There have been more technological developments this year than in the last decade. Is it any wonder then that businesses struggle to keep up with the law surrounding the IT sector? With each new development comes new opportunity and also new risk. Whether you’re an IT provider, or a business using IT, your contracts need to protect you and pave the way for future growth and success.

What makes Thrings’ IT lawyers different from other commercial lawyers is that we really understand the technology. Because many of our IT Team are industry insiders, we really understand how technology and the law are linked up with your business objectives. Each solution needs to be unique to you. 

Our track record speaks for itself. That means working with large, small and start-up IT companies, both in terms of the process of rapid growth to investment and commercial contractual issues. Whether we are working within wireless and communications, semi-conductors, data centres or software and software services, the same understanding and attention to detail applies.

We can advise on:

• Bespoke commissioned technology agreements and intellectual property licences
• Standard licence terms
• OEM arrangements
• Product launch and licensing
• Systems integration
• Joint ventures
• Software procurement agreements
• Agreements for critical IT systems outsourcing (software, hardware and all associated technology)
• All agreements ancillary to technology transactions including maintenance and support arrangements, acceptance test procedures, integration services, service level agreements, bespoke modifications, confidentiality agreements, escrow arrangements and agreements with software consultants
• All aspects of technology regulation, including data protection, advertising, distance selling, content acceptability
• Website development agreements
• Hosting agreements
• Website linking agreements
• Registration and maintenance of domain names and any associated trade marks
• Subscriber terms and conditions (for business and consumer subscription sites)
• All aspects of e-commerce, m-commerce, t-commerce, security, payment, advertising and fulfilment including agreements for the use of online credit card and other payment mechanisms; agreements for the fulfillment of orders for goods/services

Some examples of our work:

Advising a fast-growth silicon design business who were shifting their strategy to acquiring their own IP in a new product. Our specialist knowledge of the semiconductor sector and allowed us to advise on how to structure the acquisition of this IP, the reseller licence with the owner as well as back to back reseller licences to OEM customers based in international territories.
 
Advising a software vendor in the silicon sector – drafting regular licensing arrangements with its customers in the OEM distribution channel such as chip set makers or set top box manufacturers. This work demands detailed knowledge of the semiconductor/silicon industry, and our specialists were able to respond with industry knowledge.
 
Advising a provider of web hosting and data centre services to UK universities and many government departments. Using our extensive experience to review standard agreements for the procurement of IT services and licensing to universities, as well as standard terms for the provision of data centre co-location services as the new data centre was launched.
 
Preparing and negotiating of commercial agreements for an IT services provider, arising out of the settlement of litigation, including a services supply agreement, variation of an existing technology contract and escrow arrangements with an international bank with a contract value in excess of £1 million.