December 10, 2019 Guest: Sara Yood, Esq., Jewelers Vigilance Committee (JVC)
Our guest on this episode, Sara Yood, senior counsel at the Jewelers Vigilance Committee (JVC), has made a career out of helping businesses wade through the myriad guidelines, regulations, and laws that apply to making and selling jewelry. It’s not easy staying up to date—recent changes to the FTC guidelines, for instance, have changed how the industry can talk about karat gold, lab-grown gems, and metal coatings, while a recent Supreme Court decision changed the rules for taxing internet sales. Add in such continuing concerns as maintaining proper anti-money-laundering documentation and protecting intellectual property, and Yood and her team at the JVC have their hands full helping the industry to remain up to date and in compliance.
In this discussion, Yood talks about her background and education as well as what led her into jewelry law. She also provides insights, offers advice, and explains JVC’s position on the newly announced line of 1k gold jewelry, the FTC’s recent warning letters to lab-grown diamond marketers, the federal government’s pressure on the industry to improve its sourcing and chain of custody procedures, and how designers can copyright and protect their work.
Podcast Highlights
2:25 – Sara’s education background and path into jewely law
3:45 – Protecting creators, similarities between jewelry and fashion/music industry
6:03 – 1k gold jewelry news, metal content and plating disclosure requirements
9:42 – JVC’s response to 1k gold jewelry, plans to address gold karatage issues going forward
11:52 – FTC’s warnings to diamond marketers, JVC’s role
14:39 – Issues surrounding lab-grown diamond “eco-friendly” and “green” claims
15:19 – Advice on making ad claims, following FTC Green Guides
16:00 – Confusion on “carbon-neutral” claims
17:11 – Current sourcing/supply chain regulations, importance of anti-money laundering (AML) policies
19:38 – Reviewing your own supply chain, importance of education and awareness
22:00 – Penalties and risks of non-compliance
23:21 – Intellectual property protection for designers and businesses
26:55 – Limitations of copyright protections, challenges demonstrating “newness” in the jewelry designs
27:55 – Benefits of registering a group of works for copyright rather than individual pieces
Show Notes
Related MJSA Journal Articles and Resources:
FTC Guides, FinalizedFederal Trade Commission releases its revised Guides for the Jewelry, Precious Metals, and Pewter Industries. By Shawna Kulpa (September 2018)
Karat Concerns(Members Only) – The FTC dropped the 10k gold threshold. What will this mean for consumers and the industry? By Shawna Kulpa (October 2018)
The Diamond Debate (Members Only) – The diamond industry reacts to the revised FTC Guides. By Deborah A. Yonick (October 2018)
Expanding Horizons(Members Only) – A look into how and why jewelers are selling lab-grown diamonds. By Sharon Elaine Thompson (June 2019)
To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional
Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes.The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
A Fresh Look. A New Website. A Stronger Membership.
We’re excited to unveil Jewelers of America’s refreshed brand and redesigned website, reflecting our growing community and continued commitment to the jewelry industry.
With JA and MJSA now united under one membership, we’re bringing together more resources, expertise and connections to support every facet of the jewelry industry.
Take a look around to see all that JA offers — members can login to access member-only content like benefits, the Knowledge Vault and Advocacy resources.
Questions? Contact us at members@jewelers.org or call/text (800) 223-0673.
