IT Agreements
The main type of IT agreements that most businesses may encounter are:
- software licences;
- software development agreements; and
- website development agreements.
They are needed to set out the rights that the parties have in relation to the software or website.
Development agreements may be for a simple “app” build where the requirements of the buyer are relatively easy to understand and deliver, or they may be very complex requiring the software developer to understand its customer’s business requirements and develop a system of integrated third party owned software to meet those requirements.
Software Licences and Software Development Agreements
For most businesses, software licences are generally provided on a “take-it-or-leave-it” basis. That is, if you do not agree to the terms of the licence, your business will not be provided with the software. This is usually for standard applications such as Microsoft Office, Adobe and “commercial-off-the-shelf” software packages.
However, industry specific software vendors may be more flexible and may allow some room for negotiation on the terms of the licence, service and support levels to maintain the software once purchased.
Whether you’re a software development business distributing software for the masses or a bespoke developer of software, we can assist you to develop a sensible pro-forma software licence for the safe exploitation of your software. Similarly, if you are considering spending a large amount on a software system or solution, we can help your business avoid common pitfalls in IT procurement.
The recent advent of “cloud” based services, where your business does not load the software onto its computer system, but instead allows your business to access the software and data on-line has dramatically changed the nature of software procurement and use. Despite this, many software agreements continue to be done on the basis of an IP Licence Agreement rather than Access or Subscription Agreement – with little regard to the changes that “cloud” computing has had on the legal underpinnings of the arrangement.
Website Development Agreements
Website development agreements are also a very common IT agreement. However, agreements setting out the expectations, rights and obligations of the developer and their customer are rarely entered into, for the simple reason that the legal cost of the website development agreement is disproportionate to the cost of the website. When a dispute arises (as it often does) all that exists is a couple of emails and two unhappy businesses.
For ease of use we have packaged up our website development agreements as a paid download at a price which includes two hours of professional time. If you would like to purchase any of these documents online, please select the appropriate document. If you are unsure what document you need, please call us. We’ll help you.
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"Marshall Legal helped us out with a particularly nasty allegation of IP rights infringement. They quickly got to the nub of the problem and navigated the complex regime of trade marks and copyright law to diffuse the situation. Not only were the allegations withdrawn but we got our costs back. I would recommend Marshall Legal; not only did they get us a great result, they put our minds at ease throughout the proceeding."
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