Sorrell v. IMS Health Inc.
United States Supreme Court
564 U.S. 552 (2011)
Relevant factsFree
Pharmaceutical companies used a marketing practice called 'detailing,' purchasing prescriber-identifying data from pharmacies to target doctors likely to prescribe their drugs; a Vermont statute barred pharmaceutical companies from using this prescriber-identifying information in marketing. IMS Health Inc. (plaintiff) challenged the statute as an unconstitutional content-based speech restriction.
IssueFree
Whether, under the First Amendment, a content-based regulation of commercial speech must directly advance a substantial state interest.