As we delve into our legal series, the first case we look at involves the Federal Trade Commission, Impulse Media Group, and affiliates. As many people know and have witnessed first hand, affiliates and the legalities surrounding them can be a delicate issue. In this video, attorneys Sarah Bird and Clarke Walton discuss the case, the outcome, what the companies involved did right, and what they did wrong.

Just for a quick recap, Impulse Media Group is an adult website that has several affiliates. The FTC sued Impulse Media Group for spam that was sent via its affiliates. The case went to jury and found that Impulse Media should not be held liable.

Many people disagreed with the outcome including Affiliate Summit Co-founder Shawn Collins who referred to it as a “travesty.” From a legal perspective however, attorney Anne Mitchell blatantly says, “the FTC couldn’t prove their case.” Clarke Walton also agrees with the verdict on the grounds that Impulse Media had well-designed policy agreements with its affiliates.

Affiliate agreements are very important because they essentially set the bar for how the relationship is governed. Clarke points out that the relationship between Impulse Media Group and its affiliates was that of an independent contractor and not of an agency-principal.

Sarah Bird also throws out a word of advice for affiliate marketers. She says monitoring your affiliates in addition to the terms of use set up, is a good rule of thumb to go by to prevent unwanted activity.

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