David Tollen on Ugandan TV
Today, David Tollen was interviewed on Ugandan television about his upcoming training program in Kampala — and about technology agreements in Africa. (This YouTube version seems to pause for a moment after the program’s logo comes up, but it will start again after a few seconds.) We’re honored to be working with Stanbic Bank, our […]
Force Majeure vs. Disaster Recovery
By David W. Tollen Problem Your contract’s force majeure clause says hurricanes, earthquakes, wars, and other disasters excuse the vendor’s service obligations. But the contract also has disaster recovery and business continuity terms (which I’ll call “DR/BC” terms). The whole point of those terms is that the vendor’s systems will survive these “acts of God,” […]
Don’t redline a redline. Talk!
By David W. Tollen You’re negotiating a contract, and you send your company’s standard form agreement. The other party then marks it up — “redlines” it — and sends it back. What should you do now? Your instinct may be to accept some changes and reject others, and maybe write up a few compromise terms. […]
Vendors, Don’t Accept Disputed Payment Terms
By David W. Tollen Many tech contracts include terms like the following: “If Customer disputes an invoice in good faith, it may withhold the amount in dispute but shall pay the balance on the date due.” That’s often followed by duties to negotiate in good faith and to keep performing during the dispute. It all […]
Don’t Use License Agreements for Software-as-a-Service
Many software-as-a-service (SaaS) contracts grant a “license” to use the vendor’s software. That’s a mistake. Licenses authorize making copies of on-premise software. SaaS isn’t copied, so it doesn’t need a license. And if you’re the vendor, a license can hurt you. SaaS Customers Don’t Copy Software The confusion stems from the role of “software” in […]
David Tollen Joins LegalSifter Board of Advisors
We’re very pleased to announce that our founder, David Tollen, has joined the LegalSifter Board of Advisors. LegalSifter provides cutting-edge artificial intelligence technology that helps lawyers and their clients review contracts. Users upload draft contracts into LegalSifter. From there, the Sifters review the document. Sifters are software agents trained to read text, look for specific concepts, […]
Protecting Your Data in Enterprise Cloud Computing Agreements
CIO.com recently published an article by our founder, David Tollen. Please click here.
Two New Awards for Our Founder
We are pleased to announce that our founder and his law firm were recently honored with two awards for excellence. David Tollen was named Internet & E-Commerce Lawyer of the Year in California for 2018, by International Advisory Experts. IAE is a global alliance of legal, financial and consulting firms. Sycamore Legal received the 2018 […]
Open Source in Software Procurement – 5. Data Security
By David W. Tollen This is the fifth in a series of five posts on Open Source in Software Procurement. Click here for the prior post, and click here for the intro, which lists all five topics. Many licensees worry about the security of open source software. Does OSS in vendor products have vulnerabilities hackers can […]
Open Source in Software Procurement – 4. IP Indemnities
By David W. Tollen This is the fourth in a series of five posts on Open Source in Software Procurement. Click here for the prior post, and click here for the intro, which lists all five topics. In most cases, the licensee does not need an “open source indemnity.” It doesn’t need terms specifically addressing copyleft open source […]