Negotiating And Drafting It And Telecoms Contract Course

INTRODUCTION

Understand IT and Telecoms contracts and their complexities to ensure you draft watertight agreements and manage the risks effectively. All those involved in IT transactions need to understand the trends and industry ‘norms’. A tough commercial environment means you need to guarantee you are getting the best terms available and the best deal for your company or clients. This course has been specifically designed to engage both IT supplier and users of IT to develop their understanding of the structure and content of IT contracts:.

COURSE OBJECTIVES

Upon completion of this training course, participants will be able to;

• Learn enough about IT to be able to work better with IT contracts
• Become familiar with all aspects of software licences
• Take a closer look at liability in IT contracts and how to limit or exclude it
• Gain practical knowledge of the etymology of IT projects through ‘hands-on’ exercises
• Find out about copyright and database rights
• Hear about the special features of outsourcing and IT service contracts
• Learn how to identify and deal with typical problems with IT contracts
• And finally, gain a practical understanding of third party rights in IT contracts

DURATION

10 Days

WHO SHOULD ATTEND

This seminar is designed for representatives from both IT suppliers and users/buyers, including:

• In house lawyers
• Contract managers
• Procurement managers
• Buyers
• IT directors and managers
• Private practice lawyers and IT consultants

COURSE CONTENT

Background to an IT contract

• Tendering
• Managing negotiations
• Pre-contract documents
• Interim documents
• Structure of IT agreements

Understanding enough about IT to work with IT contracts – Part 1

• Computer architecture
• Storage devices
• Software – what is it?
• Networks – what are they?

Understanding enough about IT to work with IT contracts – Part 2

• The Internet
• Content and data
• Communications
• Encryption
• The future

Software licences

• Software
• The software licence:
  • Background
  • Commercial questions
  • Goods or services?
  • Express terms:
  • Usual restrictions
  • Safeguards against restrictions
  • Warranties to a standard
  • Date warranties (in brief)
  • Euro
  • Wrapping it up
• Maintenance and support
• Escrow

Liability: Can a supplier limit or exclude it?

• Economic rationale
• Contra proferentem
• Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977
• The case law
• Open issues
• Proposals for reform

Etymology of an IT project: Group exercise – Part I

• Project planning

Etymology of an IT project: Group exercise – Part II

• Software development

Question and answer session

3 centuries of IT contracts

• Part I: 20C Warranties and terms
  • Implied terms
  • Express terms
  • Warranty v maintenance
  • Endeavours: best v reasonable
  • Material, substantial or reasonable?
  • Prime contractor v subcontractor

• Part II: 21C Warranties and terms
  • Anti-virus clauses
  • Func-Perm clauses
  • Specialist Func compliance
  • Sizing warranties

Copyright and database rights

• What they are
• Sources of most disputes
• Substantiality
• Exemptions
• FAST and the BSA
• Recent regulations
• The use of the © symbol
• Moral rights

Outsourcing and IT services contracts

• Services
• Service Level Agreements (SLAs)
• Change control
• Supplier management
• Supplier warranties
• IT consultancy

Entire agreement clauses in IT contracts

Problems with IT contracts

• Litigation
• ADR
• Mediation
• Arbitration
• Software – who owns it?

Limitation exclusion and limitation – A practical exercise

Third party rights in IT contracts

• History
• Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999
• Relevant issues

Question and answer session

THE END

GENERAL NOTES

• This course is delivered by our seasoned trainers who have vast experience as expert professionals in the respective fields of practice. The course is taught through a mix of practical activities, theory, group works and case studies.
• Training manuals and additional reference materials are provided to the participants.
• Upon successful completion of this course, participants will be issued with a certificate.
• We can also do this as tailor-made course to meet organization-wide needs. Contact us to find out more: training@skillsforafrica.org
•  The training will be conducted at SKILLS FOR AFRICA TRAINING INSTITUTE .
• The training fee covers tuition fees, training materials, lunch and training venue. Accommodation and airport transfer are arranged for our participants upon request.
• Payment should be sent to our bank account before start of training and proof of payment sent to: training@skillsforafrica.org