When a new outsourcing contract is put in place and the relevant part of the business is either moved from an internal department of the customer to a new provider, or an outsourcing contract is removed from an existing provider and given to a new provider, then employees dedicated to that part of the business [...]
IT/Telecoms in the news
Online consumer disputes to be resolved online?
The European Commission has proposed a new Regulation (a law that applies automatically across all EU states) to create a single EU-wide online platform for online shoppers buying from another EU country and traders to resolve their contractual disputes online. The proposal will have significant impact on the sale of downloaded software and digital publications [...]
Just what is a “managing” director anyway?
If one of the directors of a company is appointed as a “managing director”, what special powers does he or she have? This question came up in a recent High Court case where various directors – including a “managing director” – fell out with one another in a big way. As that case shows, much [...]
The holy grail of flexible outsourcing
Recently there have been some discussions amongst those of us involved in IT and other outsourcing projects as to whether existing contract models are sufficient given the rapid evolution in technologies available today. In particular, some have attacked the “rigid” nature of IT contracts and the difficulties that arise with things like change control mechanisms. [...]
Hargreaves – getting dizzy on the digital roundabout?
The Hargreaves review, billed as “an independent review of how the Intellectual Property framework supports growth and innovation in the UK”, was commissioned amongst some fanfare by Prime Minister David Cameron in November 2010 as an attempt to keep the UK on a level playing field with the US in terms of digital rights and [...]
Like diamonds, secrets can be forever
When directors or shareholders of small technology companies fall out things can get very nasty, and since most technology companies have secrets of one kind or another (trade secrets, secret processes and other confidential information) one of the major risks is that one of the warring parties will misuse those secrets in order to form [...]
Bribery Act 2010: dealing with the risks
The Bribery Act 2010 will come into force on 1 July 2011 and codifies offences of offering bribes (to be found in section 1 of the Act), receiving bribes (section 2), bribery of foreign public officials (section 6) and, most controversially of all, the failure by a commercial organisation to prevent a bribe being paid [...]
Pub landlady calls time on copyright licensing abuses
The Advocate General’s Opinion on satellite broadcasting will impact heavily on the publishing and software supply industries too, restricting the way products are licensed in Europe.
A remedy of sorts – termination clauses
Most modern commercial contracts contain detailed termination provisions setting out how a contract can be terminated by one side if the other does something wrong, but they do not always work as intended.
Why use a solicitor to advise on contracts? Protection and Privilege
Contracts need not be complicated things, and unless you unleash a rather old-fashioned lawyer onto the job most contracts can be written in fairly standard, clear English. Many seasoned executives know their way around the standard contracts in their industries pretty well, so is a solicitor necessary in the contracting process? Often the answer will [...]