We counsel B2C and B2B clients on the evolving legal and risk landscape surrounding auto-renewing contracts and subscriptions. As the subscription business model becomes increasingly popular, it is important for businesses to understand the related legal considerations in order to ensure compliance with applicable laws and regulations.
Specifically, we provide counseling on compliance with state and federal laws in purchase and cancellation flows, communications to subscribers, payment terms, and marketing copy along with analysis of regulatory and class action enforcement. We also help clients navigate the patchwork of relevant requirements and identify risk-based approaches to address more complicated features, such as:
- Integrating free trials or promotional pricing
- Selling subscriptions through app platforms or third-party payment options (like PayPal, Venmo, or Amazon Pay)
- Launching bundles or co-branded partnerships with third-party partners
- Implementing material changes or wholesale service replacements
- Avoiding dark patterns
We can help you stay up-to-date
We stay up to date on the legislative and enforcement landscape and keep clients updated on the evolving legal and risk landscape through novel trackers and other offerings, such as:
👩🏫 U.S. B2C AUTO-RENEWAL COMPLIANCE PRIMER
A primer summarizing the key compliance requirements for offering B2C auto-renewing subscriptions in the U.S., accounting for state and federal law, regulatory guidance, applicable credit card rules, and takeaways from relevant litigation.
🖋️ AUTO-RENEWAL LAW & BILL TRACKER
A custom tracker that provides a breakdown of the relevant federal and state-by-state legal requirements (e.g. point of sale, renewal notices) in existing law and proposed bills, mapped to the client’s individual practices.
⚖️ AUTO-RENEWAL LITIGATION TRACKER
A tracker that identifies key allegations for active federal litigation in the auto-renewal space.
Related Services
Litigation Defense – We have defended and successfully settled class action lawsuits.
International Guidance – We have conducted a significant amount of research on the landscape across many jurisdictions, including Canada, the UK, much of the EEA, Australia, and some of Asia. We are not practitioners in these foreign jurisdictions, so our ability to offer comprehensive and un-caveated guidance is occasionally limited. But we have dug into many of these jurisdictions closely and, for some projects, work closely with local counsel to better understand the obligations and practical risks and approaches.
Other Issues – We have advised on truth in advertising principles that come into play when clients advertise and promote subscriptions. We have also provided guidance on AppStore-related issues, like when in-app payment is required or restricted, and the ability to market to consumers about options to subscribe through web-based, rather than app-based, subscriptions.
Representative Clients
Recent Blog Posts
Massachusetts Sets Its Eyes on Subscriptions and Junk Fees
In a growing effort to regulate subscription services and purportedly hidden or misleading fees (referred to as “junk fees”), late last year, the Massachusetts Attorney…
Subscription State Law Patchwork Evolves and Expands
Automatically renewing subscriptions continue to be a major area of focus for state legislatures. As many states’ legislative sessions come to a close, it is…
FTC Goes After Amazon for Subscription Practices and Dark Patterns
On June 21, 2023, the FTC filed a complaint in federal district court against Amazon for allegedly using manipulative design choices (“dark patterns”) to enroll…
