On April 9 at the session of the RA National Assembly the RA Law “On Introducing
Amendment and Additions to the RA Law ‘On Advertising’” and the RA Law “On Public
Notification through Internet” were adopted in the second hearing and finally.
The amendments to the Law “On Advertising” impose a ban on umbrella advertising,
defined as advertising where the trademark or the brand name of the goods/services
advertised are the same or similar enough to be confused with the trademark
or the brand name of such goods/services, the advertising of which is restricted
by the Law. The mentioning of a trademark, the brand name or any other way of
identifying the producer/vendor/provider of the goods and services, the advertising
of which is restricted, is also considered umbrella advertising.
According to Clause 2, added to Article 24 of the Law, the control over the
compliance with the advertising legislation by TV and radio broadcasters should
be assumed by the National Commission on Television and Radio.
The umbrella advertising ban is justified by the recently common indirect advertising
of certain goods (tobacco products, alcoholic beverages, medication, baby food,
etc.) the advertising of which is either prohibited or restricted on the domestic
and international market.
The other adopted Law “On Public Notification through the Internet” regulates
the procedure and terms of the public online notification. In particular, it
is stipulated that in the cases defined by the law or other legal acts to require
public notification through press, the same information must be placed on the
official web-site www.lraber.am . The web-site administrator is determined by
a tender, held in accordance with the RA Law “On Procurement”. The administrator
will have a number of responsibilities, including the placement of the information
on the web-site within two working days after it was received.
