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• Rechtsanwälte
  • Dr. Martin Jaschinski
  • Sebastian Biere
  • Oliver Brexl
  • Thorsten Feldmann LL.M.
  • Dr. Till Jaeger
  • Thomas Nuthmann
  • Julian Höppner LL.M
  • Dr. Markus Wiedemann
  • Dennis Gehnen LL.M.
  • Julia Gebert LL.B.
  • Carsten Kiefer
  • Robert Weist

IT / Software

IT projects need meticulous contract management, because alterations to technical requirements frequently have to be reflected in amendments to the underlying agreements as well. In practice, stipulating specifications of performance correctly is essential if the parties are to have a reliable legal basis for handling a project. Close cooperation between the attorney and the client is vital in order for the contract to take all the technical and legal issues into account. But there’s more to realising an IT project successfully than just drawing up the right contract. Various developments may call for further steps during actual implementation: for instance, change requests, acceptance of part-performance and software tests all need precisely documenting in writing as prescribed in the agreement, if firm evidence is to be furnished in the event of any dispute. We can help you with the legal aspects of managing even large-scale IT projects, so that wherever possible problems during actual handling can be avoided from the start. Issues covered by general contract law such as guarantees, liability and T&C are just as vital as issues covered by intellectual property law, such as patents, copyrights and know-how. So this is the crossing point where technical and legal know-how have to be brought together.

The legal side of the institutional set-up needs to be well prepared as well. These days, complex software isn’t just developed in a conventional client/contractor relationship:  it might be done in a joint venture, across borders in an EU project, or by independent firms and different teams of software engineers. Whatever the set-up, the contract has to reflect all the parties’ individual requirements and interests.

For providers and users alike, caring for the software is always an essential factor. If the system is to function properly the user has to rely on software errors being eliminated and application problems being solved, whilst support and maintenance assignments may well be the economic mainstay of a software business. So for both sides the scope of support services is quite essential, but it varies depending on the programme being used. For this very reason, standard contracts rarely produce the desired effect of covering all the various aspects having to be taken into account in every single case. Having a grasp of the software concerned is absolutely fundamental to our task of drawing up customised contracts. In the light of our experience, we can discuss with you in detail exactly what you need.

Copyright law gives a lot of leeway to licensors, enabling them to use any number of licensing models. Rights can be exploited to the full by imposing restrictions on licensing periods, territory and content, or by dividing rights of use between different licensees. But extensive licensing using the Open Source model may also be preferred for numerous reasons. In view of all the various possibilities available we consider it absolutely essential to provide both legal and business advice, and we regard it as our job to show you all the opportunities offered under licensing law so that you have a sound basis for taking business decisions. But we don’t leave it there: we can also draft German and English license agreements specifically for your purposes.

Software is a likely candidate for infringements of copyright, and conflict cannot always be avoided. Both out-of-court conflict management and forensic work call for special know-how going beyond general contract law. For instance, inspection rights may have to be enforced in order to prove that a source code has been illegally used or to obtain a temporary injunction to prevent any further infringements. We reckon that if your legal position is to be successfully upheld in court, a grasp of the technical issues is just as important as competence in legal matters.