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 […]
Is Technology a Threat to Attorney-Client Privilege?
By Phil Brown and David W. Tollen Lawyers love tradition, but many clients want to communicate with 21st Century tools. Texting, Skyping, SnapChatting: all of these would mystified most lawyers ten years ago. But habits change. The flood of technological “advances” in communication methods brings new threats to attorney-client privilege and confidentiality. The truth is, […]
New Form: Customer’s ITMA (Information Technology Master Agreement)
We’ve posted a new contract in the forms library — and it’s available in MS Word (no charge, as always). It’s meant to serve as a customer’s primary contract for purchasing any and all IT (other than hardware or IaaS): namely, licensed software, software-as-a-service (SaaS), and/or IT professional services. You can use it to acquire […]
5 Simple Rules for Negotiating Software and IT Contracts
Capterra’s IT Management Blog just published an article by David Tollen: 5 Simple Rules for Negotiating Software and IT Contracts. It’s a customer-focused articles, addressing five mistakes customers tend to make in their tech contracts. (Sorry vendors! Capterra’s blog mainly serves customers.) Please check it out …
Don’t Use License Agreements for Software as a Service
Most IT contract drafters know the difference between a software license agreement and a technology services contract. In a license, the customer gets rights to copy and use software, while in a services contract, the customer gets a service, like tech support or IT consulting. But software as a service (SaaS) seems to throw a […]