As a SaaS supplier you will undoubtedly be sending marketing emails in your own name to existing and potential clients to advertise your own products and services, or possibly as a SaaS service on behalf of a customer. In any event you should be aware that the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has issued new guidance on direct marketing, with regard to complying with the Data Protection Act (DPA) and the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR) both of which apply to sending direct marketing to consumers (BTC).
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SaaS Agreements – Data Protection – Prism and US Laws
SaaS suppliers should be aware of relevant US laws when outsourcing SaaS services (data storage and hosting) to US companies or companies located in the USA. SaaS customers are becoming increasingly concerned about outsourcing in the USA following media reports about “Prism”. Namely, that the National Security Agency (NSA) accesses personal data stored on the servers of Microsoft, Apple, Google, Yahoo, Facebook and a few other major US public companies. Below is a summary of the most relevant US laws that SaaS suppliers should be aware of.
Continue readingSaaS Agreements – Terms and Conditions – Need for an Arbitration Clause
SaaS customers and suppliers entering into business to business (BTB) contracts are increasingly using arbitration clauses in their SaaS agreements to avoid going to court to resolve disputes. If you do not already have an arbitration clause in your SaaS agreement it is worth considering adding one for the following reasons.
Continue readingSaaS Agreements – Terms and Conditions – Limitation of Liability
The terms of a SaaS agreement should always include a clause limiting the SaaS supplier’s liability to the customer. The specific details of the liability clause will depend upon the type of SaaS software being supplied, the value of the SaaS agreement and what is usual in the business sector in which the parties operate.
The following issues should be covered by the limitation of liability clause in most SaaS agreements.
SaaS Agreements – Terms and Conditions – Subcontractors and Outsourcing
The terms of your SaaS agreement must include the right to use sub-contractors as 99% of SaaS suppliers use at least one sub-contractor – a third party data centre – to host their SaaS software. SaaS customers often try to prohibit the use of sub-contractors or place severe restrictions on their use by insisting that they must give prior consent to each sub-contractor. This is not acceptable for practical reasons as often numerous sub-contractors are used in providing the SaaS services and these sub-contractors will change over time.
Continue readingSaaS Agreements – SLA – Proposed EU Model Terms
The European Commission has recently released a paper on cloud computing stating that it will develop model terms for SaaS agreements which should be available for use in service level agreements (SLAs) by the end of 2013.
Continue readingSaaS Agreements – The Advantages of using English Law
If you are a SaaS supplier who often deals with customers located outside of the UK, you will have experienced customers insisting on their local law applying to your SaaS agreement. Many SaaS suppliers agree to this by simply removing “English law” from the SaaS agreement and replacing it with, for example, “German law” unaware of the consequences this will have upon their SaaS terms and conditions.
Continue readingSaaS Agreements – Agency Agreements – Commercial Agents Regulations
SaaS suppliers often use partners to find prospects, refer leads, assist with the sales process or to conclude sales with SaaS customers on behalf of the SaaS supplier. Many SaaS suppliers are not aware that the terms of the Commercial Agents Regulations 1993 apply to the terms of the agreement between the SaaS supplier and its commercial agent.
Continue readingSaaS Agreements – Patriot Act – Renewed Customer Concerns
Recently SaaS suppliers have seen a marked increase in EU customers raising concerns about disclosure of their data to US law enforcement authorities under the Patriot Act – an American anti-terrorism law – particularly where the SaaS supplier has a parent company in the USA or data is being hosted or processed in the USA.
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