Information technology law loosely describes all those components of law that relate to the use of technology in business. It is simply a term that brings together the areas of law that apply to a technology based transaction or dispute.

We have substantial expertise in information technology (IT) law. We provide a comprehensive range of legal services to our diverse clients within the IT industry such as leading IT consultancy and IT security companies as well as financial institutions and Internet based companies.

Our clients appreciate our excellent appreciation of IT law and the fact that we have the practical expertise required to guide them through complex issues such as global licensing of software, protection of their intellectual property rights, advising on and drafting online contracts, safeguarding against e-Risks, e-business related issues and the management of their IT projects.

Our team comprises highly qualified IT specialists combined with the firm's legal experience and understanding necessary to provide creative practical solutions to problems arising from intricate IT, intellectual property and other commercial issues. We are well placed to advise and assist start-ups, small and medium-sized enterprises and corporate clients on a range of legal issues pertaining to IT Law. We cover all commercial activities involved in the application and exploitation of information technology. This means a wide number of legal disciplines.

Many 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, e-commerce and intellectual property law.

Our lawyers, being highly experienced in information technology have a unique advantage of being able to assess the different areas of law from both a legal and technical viewpoint.

# 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

No one area of law covers all commercial activity using information technology and requires application of the various principles of law that relate to the use of technology in commerce including intellectual property, contract law and regulatory provisions, all of which effect the parties' freedom to contract as they wish.

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.

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.

Some of our solicitors prior to qualifying as solicitors spent significant periods of time in the IT industry. Their expertise, flexibility and willingness to provide the tools to our clients to assist them in obtaining high quality legal services is something that clients find invaluable. Technology solicitors 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 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.

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.

Some of our services include:

* Advising on Setting Up a Website

* Advising and Assisting with Buying and Selling a Website

1. *Advising on Copyright Infringement of Website Content
   

2. *Business Law
   

3. *Copyright Law and Infringement
   

4. *Data Protection Law
   

5. *E-Marketing
   

6. *Drafting Privacy Policies
   

7. *Intellectual Property Law
   

8. *Internet Disputes
   

9. *Internet Law
   

10. *Online Trading
    

11. *Online Transactions
    

12. *Outsourcing
    

13. *Software Licensing and Disputes
    

14. *Technology Law
    

15. *Terms and Conditions
    

16. *Website and Web Hosting Agreements
    

17. *Process outsourcing contracts
    

18. *Contractual performance of developers
    

19. *Software piracy and avenues for recovery
    

20. *Management of liability under the Data Protection Act
    

21. *Regulatory compliance for business involved information society e-commerce
    

22. *Recourse in failures to perform and deliver on contractual claims
    

23. *Information systems, including batch system, interactive systems, office automation
    

24. *Client/server systems and network computing.
    

25. *Recovery of compensation and damages
    

26. *Guidance on auditing contractual performance of contractors and developers against specifications and performance compliance to contractual obligation
    

27. *distribution agreements
    

28. *software licensing and exploitation agreements
    

29. *managing the protection of know-how
    

30. *patent rights
    

31. *Technology Procurement and Outsourcing
    

32. *business process outsourcing
    

33. *infrastructure outsourcing
    

34. *drafting and advising upon contractual obligations
    

Regulatory Compliance

In recent years regulatory reform has taken place to assimilate online and e-business to traditional business that creates a framework for business. The application of previously existing law such as the Sales of Goods Act and Supply and Sale of Goods and Services Act dictate minimum levels of service and quality to the products and services by businesses. The law remains in a state of development to meet new methods of doing business in a constantly evolving commercial landscape.

Our lawyers provide a comprehensive range of legal services to our diverse clients within the IT industry such as leading IT consultancy and IT security companies as well as financial institutions and Internet based companies. Our clients come to us because of our excellent appreciation of IT law and the fact that we have the practical expertise required to guide them through complex issues such as global licensing of software, protection of their intellectual property rights, advising on and drafting online contracts, safeguarding against e-Risks, e-business related issues and the management of their IT projects.

Our team comprises highly qualified IT specialists combined with the firm's legal experience and understanding necessary to provide creative practical solutions to problems arising from intricate IT, intellectual property and other commercial issues. We are well placed to advise and assist start-ups, small and medium-sized enterprises and corporate clients on a range of legal issues pertaining to IT Law.

Our Services

We offer a complete service for all types of intellectual property and IT matters ranging from patenting of computer programs, IT disputes, software licensing, software development services through to outsourcing. Our clients in the IT industry wishing to exploit and/or license their products or services are faced with a number of issues regarding protection of their IT products in particular across the Internet. We provide our clients with the highest quality legal advice on how to protect their intellectual property rights. Further examples of our expertise are:

    * Consultancy Agreements

    * Copyright Law

    * Digital and Internet Security

    * Due Diligence

    * E-Risks

    * Framework Agreements

    * Intellectual Property

    * Internet Law

    * IT Audits and Disputes

    * IT Contracts

    * IT Outsourcing

    * IT Recruitment Agreements

    * IT Transactions

    * Joint Ventures

    * Licensing

    * Outsourcing Contracts

    * Patents

    * Patenting Computer Programs

    * Procurement Contracts

    * Service Level Agreements

    * Software Contracts

    * Software Development Agreements

1. *Software Licensing Agreements
   

Our experts have international experience, representing companies trading internationally and have worked with major companies in the United Kingdom. We work with our clients to unlock the value in software, by securing their business assets and intellectual property rights, protecting software brands, commercialising the intellectual property in software and enforcement of those rights to extract and leverage maximum value from technology assets.