Law for Marketers: Regulations You Must Know in 2026

When You Work as a Marketer in the B2C World

Personal Data Protection (GDPR, EU Regulation 2016/679)

When working with customer data (names, e-mails, cookies, etc.), a marketer must comply with those famous four letters - GDPR. A frequently mentioned mantra, which means processing data only with a valid legal basis (e.g. consent or legitimate interest) and fulfilling information obligations towards data subjects. The GDPR grants people rights, which may include, for example, the right not to give consent to marketing activities. Do not forget that even if you merely manage cookies on a website, there will very likely be personal data there, so the GDPR warning light must come on.

Why: Breaches can result in high fines and potential reputational risks. There is nothing worse than an angry customer who insists that they certainly never gave you consent to marketing activities.

Electronic Communications - Cookies and Online Tracking

Setting up cookies and other tracking tools on a website is subject to the ePrivacy rules (Directive 2002/58/EC) implemented in Act No. 127/2005 Coll., on Electronic Communications. Since 1 January 2022, an opt-in regime applies in the Czech Republic, that is, the active consent of the user.

All cookies that are not essential (analytical, marketing, etc.) may be stored only after the prior consent of the user. The website must inform the user in advance and demonstrably about the scope and purpose of the cookies and offer them the option to refuse them. Consent must meet the requirements of the GDPR - it must be freely given, specific, informed, and active (the user must explicitly grant it). The marketer must therefore implement, for example, a cookie bar with a selection option and keep records of the consents granted.

This is a regulation that is often criticised and ignored. And that is understandable. With consent, the marketer loses a lot of data. It is therefore a matter of consideration how to approach it.

Commercial Communications and E-mailing (Act No. 480/2004 Coll.)

For the distribution of commercial communications by electronic means, an opt-in regime applies, that is, recipients (typically consumers) may be sent a newsletter or marketing e-mail only with their prior consent.

Exception: existing customers may be sent offers of your own similar products or services even without consent, provided that, when their contact was collected, they had the option to refuse such mailings (what is known as the soft opt-in exception). Each commercial communication must moreover be clearly marked as such and must not conceal the sender; it must also contain a valid address for easy unsubscribing.

The marketer must obtain consent before sending newsletters (e.g. via a checkbox during registration) and include a functional unsubscribe link in every e-mail. They should also not forget that similar rules apply to telephone marketing.

We will help you sort out marketing regulations and contracts. Let us know.

Consumer Protection and Unfair Commercial Practices (Act No. 634/1992 Coll.)

In marketing towards consumers, it is prohibited to use deceptive or aggressive practices. Hidden advertising (unmarked marketing communication presented, for example, as a personal recommendation) is expressly considered an unfair practice and is punishable by fines of up to CZK 2 million for natural persons and CZK 5 million for companies.

The marketer must ensure that advertising is always recognisable as advertising and that it does not lack essential information about the offered product or service (it must not mislead the consumer). Consumer competitions (surveys, prize games organised as part of promotion) must, under the law, be comprehensible, transparent, and must not deceive - it is necessary to clearly set out the rules, conditions of participation, prizes, and to publish them for the duration of the event.

The marketer must consult advertising campaigns from the perspective of the truthfulness of the information, properly mark paid promotion (e.g. with influencers, hashtags such as #advertisement), and prepare official rules for competitions in accordance with statutory requirements.

Advertising Regulation (Act No. 40/1995 Coll.)

This act regulates the content limits of advertisements and applies to all advertising (online and offline). It prohibits and restricts advertising in sensitive areas: for example, tobacco products and medicines may be promoted only under strict conditions, alcohol must not be targeted at minors, and so on. The act also requires that advertising comply with good morals, not contain vulgarities, not cause offence, and not promote violence.

When creating campaigns, the marketer must assess whether the content does not violate any of the prohibitions (especially if it promotes regulated products) and, where appropriate, have the content reviewed by the legal department. With influencers, it is necessary to ensure that their posts too meet statutory requirements (e.g. not showing alcohol in an inappropriate way, etc.).

Intellectual Property Law (Copyright Act No. 121/2000 Coll. and the Trademark Act No. 441/2003 Coll.)

Marketing often uses graphics, photographs, texts, logos, or slogans, which are subject to copyright and trademark rights. The Copyright Act protects all original works (photos, videos, design, articles, etc.) - someone else’s work may be used in marketing only with the permission of the author or on the basis of a licence. The marketer must therefore contractually arrange relationships with suppliers (photographers, graphic designers) so that the company has the right to use the outputs for marketing purposes.

Trademarks protect the names, logos, or slogans of products and services; the marketer should verify that, during rebranding or the creation of a new logo, there is no infringement of someone else’s registered trademark. At the same time, it is advisable to have the key elements of your own brand registered as trademarks to prevent their misuse by competitors.

Do you need help with registering a trademark? Take a look here.

B2B Marketing (Business-to-Business)

Personal Data Protection and the Rights of Recipients (GDPR)

Even in the B2B environment, the marketer comes into contact with personal data, typically contacts for representatives of other companies (name, company e-mail, telephone). The GDPR applies here too, because it protects all natural persons - for example employees, whose personal data are in the marketing contacts.

Commercial Communications in B2B

Note that the rules for marketing in the area of commercial communications also apply to any general e-mail addresses, such as info@firma.cz.

General Advertising and Competition Ethics (Unfair Competition)

In marketing between companies, the Consumer Protection Act does not apply (the other party is not a “weak” consumer), but the rules of fair competition under the Civil Code still apply.

In particular, misleading advertising is prohibited, that is, providing untrue or half-true information about a product or service that could mislead other companies and thus bring an unjustified competitive advantage. Likewise prohibited are deceptive confusion (imitation of someone else’s product), parasitising on the reputation of someone else’s brand, and unauthorised comparative advertising.

The marketer must ensure the truthfulness of B2B marketing materials (e.g. not exaggerating the properties of a product, not providing misleading comparisons with competing products). When using comparative advertising, it is necessary to meet the statutory conditions (truthfulness, objectivity of comparison, etc.). The general IP rules also apply - even in B2B, marketing must not use protected third-party materials without permission (partners’ logos only with consent, professional articles only with a proper licence, etc.).

Other Relevant Regulations

In the B2B segment, it is good to keep in mind other laws as well: the Advertising Regulation Act applies just as in B2C (for example, the prohibition of certain types of advertising applies generally, regardless of the target audience).

If the marketing specialist is involved in drafting contracts with business partners or suppliers (e.g. a contract with an influencer or an agency), they should also be familiar with the framework of the Civil Code and the Copyright Act regarding contracts for work, licence agreements, and so on. Within the EU, moreover, new regulations are continually being added - for example, the Digital Services Act (Regulation (EU) 2022/2065) places emphasis on the operation of platforms, and the AI Act, which may affect AI systems that the marketer (or the company) will use in their work.

Are you dealing with influencer contracts? Leave it to us and devote your energy to your business.