Developments of Note

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) recently took three significant actions in the regulation of voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) services. On February 12, the agency issued a notice of proposed rulemaking seeking public comment on issues related to providing VoIP. That day, the FCC also ruled that the VoIP service offered by a company that provided the service entirely over the Internet, without interface with the traditional telephone system, is exempt from such regulation. The agency also expressed its intent to initiate a proceeding under the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA) to address technical issues associated with law-enforcement access to IP-enabled services such as VoIP. In a related development, the California Public Utilities Commission unanimously voted to assume jurisdiction over any VoIP call that connects with traditional telephone networks. For more, see an FCC press release concerning the matter at http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-243869A1.pdf.

On February 8, the United States and Australia concluded a free-trade agreement containing intellectual-property provisions. The provisions include a requirement that Australia extend its existing term of protection for intellectual property rights such as copyrights, patents, trademarks and trade secrets. The agreement also requires the adoption of “state-of-the-art protection for digital products,” such as increased criminal and civil protection against unauthorized decoding of satellite television signals, and tighter controls on circumventing technological protection of copyrighted material.

FCC to Regulate Some Voice Over IP

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) recently took three significant actions in the regulation of voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) services. On February 12, the agency issued a notice of proposed rulemaking seeking public comment on issues related to providing VoIP. That day, the FCC also ruled that the VoIP service offered by a company that provided the service entirely over the Internet, without interface with the traditional telephone system, is exempt from such regulation. The agency also expressed its intent to initiate a proceeding under the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA) to address technical issues associated with law-enforcement access to IP-enabled services such as VoIP. In a related development, the California Public Utilities Commission unanimously voted to assume jurisdiction over any VoIP call that connects with traditional telephone networks. For more, see an FCC press release concerning the matter at http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-243869A1.pdf.

On February 8, the United States and Australia concluded a free-trade agreement containing intellectual-property provisions. The provisions include a requirement that Australia extend its existing term of protection for intellectual property rights such as copyrights, patents, trademarks and trade secrets. The agreement also requires the adoption of “state-of-the-art protection for digital products,” such as increased criminal and civil protection against unauthorized decoding of satellite television signals, and tighter controls on circumventing technological protection of copyrighted material.