Technology

Specialist technology solicitors and sector experts

Our specialist team of technology solicitors combine technical understanding, legal expertise and business acumen to protect our clients’ business interests and help maximise the commercial value of their technology.

Our technology clients operate in a wide range of sub-sectors including information technology and communications (ICT), FinTech, advanced materials (including graphene), aerospace, telematics, medical devices, agri-business and life sciences.

The team is structured to meet the core needs of the technology sector and understands the unique challenges that companies in this highly specialised area can face.

Our team gives specialist advice across the entire spectrum of technology law including contentious matters.

In the ICT field, our clients include Cloud service providers, specialist software and app developers, website solutions providers, and public and private sector organisations acquiring ICT systems, as well as clients wrestling with data protection issues, answering subject access requests, dealing with social media storms and generally handling a connected world

We act for inventors and clients engaged in commercialising research, universities and research institutes, spin-out companies, incubators, accelerators and large organisations engaged in commercialising their research, including in highly specialised fields such as life sciences and advanced materials.

Our expertise in information technology law

Our team of technology solicitors takes a flexible and pragmatic approach across all areas of a company or individual’s engagement with ICT issues , including:

• Responding to or formulating subject access requests under the new data protection regime
• Drafting and negotiating software or application developments agreements
• Online defamation and other claims arising from misuse of social media
• Online harassment issues
• e-disclosure and IT forensic analysis
• Software copyright infringement disputes
• Drafting and negotiating large scale ICT acquisition contracts, including appropriate service level agreements
• ICT outsourcing, managed service provision, website design and development
• Cloud service agreements including hosting agreements, and Software as a Service (“SaaS”), Platform as a Service (“PaaS”) and Infrastructure as a Service (“IaaS”)
• Employee related IT issues including policies for mobile working, Bring Your Own Device (“BYOD”), remote working, IT acceptable use and social media usage
• ICT contractual disputes
• Search and seize orders where there is a major ICT element
• Obtaining Norwich Pharmacal orders for disclosure of subscriber details against ISPs
• Data protection and data security including advice, training and consultancy on GDPR compliance and handling data breaches

Our information technology law experience in action

• Working with the providers of artificial intelligence solutions and expert systems in collaborative development agreements to deploy solutions into fields such as insurance, procurement and health.
• Putting in place a complete suite of contractual arrangements relating to the distribution and use of a downloadable app for vehicle fleet management
• Assisting an IT firm in drafting and negotiating high value SaaS contracts for the supply of its solutions into the financial services and insurance sectors
• Handling off-shoring and outsourcing of software development, including advising on data transfer and confidential information issues.
• Advising the Berkeley Group plc on its entire ICT programme, including BYOD, communications infrastructure replacement, software development, data sharing and data security
• Advising several clients who had been the target of hostile, anonymous and pseudonymous campaigns on social media
• Acting for an accountancy brokerage in connection with a proposal for the full e-assessment of its certification programmes delivered in an on-demand global model
• Acting for several clients in major IT contractual disputes including with an international dimension
• Advising on the transfer of personal data outside the European Economic Area
• Drafting contracts for “ethical hacking” and controlled penetration testing of systems, to flag up areas of security vulnerability
• Acting for a major provider of park holidays in relation to a highly contentious subject access request
• Offering specialised and tailored training to a number of registered social housing providers covering compliance under the General Data Protection Regulation and associated legislation
• Advising promoters of an app to monitor driver behaviour on appropriate management and disclosure of personal data gathered using the app

Our specialist expertise in life sciences and technology

Our technology law specialists also provide legal advice to a wide range of other technology sectors, such as life sciences and biotech, advanced materials, specialist engineering, aerospace and telematics businesses. This includes working with universities and other research institutes and negotiating licences and joint collaboration agreements.  .

We advise at every stage of the business lifecycle including:

• Spinning out – structuring the company and putting in place licences and assignments to protect the core intellectual property rights
• Sponsored research and joint development agreements
• Funding and financing, including complex syndicated VC equity investments, debt instruments and seed funding rounds
• Corporate transactions – acquiring companies, businesses and IP rights from third parties through to eventual exit through sale, assignment or IPO
• Corporate governance and directors’ duties
• R&D, collaboration, IP & technology transfer and general commercial contracts
• Intellectual property protection and prosecution
• Employee share schemes
• Service contracts, employment consultancy agreements
• Dispute resolution and enforcement of IP rights 

Contact a technology solicitor today

Our expert technology solicitors are ready to help your business. Please contact on 0800 652 8025 or get in touch online.

Clarke Willmott has offices in Taunton, Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, London, Manchester and Southampton.