Contracts

We are experts in drafting legal contracts or agreements, especially IT contracts or Information Technology Contracts. Our attorneys have years of experience in drafting contracts and an excellent understanding of the various nuances and structures that exist.

We work with both vendors and customers and offer advice through all the various stages of entering into contracts. There are many different types of agreements, as well as different elements that make up the agreements. If you are a vendor it is essential that you have good templates and good version control to ensure that you manage the relationships with your customers adequately. We assist with drafting, reviewing, negotiating and managing contracts to ensure that you get the most our of your relationships with customers and vendors alike. You can find out more about the different contracts and services that we offer relating to vendors and customers.

Our latest insights on Contracts and Service Level Agreements are below.

Reasonable efforts: what is the standard?

We often get asked what the difference is between "reasonable efforts" and "best efforts".  Sometimes they are referred to as "reasonable endeavours" or "best endeavours".  It is often a sticking point in the negotiation of agreements and sometimes causes disputes.  [...]

By |2022-12-22T10:09:30+02:00September 5th, 2012|Categories: Contracts|Tags: , |

Business Critical Software: Own or License?

We are often asked by users of mission-critical software whether they should purchase the software, or merely license it from the vendor. Here is some guidance and options. Ownership of software Ownership of the Software is the securest position a [...]

By |2022-11-10T11:03:51+02:00August 14th, 2012|Categories: Contracts|Tags: , , |

ISPs can get limited liability by joining an association

In the past, various Internet service providers (ISPs) and publishers have been held liable for the unlawful action of others. For example, ISPs have  been held liable for the data hosted on one of their servers by a customer. So, [...]

By |2023-02-28T07:12:05+02:00May 27th, 2012|Categories: Contracts|Tags: , |

Is an NDA Worth the Paper it is Written on?

There is a trend for people to demand the signing of confidentiality or non-disclosure agreement (NDAs).  An NDA is useful: when someone needs access to an organisations confidential information or trade secrets, for example for the purpose of preliminary discussions and evaluations; where [...]

By |2022-12-15T10:49:49+02:00May 21st, 2012|Categories: Contracts|Tags: , , |

Why IT disputes occur and how to avoid them

I have recently been negotiating some complex IT contracts for a client and again witnessed the disconnect between the IT vendor and its customer. I was reminded how often this leads to legal problems, difficulties, and disputes. What follows is [...]

By |2022-12-14T08:51:32+02:00October 24th, 2011|Categories: Contracts|Tags: , |

Product Liability for Damage caused by Goods

If you sell defective goods or products, you may be responsible for the harm anyone suffers. This is called product liability. You might have to pay for all of it, even if it was not your fault. You cannot limit this [...]

By |2022-12-22T08:32:49+02:00March 6th, 2011|Categories: Contracts|Tags: , , |

How to Deal with an Unfair Agreement

Have you been presented with an unfair agreement (like an IT Contract or a commercial lease agreement) to sign by a vendor, service provider or landlord? For example, when you license software, procure cloud storage, buy hardware, rent premises, rent [...]

By |2019-08-01T14:20:28+02:00October 7th, 2010|Categories: Contracts|Tags: , , , , , |

When a ‘contract’ is not a contract

We often get asked to review a document which looks like a contract and contains legalistic words, but, on closer analysis, is not one. What is a contract? A contract is an agreement between two or more people or organisations [...]

By |2022-10-12T14:50:09+02:00December 5th, 2009|Categories: Contracts|Tags: , , , , |

The different kinds of orders explained

You get sales orders, purchase orders, and other kinds of orders. What is the difference between them? What is the difference between an order and an invoice? These are questions that people often ask, so we thought we would give [...]

By |2018-08-15T20:27:51+02:00November 29th, 2009|Categories: Contracts|Tags: , , , , |

Alternative Dispute Resolution clause

In a previous article we wrote about how the draft King Report recommended that an alternative dispute resolution (ADR) clause be incorporated in all contracts.  They recommended a clause, which we then converted into plain language.  We were delighted to [...]

By |2022-11-21T14:45:04+02:00November 19th, 2009|Categories: Contracts|Tags: , , , |

When a perfect legal agreement isn’t perfect for you

Creating the perfect legal agreement in terms of law is not always the sought after or perfect solution. When drafting an agreement, what is most critical for me is that the person drafting the agreement gets a solid grasp of [...]

By |2022-10-25T13:33:04+02:00October 20th, 2009|Categories: Contracts|Tags: , , , , , |