Announced Action for March 3, 2004

Publication of Federal Register notice: The Commission has approved the publication of a Federal Register notice concerning the Rules and Regulations Under the Hobby Protection Act (Rule). As detailed in the notice, which will be published shortly and is now available as a link to this press release on the FTC’s Web site, the Commission has completed its review of the Rule and has determined to retain it in its current form. The Hobby Protection Act, passed by Congress in 1973, covers imitation political items (e.g., buttons, posters, stickers, etc.), as well as imitation numismatic items (e.g., various coins, tokens, paper money, commemorative medals) that are required to be marked with certain identifying information in an effort to flag them as imitations. The FTC’s Rule establishes the size of the required disclosures, their location, and the manner in which items may be marked. The FTC amended the Rule slightly in 1988 and last reviewed it in 1998. The Commission vote approving publication of the Federal Register notice was 5-0. (FTC File No. P9743230; the staff contact is Janice P. Frankle, Bureau of Consumer Protection, 202-326-3022.)

Copies of the documents mentioned in this release are available from the FTC’s Web site at http://www.ftc.gov and also from the FTC’s Consumer Response Center, Room 130, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC 20580. Call toll-free: 1-877-FTC-HELP.