课程概览
Understanding IT contracts and their complexities to ensure you draft watertight agreements and manage the risks effectively is crucial.
As digital transformation accelerates, the importance of watertight, commercially viable and technically informed IT contracts has never been greater.
Whether you’re negotiating a SaaS deal, drafting software licences, or managing complex outsourcing arrangements, legal professionals need to bridge the gap between law, business, and technology.
This training course equips lawyers with the essential knowledge and practical tools to confidently navigate the full lifecycle of IT contracts - from pre-contract strategy and negotiation, to drafting robust clauses and managing disputes.
You'll gain foundational IT literacy to better understand software, systems and networks, and how they interact with key legal principles such as copyright, licensing and service levels.
All those involved in IT transactions need to understand the trends and industry ‘norms’.A tough commercial environment means you need to guarantee you are getting the best terms available and the best deal for your company or clients.
This training course has been specifically designed to engage both IT suppliers and users of IT to develop their understanding of the structure and content of IT contracts.
Key topics include:
The structure and strategy behind successful IT contracts and the pitfalls to avoid
Differences in supplier vs customer objectives
Key IT concepts - from cloud computing to encryption and AI
Nuances of software licences, SaaS contracts and open-source models
Copyright, database rights, audit clauses and software ownership disputes
Outsourcing structures, SLAs and change control mechanisms
Common IT contract issues - from scope creep to dispute resolution
Legal implications of Agile and Waterfall development approaches
Review of warranties, liability clauses and reseller agreements with a commercial lens
This practical and intensive two-day training programme will boost your knowledge in these key areas to ensure you get the deal done with the best terms for your organisation.
Practical interactive learning style
This workshop-style training course has been designed to offer a practical solution to your drafting challenges.
Throughout the training programme the expert presenter will use a balanced mix of theory, group exercises, discussion, sample clauses and case studies to provide you with a comprehensive portfolio of practical tips and techniques to draft IT contracts which meet your commercial objectives as well as ensuring that there are no ‘surprises’ further on.
Please note:
When attending the online version of this training course, participants are required to join with the ability to turn on their cameras. This is an essential requirement in order to fully participate in the sessions due to the interactive nature of the programme.
This training course is part of our
Commercial Contracts Training Course collection
which has been designed for the in-house lawyer.
Benefits of attending
By attending this training course you will:
Gain
a working knowledge of IT systems and terminology to improve legal drafting and negotiations
computer architecture, storage devices, software and networks
Get to grips
with the legal, technical and commercial perspectives in IT projects
Identify
and manage common risks in IT contracting including scope creep and IP issues
Explore
the legal implications of Agile and Waterfall methodologies in software development
Examine
the pros and cons of Software as a Service (SaaS) agreements
Clarify
copyright and database rights and their implications for software activities
Consider
potential disputes with IT contracts and learn how to avoid them
Learn
about open source software licences
Expand
your knowledge of IT reseller agreements
Focus
on IT warranties and specific clauses to be aware of
Build
confidence in advising on IT transactions, including pre-contracts documents and interim agreements
Who should attend?
This training course has been specially designed for representatives from both IT suppliers and users/buyers, including:
In house lawyers
Legal professionals working with IT contracts
Commercial lawyers
Contract managers
Procurement managers
Compliance officers handling software licensing and IP risks
IT directors and managers
Private practice lawyers and IT consultants
Whether you're new to IT contracting or looking to update your knowledge, this training course delivers practical, high-impact insights to help you draft, negotiate and manage technology agreements with confidence and clarity.
Presenter's firm
Weston Legal
is a leading specialist boutique firm specialising in Commercial law, Technology law, Media law, Intellectual Property law, Data law and Regulatory law and practice.
From its founding, the firm has always committed to provide a fast and efficient service wherever its clients operate.As its business has grown and diversified, it has recognised the strength and importance of the principles held by its people;
putting clients first and operating as one team to realise its goals and share its success.These principles have formed the foundation of its culture and the way its lawyers interact with one another and the firm’s clients.They are what distinguish it and are vital to its future.
To find out more about what Weston Legal can do for you, please contact Mark at westonlegal.ltd or see
https://uk.linkedin.com/in/markwestonlegal
Mark also operates as a leading consultant to Hill Dickinson LLP, a leading and award-winning international law firm with offices in London, Liverpool, Manchester, Leeds, Birmingham, Piraeus, Singapore, Monaco and Hong Kong.
As a full service law firm, it delivers advice and strategic guidance spanning the full legal spectrum from non-contentious advisory and transactional work, to all forms of dispute resolution.
The firm is on the panel of a number of national and international organisations and regularly competes against many of the City firms.In recent months, they have been able to win a number of panel reviews against City firms.
To find out more about what Mark can do for you via Hill Dickinson, please contact him via www.hilldickinson.com
Popular with...
This course has proven particularly popular among our customers in these roles:
Commercial Manager
Contracts Manager
Corporate Counsel
Legal Adviser
Legal Advisor
Legal Counsel
Procurement Manager
Senior Legal Counsel
Solicitor
Background to an IT contract (pre-contract preparations)
课程大纲
Part 1: Prevention is better than cure
Differences in perspectives of IT suppliers and IT customers
IT contracts words to avoid... and to encourage
Part 2: Preparing to negotiate
IT tendering and procurement
Managing IT negotiations
Pre-contract documents
Interim agreements and pre-contract contracts
Structure of IT agreements
Responsibility for technical schedules
Understanding enough IT to work with IT contracts: Part 1
Lawyers vs IT consultants
Computer architecture
Storage devices
Software – what is it?
Source code vs object code
Databases
Classical networks – what are they?
Understanding enough IT to work with IT contracts: Part 2
The Internet
IP Addressing and DNS
ASP to Software as a Service (SaaS) to the Cloud
Virtualisation
Content and data
Analogue v digital
Communications
Encryption
AI and machine learning
Future trends
Software Licences
Software
Software licences:
Background
Commercial questions
Express terms:
Usual restrictions in software licences
Safeguards against those restrictions
The effect of the Software Directive
Warranties to a standard
Date and currency warranties
Communicating the licence terms
Shrink and web-wrapped software
Maintenance and support adjuncts
Escrow
Etymology of an IT project: group exercise
Waterfall commercials – how to negotiate
Waterfall software development
Waterfall development contracts
Software development
Agile v Waterfall methodologies
Crowdsourcing and open source development
Agile contracts
Software as a Service (SaaS)
Advantages and disadvantages
LHA v SaaS agreements
Customer sensible due diligence
SaaS agreement:
Description of services
Right to use
Scope of use
Price
Other clauses
Copyright and database rights – basic principles and implications for software activities
What is copyright?
Use of the © symbol
What are database rights?
Sources of most disputes
Copyright enforcement bodies
FAST and the BSA
Audit clauses
Porting software
Non-textually copying software
Software patents
Moral rights in software and typefaces
Outsourcing and IT services contracts
Overriding principles
Structures of IT services agreements
Defining services
Defining Service Level Agreements (SLAs)
Change control and project/system scope creep
How are IT suppliers managed?
Supplier warranties vs customer pushbacks
Problems with IT contracts
Typical disputes in IT projects
Methods of IT dispute resolution and corresponding clauses
Litigation
ADR, mediation and arbitration
Expert determination
Neutral evaluation
Ping-pong determination
Disclosure issues
Software ownership issues: who owns it?
Open Source Software (OSS)
Open source software
The rise of OSS
Historical concepts
The open source definition
The trajectory of OSS today
OSS as an industry
OSS licences
IT Reseller Agreements
Software distribution: what does the industry do?
Sales agents
Sales representatives
Resellers
Contracts
IT warranties and clauses
Anti-virus clauses
Date issues and clauses
Comm issues and clauses
Currency issues and clauses
Sizing warranties and scalability issues