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Konrad Trope Speaks to VoIP's Security and Regulatory Challenges
TMC's Internet Telephony Conference and Expo at the Los Angeles Convention Center welcomes Konrad L. Trope as the keynote speaker for the 11:45 time slot today.
As the managing shareholder of Novo Law Group, Konrad L. Trope brings 20 years of experience to legal issues involving all aspects of E-Commerce, Cyberspace, Intellectual Property, Technology, Entertainment, and Telecommunications.
His is a national practice, covering litigation, transactions, and regulatory counseling for technology and telecommunications corporations.
Trope has authored over a dozen articles concerning cutting edge issues in cyberspace, technology, and e-commerce law, which have been published in various national journals and periodicals.
Of his many areas of expertise, according to TMC President Rich Tehrani he will be speaking on "the security risks of VoIP."
Back in 2004 Trope foresaw many of the regulatory issues in VoIP coming to a head. Writing a perspective piece, he said taxation would become an issue as "revenue streams from taxing PSTN phone calls will diminish, as VoIP services expand without contributing to the public coffers." This would lead to political and economic pressure to "impose some sort of tax-tariff paradigm, either at the state level or the federal level."
Noting that federal courts are split on the issue, he cited the fact that The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, on Oct. 6, 2003, classified cable operators as providing "telecommunications" services as defined in the Communications Act, when Internet access is involved: "Thus, cable operators would be subject to FCC regulations that affect telecommunications companies."
But then on October 16, a federal district court judge in Minnesota ruled to the contrary and declared that Vonage, a VoIP service provider, is an information service provider. The court noted "Congress's mandate that the Internet remain unfettered by regulation."
"With these two inconsistent court decisions," Trope wrote, "a vitally important policy debate has been stopped in its tracks, at least until the Supreme Court reverses one of these decisions -- or until Congress decides to act."
He currently serves as the chairman of the VoIP Committee of the American Bar Association, International VoIP Task Force of the ABA Cyberspace Committee, investigating regulatory models of VoIP in foreign jurisdictions. He also serves as Chairman of the VoIP Task Force for the California State Bar Cyberspace Committee.
In 1987 Trope joined the Washington, D.C. office of Finley, Kumble, Wagner, Heine, Unterberg, Manley & Casey where he worked in the business, intellectual property and litigation departments. In 1989, he joined the Washington, D.C. office of Foley & Lardner.
In 1991, he moved back to Southern California where he founded Novo Law Group, with offices in Beverly Hills, Irvine, California, New York and Washington, D.C.
David Sims is contributing editor for TMCnet. For more articles by David Sims, please visit:
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