Category Archives: Legal

The New FTC Direct Selling Guidance… Imperfect, But a Good Start – New Article

Posted on January 28, 2018 by Charity

by Jeffrey A Babener (First Published in World of Direct Selling) Ring the bells that still can ring Forget your perfect offering There is a crack in everything That’s how the light gets in Leonard Cohen… Anthem The new FTC Direct Selling … Continue reading →

Posted in Direct Selling, Direct Selling Association, Distributor Education, For MLM Executives, FTC, Headlines, Home-Based Business, Internal Consumption, Legal, MLM, MLM Articles, MLM Attorney, MLM in the News, Network Marketing, Party Plan, Personal Use, Pyramid, Recruiting | Tagged direct selling, Federal Trade Commission, ftc, HR 3409, law, legal, mlm, network marketing, new article, Pyramid, Pyramid Scheme | Comments Off

FTC and Direct Selling Come to the Table as Stakeholders: H.R. 3409

Posted on December 27, 2017 by Charity

by Jeffrey A Babener (First Published in World of Direct Selling) Everything dies baby, that’s a fact. But maybe everything that dies someday comes back. Bruce Springsteen, Atlantic City By Jeff Babener, Copyright 2017 What a difference a year makes. In a well-received … Continue reading →

Posted in Consulting, Consumer Protection, Direct Selling, Direct Selling Association, Distributor Education, For MLM Executives, FTC, Headlines, Home-Based Business, Law Cases, Legal, MLM, MLM Articles, MLM Attorney, MLM in the News, Network Marketing, Party Plan, Raiding, Recruiting, SEC, Securities and Exchange Commission, Software/Technology, Startup | Tagged direct selling, Federal Trade Commission, ftc, law, Legal Cases, mlm, Multilevel marketing, network marketing | Comments Off

How have raiding rules evolved in direct selling contracts and policies and procedures? New Video!

Posted on December 3, 2017 by Charity

Some companies state that you can’t recruit people that you didn’t personally sponsor. If you personally sponsor a friend or family member then why can’t you recruit them to join you at your new company? The short answer is that … Continue reading →

Posted in Advertising, Commission, Compensation Plan, Consumer Protection, Direct Selling, Home-Based Business, Legal, MLM, MLM Articles, MLM Attorney, MLM Companies, MLM in the News, MLM Startup, Network Marketing, Success, Videos | Tagged direct selling, mlm, network marketing, raiding, raiding rules, video | Comments Off

Search for Certainty in Direct Selling… A Legal and Business Rationale for H.R. 3409

Posted on November 25, 2017 by Charity

By Jeffrey Babener, © 2017/2018 (First Published in World of Direct Selling) Executive Summary: The legal environment and the accepted business model of leading direct selling companies has been relatively stable for 50 years. That equilibrium was upset by the regulatory … Continue reading →

Posted in Consulting, Consumer Protection, Direct Selling, For MLM Executives, FTC, Headlines, Home-Based Business, Law Cases, Legal, MLM, MLM Articles, MLM Attorney, MLM Companies, MLM in the News, Network Marketing, Personal Use, SEC, Securities and Exchange Commission | Tagged direct selling, H.R. 3409, law, legal, legislation, mlm, Multilevel marketing, network marketing | Comments Off

Legally, are all Compensation Plans Viewed the Same?

Posted on July 4, 2017 by Charity

Being in the MLM law business for over 30 years, we’ve been asked this question countless times. Direct selling business owners – especially MLM startup company owners – want to know which compensation plan structure will be the most supportive … Continue reading →

Posted in Compensation Plan, Compliance Guidelines, Consultants, Consumer Protection, Direct Selling, Distributor Education, For MLM Executives, Home-Based Business, Legal, MLM, MLM Articles, MLM Attorney, MLM Companies, MLM Startup, Network Marketing, Party Plan, Personal Use, Products, Pyramid, Startup, Videos | Tagged binary, Compensation Plans, direct sales, direct selling, is my compensation plan legal, legal, matrix, mlm, multilevel marekting, network marketing, Pyramid | Comments Off

The Thorny Issues of “Personal Use” in Direct Selling

Posted on June 3, 2017 by Charity

There exists tension between the direct sales industry and industry regulators as to the role of “personal use” of products and services by distributors of MLM companies. The broad and ambiguous language in pyramid legislation has contributed to the problem. … Continue reading →

Posted in Commission, Compliance Guidelines, Consumer Protection, Direct Selling, Direct Selling Association, Distributor Education, Distributors, Earnings Claims, For MLM Executives, Law Cases, Legal, MLM, MLM Articles, MLM Companies, MLM History, Network Marketing, Party Plan, Personal Use, Pyramid, Sales/Selling, Videos | Tagged consumers, direct sales, direct selling, distributors, DSA, law, legal, legitimate, mlm, multilevel marekting, network marketing, personal use, Personal use regulations, Pyramid Scheme, regulators, videos | Comments Off

Is the FTC ramping up regulation of the MLM Industry?

Posted on January 8, 2017 by Charity

Federal Trade Commission Chairwoman Edith Ramirez argued on October, 2016 at the DSA Policy Conference that it was time to ratchet up regulation of the direct selling industry, and not a time to “put the brakes” on more regulation of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Conference, Consulting, Consumer Protection, Direct Selling, For MLM Executives, FTC, Headlines, Legal, MLM, MLM Articles, MLM Attorney, MLM in the News, Network Marketing, Party Plan, Personal Use, Pyramid, Raiding, Recruiting | Tagged 70% rule, Amway, Amway safeguard rules, Burnlounge, changes, facts, Federal Trade Commission, ftc, guidance, law, legal, mlm, Multilevel marketing, network marketing, regulation | Comments Off

21 Ways to Provide Legal and Ethical MLM Training to Distributors

Posted on December 17, 2016 by Charity

You can look at MLM companies from several perspectives to get an idea if they are running a legal business or a pyramid scheme. In this post, we cover how legal MLM companies approach training their distributors. Legal direct selling … Continue reading →

Posted in Consultants, Consulting, Direct Selling, Distributor Education, Distributors, For MLM Executives, Home-Based Business, Just for Fun, Legal, MLM, MLM Articles, MLM Attorney, MLM Companies, MLM Startup, Network Marketing, Party Plan, Pyramid, Recruiting, Sales/Selling, Startup, Statistics, Success, Tax, Training, Videos | Tagged Code of Ethics, compensation plan, consulting, distributor, events, Home-Based Business, IBO, illegal, illegal compensation plans, legal, mlm, multilevel marekting, network marketing, opportunity, Pyramid, success, train, training | Comments Off

Watch out for Pyramid Schemes! Some Warning Signs

Posted on November 10, 2016 by Charity

How can you tell if a company is an pyramid scheme, unintentional cash gifting pyramid scheme, or otherwise downright illegal? Well, there is no single authority on the on the subject. There’s not really one single definition either. However, there … Continue reading →

Posted in CEO Interviews, Compliance Guidelines, Consulting, Consumer Protection, Direct Selling, Legal, MLM Attorney, MLM Startup, Network Marketing, Personal Use, Ponzi Scheme, Pyramid, Raiding, Videos | Tagged cash pyramid scheme, direct selling, illegal, legal, mlm, network marketing, Ponzi Scheme, pyramid schemes, red flags, warning signs | Comments Off

Check to See if a MLM Company is Legal or a Pyramid Scheme

Posted on September 19, 2016 by Charity

Prospective distributors often ask how they can find out if a MLM, network marketing, or direct selling company is legal or if it’s a pyramid scheme. There are a number of ways to research the company yourself; to be sure … Continue reading →