Don’t Grant Feedback Licenses or Assignments
Feedback licenses and assignments create a mess for the customer. And they’re not necessary for the vendor. Here’s a better clause.
NEXT MONTH: Master Classes + Webinar
The month starts off with our April 4th webinar, Indemnities in Technology & Other Commercial Contracts, where we will do a deep dive on this often misunderstood topic. And April 18th, our next Tech Contracts Master Class series begins. Four online classes, two hours each, taking place on Tuesdays over the course of 5 weeks […]
IP Issues in Tech Contracts (LinkedIn Live Discussion)
We recently discussed typical IP issues in tech contracts, live on LinkedIn. If you have a LinkedIn account, you can watch the program, which lasts just 25 minutes … and costs nothing. Just click the image below.
3rd Edition on Sale — The Tech Contracts Handbook!
I’m excited to announce the third edition of my book, THE TECH CONTRACTS HANDBOOK. You can buy a paperback or e-book from Amazon and other retailers or direct from ABA Publishing. It’s for both lawyers and businesspeople, including contract managers and procurement staff. (It’s selling fast, but don’t worry if Amazon says “out of stock.” […]
Don’t grant or receive licenses to “use” software
Here’s a typical grant of rights from a software end-user license agreement (EULA): Provider hereby grants Customer a license to use 30 copies of the Software. Common though that clause may be, it’s dysfunctional. On-premise software licenses grant rights under copyright. And the copyright statute does not address a right to use anything. U.S. copyright […]
Announcing The Tech Indemnities Pocket Guide
I’m excited to announce the publication of my new e-book, THE TECH INDEMNITIES POCKET GUIDE: Indemnities in Software and Other IT Contracts for Lawyers and Businesspeople (ABA Publishing 2020 – IP Section). There is nothing on the market like this book. Businesspeople and lawyers argue over indemnities more — and understand them less — than […]
Don’t Grant Feedback Licenses (Do this Instead)
Please click here for an updated version of this post. The feedback license appears in many tech contracts. It usually gives the vendor a broad, perpetual license to any “feedback” from the customer’s staff: any suggestion about the vendor’s products and services. Sometimes the clause goes further, assigning ownership of feedback to the vendor. (Click […]
Mistakes Triggered by the Many Meanings of “Intellectual Property”
By David W. Tollen Tech industry professionals use “intellectual property” to describe two different creatures. They also use “IP lawyer” for a broad list of professionals with little in common. Few recognize the many meanings of “intellectual property”, so the term creates a lot of confusion — and screws up lots of contracts and other legal […]
Open Source in Software Procurement – 4. IP Indemnities
By David W. Tollen This is the fourth in a series of five posts on Open Source in Software Procurement. Click here for the prior post, and click here for the intro, which lists all five topics. In most cases, the licensee does not need an “open source indemnity.” It doesn’t need terms specifically addressing copyleft open source […]
5 Simple Rules for Negotiating Software and IT Contracts
Capterra’s IT Management Blog just published an article by David Tollen: 5 Simple Rules for Negotiating Software and IT Contracts. It’s a customer-focused articles, addressing five mistakes customers tend to make in their tech contracts. (Sorry vendors! Capterra’s blog mainly serves customers.) Please check it out …