Duane Morris LLP - Information Technologies and Telecom

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Information Technologies and Telecom

The development of the Internet, the convergence and integration of telecommunications and information technologies, and the simultaneous deregulation of the telecommunications industry pose intricate new challenges for providers and users of these products and services.

Duane Morris has assembled a dedicated group of attorneys possessing specific industry knowledge and an interdisciplinary approach to the transactional, finance, regulatory and dispute resolution aspects of structuring and implementing a wide range of information technologies and telecommunications projects. Our goal is to address these technologically and commercially complex challenges in an integrated, strategic and efficient manner.

Range of Services: Internet

The growth of the Internet has created a host of new legal issues, and Duane Morris' Internet practice is at the forefront of these legal developments. Our attorneys have significant experience in all areas of Internet law. Eric J. Sinrod in our San Francisco office writes a weekly column highlighting these "cyberlaw" issues on CNET News.com and findlaw.com. We have represented major online companies, brick and mortar entities with emerging Internet issues, high-tech start-up companies, governmental bodies and individuals. Our practice extends to clients based both in the United States and abroad.

We work closely with our clients to achieve business solutions and are also equipped to address any disputes our clients may encounter. We seek to resolve disputes as quickly as possible through creative alternative dispute resolution, but when that is not possible, we work aggressively to protect our clients' interests.

Our Internet practice can be divided into three major areas:

Intellectual Property Matters. Duane Morris has worked with clients on a wide variety of intellectual property matters relating to the Internet, including trademark, copyright, and patent licensing and litigation matters such as domain name disputes, cybersquatting litigation, patent infringement litigation regarding Internet technologies, and content licensing. We have also worked with our clients to help them reduce the risk of infringing on others' intellectual property rights by developing policies and practices designed to raise awareness of intellectual property issues in the conduct of online business.

Transactional Matters, Including e-Commerce. Our lawyers have worked on transactional matters in all areas of Internet law, including Web site development, Web site hosting, software licensing, including international software licensing/joint ventures, maintenance and support, outsourced data processing, channel partner, joint venture, marketing, B2B and B2C marketplace and strategic matters. We have also devoted significant effort to helping our clients develop policies and procedures to manage the risks of online business. We have developed online contracts, customer agreements, insurance agreements, Web site terms and conditions, privacy policies, antitrust compliance practices, and online risk management and business practice guidelines for online businesses, including business-to-business vertical markets and transactional sites, business-to-consumer sites, Web site developers, insurance companies, and Web site hosts. We have also advised our clients on spamming and advertising issues, as well as the risks and benefits of linking and the tax consequences of e-business.

eHealth Matters. In conjunction with Duane Morris attorneys practicing in areas such as healthcare, corporate, intellectual property and antitrust law, the eHealth practice focuses on the federal and state regulatory issues that arise out of the provision of healthcare information, products or services via the Internet. Members of the group have assisted numerous clients in matters related to telemedicine, teleradiology, telepathology, virtual medicine, online medical information, professional health education via the Internet, healthcare procurement, digital imaging, online pharmaceutical regulation, and other issues. We advise on the role played by the Federal Trade Commission and the regulation of physician marketing, as well as privacy issues, including compliance with the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). Attorneys also assist clients in developing and implementing eHealth business strategies. The group counsels clients on international telemedicine and jurisdictional issues, including the European Union Safe Harbor Requirements and extends services to nonprofit clients whose Internet activities and affiliations may affect their tax-exempt status.

Range of Services: Information Technologies

Duane Morris lawyers have experience in transactions and litigation regarding the development, operation and licensing of information technology systems, software and hardware, and the management of outsourcing projects.

The firm's lawyers have also assisted clients in negotiating, analyzing and drafting contracts for systems/software development projects, support and maintenance, IT licensing, and outsourcing (including involvement in the development of the RFPs, the analysis of responses, and the selection of vendors).

Together with lawyers from other practice groups in the firm, our attorneys represent providers and users of Internet and intranet networking solutions, software and content in the rights acquisition, development, licensing, intellectual property protection, distribution, marketing, service and maintenance of their products and services. We assist our clients in their relationships with strategic partners, investors and regulators. We also counsel our technology clients in all areas of corporate law, including corporate governance, securities, debt and equity financing, mergers and acquisitions, regulatory compliance, foreign and domestic taxation, labor and employment and risk management.

Range of Services: Telecommunications

Our attorneys provide a complete range of legal services for telecommunications and media clients, large and small.

Our clients include corporations, broadcast station group owners, trade associations, enhanced service providers, schools, colleges, universities, and governmental entities at the local and federal levels.

We prepare and prosecute license applications for wireless and broadcast clients; counsel clients on FCC rule compliance issues; and represent clients in FCC enforcement proceedings for alleged rule infractions. Our licensing work, for example, includes the preparation and prosecution of applications for broadcast stations, for satellite earth stations, for cellular telephone systems and for paging systems.

We advise clients on the interpretation of FCC policies affecting information service providers, number portability, and Voice over Internet Protocol service agreements.

We represent both lenders and borrowers on issues relating to the securitization of loans to communications companies; and counsel investors and operators in connection with the FCC aspects of proceedings under the Bankruptcy Code.

We are frequently called upon to represent clients in transactions involving the purchase or sale of communications properties and the lease of excess capacity on microwave systems. In this regard, our attorneys handle all aspects of the transaction from the letter of intent, to contract negotiation and drafting, through regulatory approval, to the closing table. We have also advised clients on FCC issues relating to the sale/leaseback of satellite transponders.

We represent electronics equipment manufacturers in connection with issues concerning the FCC's equipment authorization rules and compliance therewith.

Besides the legal services noted above, we are active in telecommunications policy matters, and are frequently called upon to represent the interests of large corporations and trade associations in connection with FCC rulemaking. This includes virtually every major FCC rulemaking of the past 20 years affecting the rules and policies for the use of industrial radio systems. This work has often entailed advocacy efforts before members of Congress and their staffs, as well as before Executive Branch agencies.

Finally, we represent clients in international forums. This includes assistance to clients in connection with foreign radio licensing matters. It includes the representation of clients in negotiations with regulators from Latin American and other nations. And it includes the representation of clients before the International Telecommunications Union in Geneva. For example, we assisted a client in securing a license to operate its equipment in Europe.

Our practice has included the representation of clients in matters relating to the FCC's e-rate program; and in proceedings at the state and federal level on the Telecommunications Act's rural exemption. We have likewise handled negotiations for long-term service agreements between telecommunications carriers, on the one hand, and corporate users, on the other hand.

Telecommunications/Energy Convergence. The next decade will see an accelerating convergence between the telecommunications/information technologies and energy sectors, in which telecommunications and data processing and transmission services will also be carried on utility conduits. The two sectors share many features, including "pipeline" infrastructures that provide circulation from intercity and international main lines to end-user services in consumer homes, analogous regulatory regimes, similar finance models and public use/universal service issues. Duane Morris has linked its Energy Practice Group with the Internet, Information Technologies and Telecommunications Practice Group to support this convergent trend with attorneys experienced in the regulatory and legal regimes and industry and market conditions of both sectors.

Additional Services

Alerts, Newsletters and Other Publications

We publish Alerts on legal, regulatory and industry developments in the area of telecommunications and information technologies law. The Alerts are available online at the Duane Morris Web site. Our lawyers also write extensively on Internet and technology-related legal issues for several national publications.

Seminars and Workshops on Significant Developments

We host seminars and smaller workshops for clients on topical issues and emerging legal and regulatory developments. Topics of past and upcoming seminars and workshops include: online law, international data protection, legal issues affecting e-commerce, telecommunications deregulation, convergence, bank finance, labor and employment, corporate governance and finance, private and public securities offerings and intellectual property. Our lawyers have acted as resources for numerous members of the mass media. We also frequently lecture at bar association events, industry forums and international conferences. Information on these events is posted on our Events page.

Our Lawyers

Lawyers in the practice group speak fluent French, German and Italian and are conversant in other languages.

Our lawyers are active members of the following organizations:

International Technology Law Association (ITechLaw)
The Eastern Technology Council
The New Jersey Technology Council
The Federal Communications Bar Association
The Society of Satellite Professionals International
The International Communications, the Negotiated Mergers and Acquisitions and the International Energy and Natural Resources Committees of the American Bar Association
The City of Chicago Mayor's Council of Technology Advisors
The American Intellectual Property Law Association
The Society of Computers and Law (UK)
The Federal Energy Bar Association
The International Bar Association
The New York New Media Association
The Telecom and Information Technology Working Group of the Metropolitan Planning Council
The World Wide Web Artists Consortium

For More Information

For more information, please contact Michael J. Silverman, Sandra A. Jeskie or any of the group members referenced in the Attorney Listing.