WeightWatchers 2008 Annual Report Download - page 24

Regulation
A number of laws and regulations govern our advertising, services, products, operations and relations with
consumers, employees and other service providers in the countries in which we operate. The Federal Trade
Commission, or FTC, and certain states and foreign agencies regulate advertising, disclosures to consumers,
privacy, consumer pricing or billing arrangements, and other consumer matters. Since we operate our meetings
business both in the United States and internationally, we are subject to many distinct employment, labor,
benefits and tax laws in each country in which we operate, including regulations affecting our employment
practices and our relations with our employees and service providers. Laws and regulations directly applicable to
communications, operations or commerce over the Internet such as those governing intellectual property,
privacy, libel and taxation, are becoming more prevalent and remain unsettled. Our operations, particularly our
WeightWatchers.com operations, are subject to these laws and regulations and we continue to monitor their
development and our compliance. In addition, we are subject to other laws and regulations in the United States
and internationally, including securities laws.
During the mid-1990s, the FTC filed complaints against a number of commercial weight management
providers alleging violations of federal law in connection with the use of advertisements that featured
testimonials, claims for program success and program costs. In 1997, we entered into a consent order with the
FTC settling all contested issues raised in the complaint filed against us. The consent order requires us to comply
with certain procedures and disclosures in connection with our advertisements of services and products.
Employees and Service Providers
As of January 3, 2009, we had approximately 52,000 employees and service providers. We consider our
relations with our employees and service providers to be satisfactory.
Financial Information About Segments and Financial Information About Geographic Areas
Information concerning our operating segments and our geographic areas is set forth in Note 15 of our
consolidated financial statements, contained in Part IV, Item 15 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Information concerning some of the risks to which we are exposed resulting from our international operations
and foreign currency exchange rates is set forth under the heading “Risk Factors” of this Annual Report on
Form 10-K.
NYSE and SEC Certifications
On June 5, 2008, we filed with the New York Stock Exchange, or NYSE, the Annual CEO Certification
regarding our compliance with the NYSE’s Corporate Governance listing standards as required by
Section 303A.12(a) of the NYSE Listed Company Manual. We are filing the applicable certifications of our
Chief Executive Officer and our Chief Financial Officer required pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley
Act of 2002, regarding the quality of our public disclosures, as exhibits to this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Available Information
Corporate information and our press releases, Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on
Form 10-Q and Current Reports on Form 8-K, and amendments thereto, are available on our website at
www.weightwatchersinternational.com as soon as reasonably practicable after such material is electronically
filed with or furnished to the Securities and Exchange Commission (i.e., generally the same day as the filing).
Moreover, we also make available at that site the Section 16 reports filed electronically by our officers, directors
and 10 percent shareholders. Usually these are publicly accessible no later than the business day following the
filing.
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