<p>A federal rule that takes effect Aug. 25 will make it illegal to fax unsolicited advertisements to homes and businesses. But several trade groups and associations have asked for a delay, arguing it will have unintended consequences. Part of the do-not-call regulations the government introduced this summer to stifle telemarketers, the rule repeals an exception to a 1991 law that bans unsolicited faxes. The 1991 rules allow recipients to sue senders for $500 for each unwanted fax received and allow the Federal Communications Commission to fine violators as much as $11,000 per unwanted fax. An exception applied if the sender had an "existing business relationship" with the recipient. That exception is being eliminated. "This is an amazing issue in that virtually no one in the country is aware of it. It was sort of buried in the do-not-call regulations, and it didn't really get the attention it deserved," said Jeffrey S. Tenenbaum, a lawyer in the District who advises trade associations. If the rule takes effect as planned, it will be illegal to fax virtually any kind of promotional material without obtaining written permission of the recipient. Written permission would need to be obtained just once, according to the rule. The rule could have unintended consequences for nonprofits, says Ellen Dunham Bryant, labor and employment counsel for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, one of several trade groups that asked the FCC last week to delay and reconsider implementation of the rule. "It's quite broad. It will affect a lot of small businesses and associations who have everyday fax contact with their customers and members," Ms. Bryant said. For example, the chamber would be prevented from sending faxes to its members promoting seminars, meetings and any other materials that may be deemed promotional unless it had the written permission of each recipient, she said. Purely informational documents, such as press releases, would be permitted, the FCC says. It would be "very onerous" to obtain written permission from each chamber member before sending it a fax, Ms. Bryant said. The chamber represents about 3 million businesses. Dan Rumelt, an FCC spokesman, said he did not know if or when the agency will respond to the request for the delay. The new rule will make it easier for recipients to file lawsuits against fax senders, Mr. Tenenbaum and others predicted. An FCC spokesman was unable to say how many companies the agency has cited or fined since the 1991 rule went into effect. According to the agency's Web site, it has cited 17 companies this year and fined three businesses since 2001. The fines include a $5.4 million penalty in August 2002 against Fax.com Inc., an Aliso Viejo, Calif., "fax broadcaster" that recently was sued by the California attorney general for potentially violating the federal rules on unsolicited faxes. A July report from the FCC said the new rule is designed to protect consumers who feel besieged by unsolicited faxes. "Consumers emphasize that the burden of receiving unsolicited faxes is not just limited to the cost of paper and toner, but includes the time spent reading and disposing of faxes, the time the machine is printing an advertisement and is not operational for other purposes, and the intrusiveness of faxes transmitted at inconvenient times, including in the middle of the night," the report stated. The rule will have "a tremendous impact" on companies that specialize in marketing products via faxes, said Jim Conway, vice president of government relations for the Direct Marketing Association, a trade group that represents telemarketers, direct mailers, catalog companies and other marketing businesses. The association has not determined what the financial effect will be on the industry, Mr. Conway said. Companies that rely solely on faxing could be driven out of business, he said. "You can't fax your customers anymore. That's the part they're having a hard time understanding," Mr. Conway said. California Attorney General Bill Lockyer, a Democrat, filed a $15 million consumer-protection lawsuit against Fax.com last month, saying it violated the 1991 federal law prohibiting unwanted faxes. Counting the cost of paper and toner, Mr. Lockyer said, so-called junk fax recipients pay 2 cents per page. The price adds up to millions of dollars each year, he said.</p>