Anti-Unfair Competition Law, marketing and promotion compliance has become a core aspect of business operations. Companies face an increasingly complex marketing environment, with new promotion scenarios both online and offline, as well as public and private traffic conversion, cross-border promotion, and the application of emerging technologies all subject to stricter regulations. The JunHe marketing and promotion compliance team has a deep understanding of multi-field regulations and vast cross-industry practical experience. We provide clients with full-process compliance solutions to avoid risks such as false advertising and commercial bribery, and we are aware of all the latest legal requirements and enforcement practices to help clients identify key compliance points, design risk prevention systems, and minimize legal risks in their marketing and promotion activities.
Our core legal services in corporate marketing and promotion include:
Qualification and Licensing Compliance: Assisting companies to obtain product registration and promotion-related qualifications to ensure that their promotional activities are supported by valid licenses.
Advertising and Promotion Compliance: Providing compliance support for various marketing and promotion activities to avoid false advertising and misleading promotions; reviewing the compliance of advertising content; designing compliant scripts and cooperation models for expert endorsements and live-streaming sales to prevent joint liability risks; handling administrative investigations and penalties related to false advertising and misleading promotions and assisting companies in establishing compliance systems that meet the regulatory requirements and operate effectively.
Commercial Bribery and Competition Law Compliance: Providing support on the compliance of marketing and promotion activities concerning commercial bribery and competition law and representing companies in administrative and criminal investigations.
Marketing and Promotion Business Models and Contract Support: Providing legal services relating to the compliance of various marketing models such as promotional contests, gift-with-purchase or lease-based promotions. We assist clients in designing compliant marketing and promotion models, and help draft cooperation agreements with marketing partners, internet platforms, key opinion leaders (KOLs) and celebrities, to mitigate compliance risks through contractual terms.
Cross-Border Marketing Compliance: Providing compliance support for brands and e-commerce platforms engaged in cross-border marketing. Through collaboration with our international network of local counsel, we deliver legal opinions on overseas promotional activities and assist in adapting campaign strategies to comply with multi-jurisdictional regulatory requirements.
Dispute Resolution and Crisis Management: Representing companies in administrative investigations and protecting client rights through administrative reviews and litigation. We assist in lawsuits arising from marketing compliance issues and formulate legal strategies for crisis public relations.
Recent Representative Cases
JunHe represented the Chinese subsidiary of a European multinational pharmaceutical company in a commercial bribery investigation by the Market Supervision Administration. We assisted the company in cooperating with the investigation, communicated with the regulators, organized evidence and provided mitigation opinions which ultimately resulted in a mitigated penalty for the company.
Several sales personnel of the Chinese subsidiary of a European multinational pharmaceutical company were reported for providing benefits to medical staff through lecture fees, in various cases whereby no actual lecture was delivered, the duration of the lecture was insufficient, the content was unoriginal and the activity served as a disguised promotion. This report triggered a government investigation, and due to the large number of people and the amounts involved, there was significant risk of criminal liability at both the corporate and executive/employee levels, in addition to administrative responsibility for the company. JunHe's marketing and compliance team assisted the company in the external investigation, conducted internal investigations, and addressed issues from the early stages of the investigation. Through meticulous analysis of the objective evidence, we helped identify proof of the company’s limited responsibility, its lack of subjective intent, and its robust internal compliance controls. After communication and cooperation with the authorities, the regulators deemed the case to be an administrative violation and did not refer it for criminal prosecution. The authority considered the company's proactive cooperation and the mitigating evidence, and ultimately imposed a lenient penalty.
JunHe assisted a private healthcare enterprise to review and strengthen its internal compliance systems
Following the acquisition of multiple hospitals, the company faced repeated investigations by the regulatory authorities in areas including anti-bribery, cybersecurity and healthcare management. While assisting the company with these investigations, the JunHe team conducted a 'compliance check-up' on its overall compliance systems including anti-corruption, data, medical management, finance, anti-money laundering, customs compliance, anti-insurance fraud and environmental safety. The team provided rectification suggestions for each item and assisted in revising, drafting and updating nearly a hundred compliance policies. We also provided customized training sessions for executives, middle management and employees at all different levels.
Represented a Well-known Fund Company in its Civil Litigation and Administrative Reporting Procedures Against Unfair Competition of Corporate Names, and Achieves a Successful Result
JunHe represented a well-known fund company to file civil lawsuits and administrative reports against two different infringers for using the client's name in their business names without authorization and for other unfair competition acts, and ultimately achieved a successful result. One of the infringers changed its business name and promised that it would not appear in the same font size as JunHe’s client’s business name. It must continuously publish a statement in newspapers to eliminate the impact of its misdeeds. The other infringer registered its company for cancellation.
JunHe represented a renowned online travel company in securing a favorable outcome in an unfair competition dispute
This case originated from the defendant’s practice of using the plaintiff’s well-established trade name and trademark as 'keywords' in its internet search advertising campaigns. As a result, when consumers searched for the plaintiff’s keywords in app stores, the defendant and its app appeared in the top position of the search results.
The court fully adopted the arguments presented by the JunHe team and provided a detailed analysis of the core issues in the case. This ruling offers important judicial guidance on the selection of keywords in search advertising and highlights other key compliance considerations.
