Technology & IT Contracts

Technology Contracts

Although handshake agreements are common in the IT and technology related sectors, the effort and time invested in documenting what has been agreed provides the clarity and increased certainty for the parties in respect to what has been promised. Documented transactions are less prone to disputes, because the parties focus on the written form of the agreement. In this way, misunderstandings are reduced, the process may reveal matters of importance which have not been previously considered, provides a forum for allocation of risk and project management at the very outset.

There would also be a lasting record of precisely what has been agreed. The costs of preparing documentation greatly outweigh the consequences of failing to properly recording what has been agreed, including the IT services to be provided and the deliverables.

As IT industries continue to mature, so do the forms and issues addressed in IT contracts. Preparation of contracts need not be time consuming or expensive. Having said this, as the value or importance of the transaction increases so do the risks and a greater investment is probably justified from the business's perspective.

Legal Advice Deliverables

Our aims are to ensure that our clients:

1. are aware of the legal implications of the legal documentation prepared for them by third parties,
2. receive documentation tailored to the requirements for the deal to be made; and
3. are advised on terms of contract which should be in contracts which are not, where you would ordinarily expect the them to be included. 

Technology Contracts Experience

Our IT lawyers have advised on complex multi-jurisdiction IT contracts, including outsourcing, insourcing and procurement transactions, and are accustomed to the legal requirements to assist our clients deal with the implications of social networking, instant messaging, cloud computing and the legal issues raised by the introduction of new and innovative services.

We have advised on:

• extensively on provision of IT services, software distribution and implementation of new technologies;
• ensuring the commercial negotiations match what is said in legal documentation (with some remarkable outcomes);
• business process outsourcing contracts;
• infrastructure outsourcing, procurement and insourcing agreements;
• drafting and negotiated contractual obligations on issues such as:
  • licensing requirements, exclusions and limitations of use;
  • proposed contractual obligations including limitations and exclusions of liability, indemnities;
  • service levels and SLAs;
  • service levels compensation.
• drafting and amending technical schedules;
• allocation of legal risk;
• drafting licences to meet specific needs and requirements.

Legal Issues

During the course of reviewing technology contract we frequently find issues which are almost invariably of real impact and significance to our clients, such as whether one of the parties:

1. is able to sublicense technologies and software;
2. is permitted to combine software and services with other products and services for resale;
3. may build a distribution network using products or services to be supplied;
4. automatically owns the IP rights in work which has been developed at their own expense, and thus resulting in an unexpected loss of rights;
5. is licensed to use trade marks of others to market products and services, and whether reciprocal rights apply;
6. owns would automatically own valuable right and thus throw away rights immediately upon signing a contract;
7. Where ambiguity exists which may render enforcement of contractual rights more difficult, uneconomical  or impossible to enforce; and
8. has included legal provisions employing tricks of the trade whereby the meaning as the document reads does not align with the legal effect of the same words. Aligned with this is our extensive history unravelling and explaining the legal effect of  lawyer’s jargon to place our clients in a position to understand the documents for future reference.

Specialist IT Lawyers

Contact our technology lawyers to find out how our experts can assist improve your technology based business dealings and legal relationships.

London Business Solicitors & Lawyers

Our Solicitors in London assist businesses in the UK and internationally to create options, achieve realistic and attainable goals, and providing guidance to assist decision-making in a commercial context.

For more information, legal advice or to find out more about the legal services we provide, call 020 7353 1770 or contact us online.