The Advertising Self-Regulatory Council announced today that it is raising the National Advertising Review Board ("NARB") filing fees from $15,000 to $20,000 to better defray the costs of each appeal. This increase is effective for any advertiser appeal filed after September 5, 2018, and any challenger appeal approved after Sept, 2018.

When NARB receives an appeal by an advertiser, or grants a request to appeal by a challenger, the NARB Chair appoints a panel to hear the case. The panel is composed of one "public" member, one "advertising agency" member and three "advertiser" members. The panel members can be but are not necessarily lawyers. The panel can consider only the record provided from the case below: it may not consider any evidence or facts outside the evidence and facts presented at NAD. 

Appeals from NAD Decisions are still relatively infrequent: NARB has issued only six decisions so far this year, as compared to NAD, which has issued fifty-nine.  However, appeals are an important part of the self-regulatory process, available to both advertisers and challengers.  Although the number of appeals has increased in recent years, parties still use this resource judiciously: the appellate process is longer than the process at NAD and NARB does not often overturn NAD's Decisions.  And, as at NAD, advertising that is the subject of the appeal can continue to run during the pendency of the case.

NARB Decisions are just one of many important topics to be covered at NAD's upcoming annual Advertising Law Conference on September 24th and 25th.  If you haven't registered yet, you can still do so here.  Note that first-time attendees get a special discounted rate.  Yours truly will be speaking, moderating a panel on the topic of consumer reviews and also as part of a "hear from the experts" panel.  Hope to see you there!