Need for an NDA
If prospects do not sign a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) or confidentiality agreement prior to a SaaS supplier disclosing it’s business secrets and confidential information, the prospect will have no duty to keep this information confidential. An NDA should therefore include some basic legal clauses to protect your business if you win the sale and more importantly, if you don’t.
Bodle Law
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Website Legal Requirements – Contact and Company Information
About Us/Contact Information. You must provide the following information in an easily accessible position on your website to comply with the legal requirements of the E-commerce Directive in the UK.
Continue readingSaaS, ASP Agreements – Liability for Website Content
SaaS suppliers must protect themselves in their SaaS agreement against a third party claiming compensation for breaches of their rights as a result of customers uploading illegal content onto the supplier hosted website. Service Providers and ISPs SaaS suppliers are service providers not internet service providers (ISP)s. SaaS suppliers publish content on the Internet on the websites they are hosting for customers. ISPs simply transmit information on behalf of customers i.e. telecommunications companies like AOL and BT and are acting as “mere conduits“. SaaS suppliers do not check content prior
Continue readingSaaS, ASP Agreements – Distributor or Agent – Is there a Difference?
To find leads and sell SaaS software to customers on a global basis many suppliers use distributors or agents in the countries in which they wish to sell their products, but where they have no physical presence themselves. Suppliers need to decide whether the local partner acts as an agent or a distributor. There are important differences, advantages and disadvantages.
Continue readingSaaS, ASP Agreements – Data Protection Issues with Sub-contractors – Standard Contractual Clauses
Using a sub-contractor to process your SaaS customer data is a problem under data protection law, where the sub-processor is based outside of the European Economic Area (EEA). Incorporating EU standard contractual clauses into your SaaS agreement is NOT the solution to this common problem. EU Standard Contractual Clauses Under data protection law personal data may only be transferred to countries outside of the EEA where there is adequate protection. In order to deal with the problem of transfers of personal data from a customer (data controller) in the EEA
Continue readingSaaS, ASP Agreement – SLA – Maintenance and Support Requirements
Duty to Acknowledge, Respond and Fix Errors
Clearly identify these three actions in the SLA. State when your duty to act starts. Does time for you to acknowledge, respond or fix a problem start to run upon receipt of a customer message, from your acknowledgement of the error, or some other trigger event?
Continue readingLegal Clauses to Include in a SaaS Sales Proposal
SaaS suppliers often prepare sales proposals in order to win business from prospective clients. A few basic legal clauses should be included in your proposal to protect your business if you win the customer sale, but more importantly, if you don’t.
Continue readingBenefits of SaaS and Cloud Computing
The benefits of SaaS (software as a service) applications to customers are numerous. They include: customer collaboration access anytime/anywhere, no need to install programmes and updates, number of users can be increased or decreased easily more functions and modules can be quickly and easily added reduced need for internal IT saving in professional time Customer Collaboration Often customer portals are included in the SaaS application which enables the customer to share information with its clients. Access Anytime, Anywhere SaaS applications are usually hosted on the software supplier’s servers. This enables
Continue readingCloud based Software, Cloud based Technologies, Cloud based Services
If things go wrong, your data is lost and your customers start to move to your competitors – making a claim for breach of contract will not repair the damage already sustained to your finances and business reputation. These issues should be dealt with upfront, as part of the commercial negotiation process, with the assistance of an experienced specialist SaaS lawyer. Thereby your interests can be adequately covered to minimise the risks of the above scenario occurring.
Continue readingCloud Computing and the Legal Cloud
What is Cloud Computing
Cloud computing is a new and rapidly expanding delivery model, often used to supply IT services to customers via the Internet. Cloud computing involves the sharing of resources, software and information on the Internet for users to use on their computers and other devices, on-demand.
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