Kaltons Solicitors

No one area of law covers all commercial activities involved in the application and exploitation of information technology. For us, information technology law loosely describes all those components of law that relate to the use of technology in business.

On most occasions, intellectual property, contract law and regulatory regimes cover the issues to be addressed in information technology deals. That being said, other areas of law should be considered to make the most out of information technology when putting the deal and issues together, as there are no clear boundaries between information technology, commercial and corporate law, data protection, ecommerce and intellectual property law.

Our unique strength is the ability to see across different areas of law from both a legal and technically asute viewpoint.

Here is a brief selection of the services we provide:

* reviewing existing contractual arrangements for legal and commercial effectiveness
* software licensing and sub-licensing including shrink-wrap and click-wrap agreements
* copyright protection & infringement
* franchising & distribution agreements
* trade mark registration, protection & infringement
* partnering, joint venture and joint development agreements
* drafting shareholders' agreements, special resolutions and other corporate matters;
* brand and image rights protection
* data protection & privacy law issues
* guidance on confidential information & trade secrets and the (often unexpected) protection it provides
* escrow agency services

Gilhams Solicitors

No one area of law covers all commercial activity using information technology. For us, information technology loosely describes the various principles of law that relate to the use of technology in commerce: usually elements of contract law and regulatory provisions effecting the parties' freedom to contract as they wish. Technology law therefore is simply a term that brings together the areas of law that apply to a technology based transaction or dispute.

We have advised cutting-edge technology companies involved in ground-breaking Technology law legal advice national transactions. Our team is made up of individuals from different backgrounds, including computer science, IT consulting computer professionals in the retail, telecommunications, and insurance industries - which gives us an insight into our clients' transactions. Our legal advice is commercially focused and grounded in an understanding of the technology involved.
The Facets of Technology Law

On most occasions contract law, intellectual property and regulatory regimes cover the issues to be addressed in information technology transactions. That being said other areas should be considered to make the most out of IT in putting the deal and issues together, because there are no clear boundaries between information technology, commercial and corporate law, data protection, the digital medium e-commerce and IP. In our experience, the emphasis changes from deal to deal depending on what is to be achieved and the priorities of the parties. Our information technology practice brings together these separate areas of law to deliver well rounded, knowledgeable commercial advice.

Our People

Some of our solicitors prior to qualifying as solicitors spent significant periods of time in the IT industry. We find that their expertise, flexibility and willingness to provide the tools to our clients to assist them in obtaining high quality legal services pay dividends for clients in reduced time managing files - which is reflected in our cost estimates and fees notes. Equally use of technology is always prone to error. The difference between our technology solicitors is that they know what to do when something goes wrong with the technology - both on a technical level and when it comes to our advice, from a legal standpoint.

Our unique strength is the ability to see across different areas of law and apply them to commercial interests and objectives. With this integrated approach, making the most of the combination of legal experience and our technical expertise our IT lawyers offer an approach that it difficult to match in the technology sector.
Our Approach

We use our background to enhance our legal services, and we find saves our clients time and expense in instructing us. We represent clients whose business are involved in the online sector, including software licensees and licensors, and those wanting to protect and enforce contractual and intellectual property rights.

Our expertise takes in the management of the regulatory structure that IT companies face, seeing through the technology issues and giving clear and concise legal advice.
Intellectual Capital

We assist our clients going to the market with technologies, management of intellectual capital and resources, methods of valuing and exploiting intellectual capital, assisting in commercialisation of inventions and marketing innovations.London lawyers: UK Legal advice

Innovation is the one weapon that cannot be defended against - whether the innovation focuses on unmet needs in the market or greater customer satisfaction, competitors' products and services are rendered obsolete. Protecting innovation is crucial. These areas of law allow protection of critical strategic advantage, be it in the form of new channels to move information in new and different ways; providing more information and more high quality information; faster access to better quality data and allowing informed decision-making based on quality information.

We have advised on a diversity of legal issues that range from terms of trade for business through to multi-million pound transactions and disputes. We have provided legal advice in relation to:

* business process outsourcing contracts;
* contractual performance of developers;
* software piracy and avenues for recovery;
* management of liability under the Data Protection Act and consumer complaint management;
* regulatory compliance for business involved information society e-commerce
* options for recourse in failures to perform and deliver on contractual claims
* information systems, including batch system, interactive systems, office automation, client/server systems and network computing.
* recovery of compensation and damages
* guidance on auditing contractual performance of contractors and developers against specifications and performance compliance to contractual obligations;

Licensing

Drafting and advising on:

* distribution agreements
* software licensing and exploitation agreements
* managing the protection of know-how
* patent rights, and whether new unpatented products would infringe an existing patented invention.

THE LIFE of an IT director can be fraught with pitfalls. The helpline that's no help. The service agreement that gives lousy service. The network that becomes fragmented.

Information technology experts at Bond Pearce are commercial and contract law specialists who anticipate what can go wrong.

Partner Julian Hamblin who, with Gareth Jones, leads Bond Pearce's team of IT lawyers says. "We ask: 'What if...?'

"The penalty for getting bad legal advice can be severe - inefficient risk management, inefficient IT systems, service levels that aren't robust."

Bond Pearce's team has built its formidable reputation on a thorough understanding of a wide variety of projects from complex payroll software projects to web analytics.

The Bond Pearce team boasts legal experts on IT procurement and outsourcing, e-commerce and privacy, including data protection and Freedom of Information. And the team's advice is sought by private and public sector clients, including major retailers, government, universities and software companies.

One High Street chain sought Bond Pearce's advice on A multi million pound purchase of a new wide area network to cover all its stores.

"The contract had to ensure rigorous performance standards were maintained across the network, taking into account the nature of business-critical data to be transmitted," Julian says. "Negotiations were complicated by two rival bidders for provision of the service - at one stage, negotiations were being carried on in tandem."

Another nationwide retailer agreed a £12m outsourcing deal for software services but expected the Bond Pearce team to be involved early in the negotiations to ensure that the agreement was drafted and agreed on terms that would ensure all the strategic objectives of the outsourcing would be able to be achieved.

"The drafting needed mechanisms - contractually enforceable - to take account of the flexible partnering agreement that was envisaged," Julian says. "The level of detail in the contract was very high. And the operational schedules had to cater for many issues anticipated throughout the life of the contract.

"We've also been busy with website compliance work and data protection advice" As senate members of IMRG, the industry leading e-tailing organisation, Bond Pearce helps formulate policy and influence legislation in the fast growing arena of e-commerce.