If you have been involved with SaaS agreements or agreements that are for, or are enabled by, cloud services, you have seen or even drafted provisions relating to the right to use data processed on or generated through the...more
In November 2020, Massachusetts voters approved Question One, a ballot initiative amending the Commonwealth’s 2012 Right to Repair Law. The amendment provides that motor vehicles sold in Massachusetts “with model year 2022”...more
Adding corporate flexibility to IT-related commercial contracts can make seemingly unrelated mergers and acquisitions (M&A) transactions a bit less complex. Although many contracting parties already consider assignment rights...more
The Business Software Alliance (BSA) recently endorsed principles for building trust in the Internet of Things (IoT), highlighting the need for a risk-based approach that accounts for the various components, capabilities,...more
Although many companies are already revisiting contractual provisions relating to nonperformance, like force majeure clauses, as the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic continues to wreak havoc on public health and the economy,...more
In a prior series of posts, we discussed issues relating to intellectual property indemnification, including some exceptions, remedies, and allocation of liability. ...more
In the wake of the reinvigorated call for equality and greater diversity and inclusion, many companies—largely through their procurement organizations—are taking the opportunity to revisit their diversity supplier programs,...more
In April, we shared a LawFlash Outsourcing and Managed Services Agreements During COVID-19: Our Perspective. With the continued and unprecedented impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on business operations, we...more
As the coronavirus (COVID-19) continues to spread around the world, this remains an unprecedented time for global industry. The same is true for outsourcing and managed services arrangements: both service providers and...more
You signed a long-term deal. It would be embarrassing if, in a few years after signing, the pricing is significantly higher or your service levels are significantly lower than market. Benchmarking provisions are intended to...more
We have all heard the horror stories: system implementation deals costing 300% more than the original budget, go-live dates for development projects being way past the scheduled dates, and deliverables that do not meet the...more
When we represent customers in outsourcing and managed services transactions, we spend a significant amount of time drafting the exhibits for transition, which is typically a major project in and of itself. In order to help...more
As a follow-up to our recent post on third-party contract due diligence in outsourcing deals, this post focuses on how customers in outsourcing deals handle the disposition of legacy third-party contracts—one of the thorniest...more
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) recently circulated a draft white paper discussing recommended security practices to be adopted throughout the various phases of software development. The white paper...more
We found interesting a recent Forbes article by Cody McLain that discussed the top trends to watch in the business process outsourcing (BPO) industry. The article highlighted the following four trends for 2019....more
The due diligence review of existing third-party contracts is a critical component of any outsourcing deal. For the company that is outsourcing part of its business functions to a third party, reviewing existing third-party...more
Outsourcing agreements are typically long-term arrangements and the functions outsourced, whether IT or business processes, often key to the continued operation of the customer’s business. It is therefore important that both...more
In business process outsourcing (BPO) transactions, some of the toughest negotiation points often involve responsibility for compliance with applicable laws and regulations. If you have negotiated BPO transactions, you know...more
Gartner has published what it considers to be the top 10 strategic technology trends for 2019 that will have a significant and disruptive impact on technology and industry through to 2023, characterizing the trends by...more
Customers in outsourcing arrangements are coming to expect (or starting to demand) that their providers have the resources, technology, and know-how to leverage automation software—whether robotics desktop automation (RDA) or...more
When polling fellow tech lawyers about blockchain, most of them seemed to be waiting out getting up to speed on the technology to see if the hype would stick and whether clients would actually implement blockchain solutions...more
European financial institutions (competent authorities, credit institutions, and investment firms as defined in EU Regulation No. 575/2013, collectively Institutions) have been instructed to comply with the European Banking...more
When in-house lawyers start thinking about how to support a business client that is looking to implement a new or replacement enterprise resource platform (or more commonly known as an ERP system), we often suggest that they...more
We are seeing more merger and acquisition activity among technology services companies as European companies are seeking to expand their presence in US markets. Just this week, another acquisition of a growing US-based...more
In Part 1 of this Contract Corner on Software as a Service (SaaS) agreements, we discussed ownership and use issues in SaaS transactions where the application is provided and hosted as a dedicated instance with common base...more