Using AI in Customer Service and Telemarketing: Top-7 Legal Tips
Conversational AI has played a significant role in enhancing customer experience, with businesses in various sectors leveraging AI solutions to boost efficiency and elevate customer satisfaction levels. The legal landscape for AI in customer service and telemarketing is multifaceted, involving federal and state laws and regulations. Despite the current federal administration’s trend for AI deregulation, […]
Analysis of the Implications of Wisconsin Bell, Inc. v. United States ex rel. Heath and Consumers’ Research v. FCC
Two recent cases—Wisconsin Bell, Inc. v. United States ex rel. Heath and Consumers’ Research v. FCC—both address aspects of the Universal Service Fund (USF) but from distinct legal perspectives. While neither case appear to create any direct conflicts with the other, their reasoning raises important questions about the nature of the USF, its legal characterization […]
Accessibility Under a New U.S. President: Insights from Michal Nowicki
As federal priorities evolve under the new administration, businesses face critical questions about the future of accessibility compliance. In a recent episode of the A11y Insights Podcast with Ken Nakata of Converge Accessibility, Thomas Logan of Equal Entry, and Michal Nowicki, Senior Associate Attorney at The CommLaw Group, shared his expert perspective on the potential […]
Pre-Funding Legal “Cleanup”: How to Set Up Your Startup Company for Success in Securing a VC Funding Round
As a startup founder, you have worked hard developing your product and building your team. Finally, years of grind and countless rejections pay off, and the dreams of rapid growth are coming to life with the first venture capital investor coming in. The terms of the letter of intent sound great, and the whole team […]
Privacy and Security Law 101 and How the vCon Protocol Can Help with Compliance
Consumer Analytics Market and Today’s Privacy Landscape Consumer data is extremely valuable in today’s market. According to a study by Grand View Research, the global customer analytics market size reached an impressive estimate of nearly 15 billion dollars in 2023. This sector is poised for significant growth, with experts projecting an annual expansion rate of […]
TELE-TECH TALK: VoIP and Title II – “(Almost) All of the Burdens, None of the Benefits”
The regulatory environment surrounding Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) services in the United States has reached a breaking point. VoIP providers are increasingly burdened by regulations that closely resemble those applied to traditional telecommunications companies, yet without the legal protections afforded to common carriers under Title II of the Communications Act. As predicted in […]
TELE-TECH TALK: Possible Long-Term Implications of the Supreme Court’s Decision to Overturn Chevron Deference
Over the past several years, the Supreme Court’s balance has unquestionably shifted quite heavily in the direction of justices possessing a more conservative, small government-minded judicial philosophy. This transformation is the consequence of multiple elections, strategic maneuvering by a savvy (some might say, unscrupulous) Senate leader, and the inherent risks of lifetime appointments when the […]
TELE-TECH TALK: Impact of the California PUC Rulemaking and Other “Thorny” Issues Impacting Future Regulation of VOIP Services in the U.S.
Introduction In the rapidly evolving landscape of telecommunications, the recent actions by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) serve as a critical focal point for understanding the shifting regulatory framework impacting interconnected Voice-Over-Internet Protocol (VOIP) service providers. With its mandatory data request targeting entities within the VOIP sector, the CPUC signals its goals of clarifying […]
Borrowed Time: Telecom Foreign Ownership Regulation and the TikTok Ban
Last Saturday, April 20th, the House passed the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, colloquially referred to as the TikTok Ban, as part of a broader bill addressing foreign aid and sanctions to adversarial nations. Poised to be voted on before the Senate, the debate has mobilized everyone since its original introduction as […]
Court Applies Finds an Insurance Company Vicariously Liable for the Actions and Failures of the Company’s Independent Insurance Agents’ Third-Party Telemarketing Subcontractors
We wish to highlight a significant legal development from the recent case of Hossfeld v. Allstate Ins. Co., 2024 WL 1328651 (N.D. Ill., March 28, 2024), which may have profound implications for businesses using telemarketing services through third-party agents. Case Overview In this case, the court addressed, by deciding cross motions for summary judgment, whether […]
Section 1202 Stock or How to Prepare for a Capital Gains Tax-Free Exit At the Outset
What is Section 1202 Stock? Section 1202 is a provision of the Internal Revenue Code (“IRC”) that allows the exclusion of capital gains realized from the sale of small business stock from taxable income. This tax incentive serves to encourage investment in small businesses. As a general rule, the taxable capital gain is calculated as […]
AI Will Not Replace Your Lawyer but May Reduce Your Legal Costs: Here’s How
This article may be biased – but so is ChatGPT. With the public launch of ChatGPT and other large language models (“LLMs”), many in the legal industry started wondering how the new technology will change their lives and whether their jobs will be eliminated. Like many things surrounded by hype, AI spurs a wide range of […]
Mitigate Copyright Infringement Liability Exposure for Generative AI Output
In the past year, generative artificial intelligence (“generative AI”), capable of producing material one could describe as “creative” and “expressive”, such as text, images, audio, and video, has revolutionized the way businesses operate and caused a stir in the creative industries. Trained on countless literary works, pieces of software, artworks, audio, video, photographs, and other […]
AI and Copyright Crash Course: Analysis of How Fair Use Criteria May Apply to Generative AI
In the past year, we witnessed a true generative AI revolution. New, user-friendly technology swept the world by storm, leaving no turning back. Ground-breaking and revolutionary, it challenged not only the way business operations are run, but also the legal landscape, posing (seemingly) novel questions on copyright, data privacy, bias, and liability attribution. In this […]
13 Reasons to Hire a Niche Telecom Law Firm for IoT “Internet of Things”
There are many ways a boutique law firm with specialized knowledge and training in applicable laws, regulations, policies and technologies can help businesses operating in the diverse “Internet of Things” marketplace. Following are thirteen (13) areas where an “IoT focused” law firm, like Marashlian & Donahue, PLLC, can provide meaningful value: 1. Privacy & Data […]
How to Avoid Having a Simple E-mail from USAC Spiral into an Audit Nightmare
Through the years, our law firm and its affiliated consulting arm, The Commpliance Group, have represented hundreds of telecommunications and VoIP service providers with an assortment of legal and regulatory compliance matters on a nationwide basis. More than any other area of communications regulation, the complexities of the Federal Communications Commission’s (“FCC” or “Commission”) Universal […]
