Ten Key Data Terms in IT Contracts: An Issue-Spotter (Updated)
Here are ten issues to consider when addressing data in IT contracts. This issue-spotter serves both customers and providers, though generally the former benefit more from data protection. Type of Deal: If your contract involves cloud services (SaaS, PaaS, etc.), the provider will hold customer data. So data terms become important for the customer. On […]
Time to Get Back to School – with Tech Contracts Academy®
This fall is the time to expand your information technology contracting expertise. Don’t wait! Join us. Tech Contracts Academy® distance learning opportunities include Tech Contracts Master Classes™ (a 7 ½ hour program covering all clauses typically found in IT contracts, in four classes), one hour+ topical webinars, and customizable in-house trainings (for groups, ranging from […]
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. […]
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 […]
Auto-Renewal Best Practices for B2C Contracts
Most SaaS vendors rely on automatic renewal terms — and love them. If the customer doesn’t think to cancel shortly before the term ends, the contract automatically renews. But the U.S. states have begun to clamp down on auto-renewal in B2C contracts — in agreements with consumers. South Dakota passed a restrictive law this summer, […]
How to Characterize IT
There is no universally accepted industry standard that defines key terms like “cloud computing,” “software-as-a-service,” “platform-as-as-service,” or “infrastructure-as-a-service.” Experts disagree on these terms’ definitions, and that points to the need to define common terms within contracts. Here are definitions used in The Tech Contracts Handbook, which provide a good starting point for most purposes. “Cloud […]
Interview at ColinSLevy.com
Colin Levy just posted an interview with our founder, David Tollen. Colin is corporate counsel at Salary.com, and he runs a great blog about legal innovation and legal technology, at ColinSLevy.com. Please click here to read the interview!
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 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 […]
When Law Firms Buy Cloud Services
by David W. Tollen and Nathan Leong You’re a lawyer looking for online software and other tools to run your firm—tools like email, word processing, calendaring, timenotes, legal research, and particularly document management. You stumble across a great suite of tools from a reputable company and sign up. You love your new powers; now you’re […]