New Technologies and IP-Based Services

Wilkinson Barker advises telecommunications carriers, application providers, equipment vendors, networking service providers, other technology companies, and trade associations regarding the regulatory, transactional, and privacy implications of new technologies, including network-based and newer IP-enabled services.  These clients face issues often distinct from those faced by traditional communications service providers and frequently require a sophisticated understanding of cutting-edge technological, economic, and legal issues.

As convergence in the applications, service, and equipment markets has blurred previously clear legal distinctions, clients have relied on Wilkinson Barker attorneys to evaluate the likely regulatory treatment of their next-generation offerings and to provide advice on how products still in development should be structured to ensure that such regulatory treatment is consistent with their business goals.  The firm is also regularly involved in FCC proceedings focused on the proper treatment of advanced offerings, ranging from text messaging to broadband Internet access to mobile video service.

In those cases where the agency has established regulatory requirements for a new offering, Wilkinson Barker clients rely on the firm’s counsel to develop regulatory compliance plans and procedures as well as to provide representation in responding to complaints and enforcement actions.  Moreover, the firm’s litigation practice is available to represent clients’ interests when regulations are tested in court.  The firm’s expertise in communications-related commercial and transactional matters also assists new technology clients develop appropriate business structures and relationships.

The firm also counsels clients regarding regulatory requirements imposed on new technologies and services by disparate agencies (e.g., FCC, FTC, and FBI) under specialized laws, including those concerning wiretapping and interception capability, commercial e-mail, and unsolicited commercial telephone and fax messages.  Many of these services are also subject to regulations that safeguard customer privacy.  Wilkinson Barker attorneys work with clients to evaluate and achieve compliance with the applicable regulations concerning the privacy of personal data and customer proprietary network information.