Kyle-Beth Hilfer

Kyle-Beth Hilfer has over thirty years’ experience providing legal counsel to advertising, marketing, promotions, intellectual property, and new media clients. Leveraging her deep understanding of branding, Kyle-Beth ensures regulatory compliance for her clients’ advertising and marketing campaigns. She also helps clients create, monetize, and protect their trademark and copyright portfolios in a global marketplace.

Kyle-Beth counsels across all types of platforms in an ever-changing marketplace, including print, tv, radio, social media, digital, e-commerce, mobile, and virtual reality. She regularly performs advertising copy clearance and claim substantiation review. In addition, Kyle-Beth counsels from concept stage through execution on the legal implications of specific marketing techniques, including sweepstakes and contests, word of mouth marketing, user-generated content, premium offers, rebates, negative option and advance consent marketing, loyalty programs, cause marketing, and native advertising.

Kyle-Beth is a resource for all transactional matters relating to advertising and marketing campaigns.  She drafts all required contracts from agency, marketing services, and influencer contracts to NDA’s, vendor/consulting agreements, and licenses. At the same time, she excels in proactive and early dispute resolution. She also counsels on regulatory investigations, false advertising litigation, and NAD challenges.

“My favorite splurge is travel—anywhere around the world. When I’m at home, you’ll probably find me practicing yoga, singing along with Broadway soundtracks, or reading a great historical fiction novel.”

Honors & Recognitions

New York "Super Lawyers" in Media & Advertising Law (2021- present) “Top Rated Media & Advertising Attorney in Chappaqua, NY”

Community & Professional Activities

New York State Bar Association, Entertainment, Arts, and Sports Law Section, Co-Chair ADR Committee.

American Arbitration  Association-Arbitrator (Commercial, Intellectual Property, Large Complex Case, and Sports panels)  and Mediator 

Law Journal Newsletters: "The Intellectual Property Strategist"- Prior Member, Board of Editors

Westchester County Bar Association: Prior Director, Board of Directors; Member, Intellectual Property, Business & Commercial Law, ADR, and Cannabis Committees

Town of New Castle- Member, Ethics Board

Westchester Fair Campaign Practices Committee-Member

Experience

• Counseled regarding use of disclosures in influencer marketing and FTC’s 2023 updated related guidance.
• Structured and implement NFT-based international loyalty program and several related sweepstakes.
• Advised regarding strategy for approaching brand’s vendor and agency use of artificial intelligence.
• Reviewed copy for comparative advertising campaign based on regulatory requirements and potential competitor challenges.
• Advised regarding deceptive competitor comparative advertising campaign.
• Reviewed and drafted brand spokesperson contract, including required social media disclosures and intellectual property concerns.
• Advised regarding commercial co-venture laws and charitable giving campaign.
• Reviewed cannabis marketing campaign for FTC deceptive advertising compliance.
• Advise regarding CAN-SPAM compliance requirements.
• Arbitrator and mediator for a variety of intellectual property and branding disputes.
• Assisted in launch of new e-commerce initiatives to pivot during COVID-19, including loyalty programs, auto-renewal subscriptions, and sweepstakes.
• Consulted on cause marketing initiatives and the intersection of commercial co-venture laws, auction law, and sweepstakes law.
• Drafted media purchase and placement of advertising template (print and digital advertising).
• Drafted affiliate marketing agreement with influencer marketing overlay.
• Counseled on acquisition, clearance, and licensing of trademarks as well as USPTO prosecution.
• Consulted on claim substantiation issues in challenges to national advertising campaigns for consumer products. Established internal governance programs for claim review.
• Advised diversified multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate on Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) regulations, prize promotions, marketing initiatives, including loyalty programs, trading stamp laws, gift certificate laws, auto-renewal programs, refund policies.
• Reviewed and drafted legal materials for auto-renewal programs for an e-commerce program and a health & wellness business.
• Drafted marketing services agreements for agencies and brands in multiple industries, including consumer products/services brands, e-commerce, digital marketing, hospitality, and sports.

• Advised international sports organization on its advertising initiatives, including copy review, sweepstakes advice, ambush marketing protection, and intellectual property protection.
• Counseled several national fast causal restaurant chains and a fine dining restaurant group on trademark protection, menu labeling requirements, loyalty programs, influencer programs, coupon programs, sweepstakes, technology vendor and marketing services agreements, native advertising, cause marketing, and data privacy issues.
• Advised regarding the structure and legality of a cryptocurrency sweepstakes.
• Counseled international media organization on CAN-SPAM, e-mail marketing campaigns, and native advertising issues.
• Cleared an e-commerce international sweepstakes in the United States and multiple foreign jurisdictions.
• Analyzed commercial co-venture laws to determine their applicability to a cause marketing campaign by a significant film studio.
• Advised global building systems company on green marketing programs.
• Advised app developer on advertising to children (COPPA compliance).
• Represented an international manufacturer/distributor of infection control products in a challenge to competitor advertising, opining on FDA/FTC requirements for advertising.
• Settled several trademark disputes on behalf of a fitness entity.
• Negotiated trademark coexistence agreement between an individual trademark owner and a multinational sports entity.

Prior Employment

Proskauer Rose Goetz & Mendelsohn 1987-1988
Rubin Baum Constant & Friedman 1988-1989
Hall Dickler Lawler Kent & Friedman 1989-1995
Hilfer Law 1993-present
Collen IP 2010-2019

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