K&L Gates offers an interdisciplinary, industry-focused Telecom, Media and Technology (“TMT”) practice to serve the specialized needs of businesses, entrepreneurs, inventors and investors in these converging sectors. Our lawyers understand the legal and business issues faced by our clients in the TMT industries. As former chief legal officers of public and private companies in the TMT sectors, former lawyers for the U.S. Department of Justice, Antitrust Division and the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”), and former commissioners and general counsels of state public service commissions, our lawyers have served on the front lines of TMT convergence and evolution. Our TMT lawyers have been recognized as leading practitioners in their fields for their roles in drafting the legislation and rules implementing the FCC’s spectrum auctions and Telecommunications Act of 1996, creating from scratch many of the templates for cutting edge multi-platform content distribution transactions at the heart of TMT convergence, prosecuting sophisticated TMT-related patents, litigating complex TMT cases, and paving the way for the build-out and operation of the communication networks at the heart of this revolution. By combining in-depth TMT industry experience with a full range of interdisciplinary support, we are able to offer a strategically focused, innovative and value-driven service to meet the needs of our clients.
With their continued loyalty, our clients in the TMT industry reaffirm that the regulatory, technical and commercial convergence in the TMT sectors demands the expertise of lawyers who understand the unique legal and business challenges of the TMT sectors. Whether the subject area is distinctly regulatory, litigation, intellectual property or transactional, or increasingly an interdisciplinary hybrid of several practice areas, our knowledge and experience in the TMT sectors adds strategic value and efficiencies on which our clients depend.
Lawyers in our TMT practice group deliver services no matter where they are located through the firm’s domestic and international offices, including Beijing, Berlin, Frankfurt, Hong Kong, London and Taipei, and maintain ongoing relationships with law firms specializing in TMT matters throughout the world.
Representative TMT clients include:
- Wireless operators and Mobile Virtual Network Operators (“MVNOs”),
- Local telephone companies and broadband providers, and regional, national and international network operators,
- Internet backbone providers and Internet service providers,
- Multi-media and multi-platform content and game developers,
- Cable programming networks,
- Satellite operators,
- Investment banks, venture capital and private equity firms,
- Equipment manufacturers,
- Terrestrial television and radio broadcasters,
- Software companies,
- Search engine and other web services and applications providers,
- Consumer and business-to-business websites,
- VoIP (Voice-over-Internet Protocol) and application service providers, and
- Large customers of network services.
Highlighted at the following links are some of our specific capabilities in:
Regulatory Matters and Compliance
K&L Gates lawyers routinely counsel clients on the full range of FCC, state utility commission and regulatory requirements applicable to TMT businesses. We have counseled TMT companies on the range of interdisciplinary issues arising from convergence in the TMT sectors, including market entry issues, regulation, intellectual property matters, transactional issues and litigation matters. We provide advice on regulatory issues ranging from broad policy questions to applications for approvals to compliance with detailed technical rules. The firm also represents clients in agency litigation, including on various local competition matters involving interconnection and universal service.
On the media side, we offer a full range of legal services in media law, including reviewing stories and programming before publication; defending defamation and invasion of privacy claims; obtaining access to public records, meetings and courtrooms; advising on contests and sweepstakes; advising on FCC "indecency" compliance; and handling contract and advertising disputes. We regularly advise and offer seminars to our clients on advertising and defamation law. We review sensitive news articles and advertisements before publication and offer counsel to minimize the risk of liability.
Our lawyers regularly advise wireless and wireline operators and Internet service providers on privacy, consumer protection and customer information, e-commerce, law enforcement, and security issues. We have also done significant work in the Wi-Fi space, including standard-setting and licensing, as well as counsel regarding innovative commercial Wi-Fi deployments and the rules applicable to lease provisions governing tenant wireless networks.
M&A, Investments and Distribution Transactions
Our lawyers handle complex domestic and cross-border mergers, acquisitions, joint ventures, corporate finance and securities transactions, as well as other transactions before numerous federal, state and international regulatory bodies, from start-ups to multi-national and Fortune 500 companies. We represent leading mobile wireless operators and MVNOs on all matters relating to their mobile content distribution strategy and negotiations. We advise cable networks and other television programming producers on their multi-platform content distribution strategy and create the templates "from scratch" for their content distribution transactions. We also have extensive experience drafting and negotiating complex network service agreements, both for carriers and large users, whether involving traditional telecom services or next generation services. For a number of clients, we have been called upon to draft contracts from the ground up that have been recognized as "state of the art."
We support TMT businesses on all facets of their data services and Internet businesses, including advising on key strategic issues and relationships, helping to develop next-generation broadband networks, drafting and negotiating new technology license and other distribution templates, and acquiring and distributing media content. We also have broad experience in the development and distribution of new devices in the wireless and software sectors, drafting and negotiating, for example, manufacturing and OEM agreements for new wireless handsets and advanced platform technologies.
Our lawyers draft and negotiate complex "frequency relocation" agreements that have been used to relocate the entire broadcast auxiliary service and public safety communications community to new spectrum. We devise unique agreements with large equipment manufacturers that are involved in frequency relocations. Our lawyers have also advised TMT companies in large vendor requests for proposal negotiations involving providers of billions of dollars in technology or mission critical consumer services. We acquire spectrum licenses and related assets for TMT clients seeking to expand network capacity. For our technology and Internet services clients, we create license, OEM, VAR and services templates for the introduction of innovative search engine and other technology services.
We routinely serve as regulatory counsel to transactions, advising buyers and sellers on regulatory requirements, and handling agency reviews and applicable consents or other action required to close a transaction, whether from the FCC, antitrust agencies, CFIUS, and other federal and state agencies, or local units of government.
We offer depth of experience in advising fixed, mobile and satellite communication providers as they seek to enter new markets and engage in strategic joint ventures and consortium arrangements. We assist on project finance, syndicated loan facilities, vendor financing, sale and leaseback structures and receivables financing, as well as infrastructure build, supply and network services arrangements (including BOT, fiber, fiber swaps, ducts, broadband, MVNO and LLU agreements), interconnection and access agreements, infrastructure sharing and roaming arrangements. In addition, we provide real estate advice, including site acquisition and management agreements, way-leaves, environmental issues, co-location agreements and agreements relating to switch centers and repeater stations.
Policy
For over a decade, we have been a leader in advancing TMT-related issues before the executive and legislative branches of government and the courts. Our lawyers and professionals are on the cutting edge of the revolutionary advances and convergence in these sectors that are creating unprecedented challenges to traditional laws and public policies, working at the fulcrum of law, policy, economics, and technology.
Our firm has been recognized as one of the top law/lobbying firms in the United States and boasts one of the nation's largest federal policy practices. Our federal policy team works on a regular basis with various congressional committees, members of Congress, trade associations, coalitions, and think tank groups that shape federal telecommunications law and policy.
Our lawyers were actively involved in the enactment and implementation of the landmark Telecommunications Act of 1996, and are now working on issues related to Telecom Act reform. We handle coalition support, lobbying and regulatory counseling for an organization of firms that provide integrated offerings of cable television, telephone, and high-speed Internet access, and we are also actively involved in the broad range of VoIP issues pending before Congress and the FCC.
On the deployment side, we are currently providing strategic advice on wireless broadband infrastructure deployment policy, and served as lead counsel on the "Broadband Infrastructure Policy Initiative" of a major wireline telecommunications provider. In telecom investment, we successfully opposed efforts to enact new legislation that would have effectively prohibited ownership of U.S. wireless companies by affiliates of foreign governments. We also do work for major programming interests, handling legislative issues involving the transition to digital television, efforts to require cable systems and programmers to offer programming on an a la carte basis, and efforts to legislate restrictions on indecent programming.
Litigation
We have extensive experience in all aspects of TMT litigation, including regulatory, intellectual property, consumer protection and consumer credit matters affecting TMT businesses. Our lawyers have engaged in a wide variety of trial and appellate litigation that has helped to shape the growth of the TMT sectors.
On regulatory matters, our litigators have represented TMT clients in state and federal courts at all levels, including the highest federal and state courts, before administrative agencies such as the FCC, Federal Trade Commission ("FTC"), and the Department of Justice, and before state and local franchising authorities and state utility and public service commissions. The firm's litigators have handled numerous court cases involving the siting of wireless facilities, as well as municipal fee and pole attachment litigation on behalf of leading local telephone companies.
Our firm's lawyers routinely counsel telecom providers on antitrust-related matters. We also represent clients in antitrust litigation and handle telecom antitrust matters before the FTC and U.S. Department of Justice. The firm's litigation group also represents telecom providers on a broad range of commercial litigation and disputes from routine billing disputes to labor and employment matters to complex intellectual property and class action litigation.
Intellectual Property
The firm provides the full range of intellectual property advice to clients in the TMT sectors, including IP protection, counseling, licensing and litigation for patents, copyrights and trademarks.
- Patents – With dozens of licensed patent lawyers with technical degrees in fields including electrical, software and mechanical engineering, our technical experience includes software, Internet and business methods, electrical circuitry and telecommunication equipment. Our lawyers prepare and prosecute hundreds of patent applications per year both domestically in the United States and the U.K. and, through a network of foreign associates, internationally. Our long-standing tradition of leadership in complex litigation, combined with our technical experience and our cutting edge electronic evidence and discovery group, enables us to handle patent litigation for industry clients large and small.
- Copyrights – The firm has helped clients to protect virtually every form of copyrightable work – literature, textbooks, manuals, computer software, music, sound recordings, video, film, television programs, photographs, toys, characters, architecture, and product designs – and we regularly advise clients regarding the acquisition, sale, and licensing of copyrighted works. In addition, we help clients meet the challenge of protecting their works by applying our litigation skills and a host of copyright issues, including cases involving literary works, audiovisual works, sound recordings, musical compositions, works of art, architectural works and computer programs.
- Trademarks – As the interface with its customers, trademarks are one of the most important assets of a business. We have addressed the trademark needs of many clients in the TMT sector, from entertainment and media companies to telecommunications and computer hardware and software. Our lawyers manage the worldwide trademark portfolios for a number of our large clients, overseeing the protection and enforcement internationally of our clients’ trademark rights. We have written corporate trademark policies and usage guidelines. We have rehabilitated neglected trademark portfolios consisting of hundreds and thousands of files. We have ongoing trademark monitoring and enforcement programs in place for many of our clients, and we have prosecuted and defended litigation involving registered and unregistered trademarks and service marks, as well as a wide variety of trade dress claims.
TMT Experience in Germany
K&L Gates’ TMT group is experienced in dealing with all TMT-related matters and in particular the increasing convergence of telecom, media, and technology. Our interdisciplinary structure with fully integrated practices provides exceptional client service and covers all aspects of regulatory, licensing and transactional work including high profile litigation.
Our main areas of focus include:
Telecommunications
- Access and fee regulation matters
- Frequency and license proceedings
- Operational and “set-up and supply” contracts
- Consumer protection issues
- Other regulatory proceedings
Media
- Negotiation of content and distribution agreements
- Enforcement of copyright claims
- Collecting societies
- Film licensing, production, and financing
- All kinds of IT contracts
- Media regulation
Technology
- Outsourcing agreements
- Internet and e-commerce including contracts, copyright, and regulatory issues
- Data protection, nondisclosure, and encryption
- IT compliance
General Intellectual Property
- Trademark rights, design protection, patents, and utility patents
- Advice on all issues of unfair competition
Our clients include:
- Various mobile network operators
- Regional, national, and international fixed line operators
- Internet backbone providers and Internet service providers
- Television and radio stations
- Collecting societies
- Software developers
- Internet platform operators and other “Web 2.0” companies
- Hardware producers
- Investment banks, venture capitalists, and private equity companies
The German TMT team enjoys a strong reputation for developing commercially viable solutions to complex legal issues, and has been recognized twice in 2009 by JUVE (one of the leading German legal directories) both as “Law Firm of the Year for Media,” as well as for “Law Firm of the Year for Telecommunications.” Also, its partners are frequently recognized by JUVE, Legal 500, Best Lawyers, Legal Success / Handelsblatt, and Chambers Europe as leading practitioners in their fields.
Our success can be attributed to our high standards of service, extensive industry experience, and long-standing relationships with important market participants. The team works closely with other practice groups as well as with colleagues in the U.K., France, the United States, and Asia to meet our clients’ needs. For more details, please visit our German practice.
TMT Experience in Greater China
K&L Gates has helped many companies with significant investments, acquisitions and organic growth in the telecom, media and technology space in Greater China. We have successfully steered clients through the complex patchwork of laws and regulations governing the satellite communications and telecom industries, as well as content and programming matters.
On the regulatory front, we represent numerous clients on licensing and regulatory compliance matters before Hong Kong’s OFTA and Broadcasting Authority, including a leading undersea cable operator with licensing and compliance matters in Hong Kong. K&L Gates also serves on a select panel of consultants to OFTA qualified to provide professional advice to the government on regulatory and public consultation matters.
Our Greater China attorneys, collaborating with K&L Gates lawyers in the United States, also advise Asian companies seeking to enter the U.S. telecom market, including helping non-U.S. investors navigate the laws and regulations governing foreign entry into the United States.
For more details, please download the detailed PDF description. For related information, please visit our Asia practice.
Foreign Investment in U.S. TMT Companies
We have significant experience advising companies seeking to enter the U.S. market, including helping non-U.S. investors and third parties navigate the complex patchwork of laws and regulations governing foreign entry into the United States.
The firm offers an integrated team approach to deals involving foreign investment in U.S. technology developers, telecom providers and media companies, recognizing that the process brings together political, legal and regulatory sensitivities. The firm combines significant substantive experience in the TMT industries, integrated with a D.C.-based policy practice that maintains key relationships in Congress, the administration and relevant agencies. The ability to field an integrated team is critical to these types of projects, which have significant regulatory and political components.
Our team – comprised of former Senator and 9/11 Commissioner Slade Gorton, former FCC staff, the former general counsel of the Central Intelligence Agency, and former senior trade staff from the U.S. Senate and House – has significant substantive experience on matters involving international telecom issues, regulatory considerations involving foreign investment in the United States, international trade and national security considerations. To the extent additional resources are required, our bipartisan team of more than 35 policy lawyers and professionals has strong relationships with both Republicans and Democrats in the House and Senate and with the administration.
Some of our relevant experience includes:
- Representing the operator of an international submarine cable system in connection with the U.S. government review of and consent to a Chapter 11 reorganization that resulted in acquisition by a group of U.S. and foreign banks, hedge funds, and institutional investors
- Advising the Global Crossing Unsecured Creditors’ Committee on the acquisition of control of Global Crossing by ST Telemedia, a Singapore government-owned telecom provider, and representing the Creditors’ Committee in connection with the U.S. government national security review of the transaction
- Advising companies and investors on structuring transactions involving foreign investments in U.S. telecom businesses, so as to address potential U.S. government law enforcement and national security concerns
- Advising third-party investors on U.S. government review of numerous deals involving foreign acquisitions of U.S. telecom, media, and Internet companies
- Successfully opposing efforts in the U.S. Congress to enact new legislation that would have effectively prohibited ownership of certain U.S. telecom providers by affiliates of foreign governments
Facilities Deployment
We help TMT businesses get their networks built as lead telecom regulatory and deployment counsel to a broad cross-section of the industry, including wireless operators, local telephone companies, broadband service providers, domestic and international backbone providers, submarine cable operators, and satellite operators.
We advise TMT entities on all aspects of network build-out and operations. The firm has served as lead telecom regulatory and land use counsel in connection with numerous domestic and international undersea and terrestrial fiber optic cable projects, as well as on permitting and zoning issues associated with the siting and deployment of wireless facilities. We routinely represent wireless carriers and fiber providers in securing and expediting land use approvals for tower siting and rights-of-way, as well as in obtaining local franchises and ordinances, state and local permits, and private access agreements. We are also actively engaged in policy and legislative initiatives at the federal, state and local levels designed to remove barriers to the deployment of telecommunications and broadband facilities.
We routinely secure and expedite private and public land use and rights-of-way authorizations (including local franchises and ordinances, federal, state and local permits and zoning approvals, and private access agreements) for wireless and fiber projects. We also advise clients on land use issues under federal and state telecom laws and have handled numerous judicial appeals under the Communications Act of 1934, as amended.
Our work regularly involves working with agencies at all levels and branches of government, including federal agencies (such as the Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Forest Service, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the Army Corps of Engineers), state departments of natural resources and environmental protection, coastal commissions, transportation, parks, and numerous local governmental entities, including city and county councils, zoning boards, and public works departments. The firm has significant experience obtaining the permits and approvals required for the deployment of cross-border telecommunications facilities and has had extensive dealings with the White House, U.S. State Department, the International Boundary and Water Commission, relevant congressional committees and the FCC in connection with such projects.
Insurance Coverage for TMT Companies
K&L Gates is a recognized leader in securing insurance coverage for policyholder clients, including coverage for defense costs, settlements, and judgments. Among other services provided to TMT clients, K&L Gates evaluates the need for certain coverages like media liability (for claims such as libel arising out of mobile content) and cyber coverage (for claims such as theft of data, denial of service, or disparagement), and develops claims-handling protocols as part of client risk management initiatives. For more details, please download the detailed PDF description. For related information please visit our Insurance Coverage page.