Yes, You Can Negotiate SLA Legal Terms
IT providers often argue that they can’t negotiate service level agreements (SLAs). They’re right in most cases, but with important exceptions. SLAs govern procedures for fixing broken technology, as well as credits for downtime. The provider generally can’t modify the procedures and software it uses for that support — at least, not at reasonable cost. […]
Don’t Confuse Change of Control and Assignment Terms
An assignment clause governs whether and when a party can transfer the contract to someone else. Often, it covers what happens in a change of control: whether a party can assign the contract to its buyer if it gets merged into a company or completely bought out. But that doesn’t make it a change of […]
New SaaS Agreement Sample Form
Today, we updated one of Tech Contract Academy’s key sample contract forms: the Hybrid Cloud Agreement with Professional Services. It’s available to you, along with the rest of our forms, at the Contracts Page. This is the first update based on best practices and changes featured in the third edition of David Tollen’s book, The […]
18th Annual Rocky Mountain Intellectual Property & Technology Institute – VIRTUAL
This year, the Rocky Mountain IP Institute is hosting a virtual conference, featuring David as a speaker for two sessions. On Thursday, July 16, David’s on-demand session Open Source Software 201: Myths and Realities of OSS Licenses will be released. During this session you will learn: Then, during the second week of the institute on […]
Announcing The Tech Indemnities Pocket Guide
I’m excited to announce the publication of my new e-book, THE TECH INDEMNITIES POCKET GUIDE: Indemnities in Software and Other IT Contracts for Lawyers and Businesspeople (ABA Publishing 2020 – IP Section). There is nothing on the market like this book. Businesspeople and lawyers argue over indemnities more — and understand them less — than […]
Add “Epidemics” to Force Majeure
Some courts won’t enforce a force majeure clause without specifics. They want to see “hurricane” specifically listed as force majeure if you claim a hurricane excuses performance. So heed the coronavirus’ warning and check your standard contracts (and any you’re currently negotiating). Do they list “epidemics”? If not, add it. And while you’re at it, […]
Cloud Services Are Neither Products nor Services
Contract drafters regularly confuse cloud services with traditional products and services. They approach software-as-a-service (aka SaaS) and other cloud services as if they were either software products or old-style services, like professional services. That leads to perplexing negotiations and contracts full of errors. Much of the trouble stems from the IT industry’s vocabulary. In the […]
Advanced Licensing Agreements 2020
On January 27 and 28 of 2020, David Tollen will be speaking at the Advanced Licensing Agreements 2020 conference in San Francisco, from the Practicing Law Institute (PLI). It’s a two-day program on intellectual property licensing and related legal issues, and CLE will be included. David’s session is “Cloud Computing and Big Data” and starts […]
Western Banker’s Association Webinar – Recording Now Available
The one hour webinar David Tollen presented on December 3rd is now available online. Click here to access it through our host, The Western Banker’s Association. The presentation addresses how banks and other tech buyers can get the best terms for cloud computing contracts. It covers key issues at stake in SaaS and other cloud […]
Predictions for Technology and Negotiation in 2030
On Thursday September 5th, David Tollen will participate in a webinar entitled Back to the Future, Predictions for technology and negotiation in 2030 and beyond. The workshop begins at 11:00 a.m. EDT and lasts one hour. This is an “Ask the Expert” program from IACCM: The International Association for Contract & Commercial Management. The workshop […]