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former FTC Conference Center
601 New Jersey Avenue, NW Washington DC 20001

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Event Description

The Federal Trade Commission will hold a day-long public workshop on June 1, 2009 in Washington, DC, to explore proposed changes to the FTC’s Business Opportunity Rule. The workshop, which is free and open to the public, will examine possible changes to the rule that were outlined in a Revised Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (RNPR) on March 26, 2008.

The workshop will primarily explore issues relating to the effectiveness of a proposed one-page Business Opportunities Disclosure Form that sellers of business opportunities would be required to provide to prospective purchasers. The proposed Disclosure Form is intended to provide prospective purchasers with information they can use to make an informed decision about the potential business opportunity, including information about earnings claims, legal actions, existence of cancellation or refund policies, and references. The workshop also will address general issues raised in comments that have been submitted to the FTC in response to the proposed rulemaking. A more detailed agenda will be published at a later date, before the scheduled workshop.

Business opportunity ventures include vending machine routes, rack display operations, and medical billing ventures. The FTC’s new proposed rule is aimed at protecting consumers from bogus business opportunities while minimizing compliance costs for legitimate businesses.

The workshop will be held from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the FTC’s satellite building conference center, located at 601 New Jersey Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC. All attendees will be required to display a current driver’s license or other form of photo identification for entry.

The Commission will be accepting comments on the topics to be covered at the workshop until June 15, 2009. The FTC staff also invites interested parties to submit requests to be panelists by May 4, 2009. Interested parties should include a statement detailing their expertise on the issues to be addressed at the workshop and their complete contact information. Requests to participate filed in an electronic form should be sent to: businessopportunityworkshop@ftc.gov.

 

CONSUMER INFORMATION:

BUSINESS INFORMATION:

  • Request for Comments

    Any person also may submit written comments on the topics to be addressed at the workshop.
    Comments should refer to “Business Opportunity Rule Workshop – Comment, Project No. P084405” to facilitate the organization of comments.

    Extension until June 29, 2009 of the Workshop Public Comment Period [PDF]

    To File Electronically:

    Follow the instructions and fill out the form at https://secure.commentworks.com/ftc-businessopportunityworkshop/

    To File in Paper Form:

    A comment or request to participate as a panelist filed in paper form should include the “Business Opportunity Rule Workshop – Comment, Project No. P084405” or “Business Opportunity Rule Workshop – Request to Participate, Project No. P084405” reference both in the text and on the envelope, and should be mailed or delivered, with two complete copies, to the following address:

    Federal Trade Commission
    Office of the Secretary
    600 Pennsylvania Avenue N.W.
    Room H-135 (Annex S)
    Washington, DC 20580

    The FTC is requesting that any comment filed in paper form be sent by courier or overnight service, if possible, because postal mail to the Commission is subject to delay due to heightened security precautions.

    To Request Confidential Treatment:

    To request confidential treatment, you must file in paper form and clearly label the first page of the document with “Confidential” and comply with Commission Rule 4.9(c). 15 C.F.R. § 4.9(c).

    Comments must be received by COB June 29, 2009.

FTC Privacy Policy

Under the Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”) or other laws, we may be required to disclose to outside organizations the information you provide when you pre-register for events that require registration. The Commission will consider all timely and responsive public comments, whether filed in paper or electronic form, and as a matter of discretion, we make every effort to remove home contact information for individuals from the public comments before posting them on the FTC website.

The FTC Act and other laws we administer permit the collection of your pre-registration contact information and the comments you file to consider and use in this proceeding as appropriate. For additional information, including routine uses permitted by the Privacy Act, see the Commission’s Privacy Act system for public records and comprehensive privacy policy.

This event will be open to the public and may be photographed, videotaped, webcast, or otherwise recorded.  By participating in this event, you are agreeing that your image — and anything you say or submit — may be posted indefinitely at ftc.gov or on one of the Commission's publicly available social media sites.

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