Trends for 2012 - Kit Burden sets out the sourcing and legal/drafting trends which have been developing in the last six to nine months, and which we expect to continue into 2012.

 

 

Top 10 legal developments in FOSS in 2011 -Mark Radcliffe writes about the top 10 most influential developments in Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) including Oracle v. Google, the Android patent litigation and the meaning of Open Source.

 

 

Taking your phone numbers with you when you switch telecoms providers - number portability: what to do if your telecoms provider refuses to let you port your numbers to a new provider.

 

Will 2012 be the year we see enterprise-grade Cloud deals? - how Cloud vendors have been turning their attention to specific regulated sectors, such as financial services organisations despite persisting fears. 2012 is set to see Cloud going mainstream!


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Also in this issue...

UK & Europe

The first insight into the European Commission's Proposal for a new EU Data Protection Law - On December 6, Viviane Reding (European Commission Vice-President and Commissioner responsible for justice, fundamental rights and citizenship), announced the Proposal for a new Data Protection Regulation. The Proposal has now entered into inter-service consultation with other Commission Directorates-General after which the text will be considered by the Parliament and the Council, who may make significant changes. The Regulation would repeal the current Data Protection Directive 95/46. It is expected to become law in two to three years.
Financial and health sectors a top priority for the Information Commissioner - On 29 December 2011, the Information Commissioner's Office ("ICO") published its information rights strategy ("Strategy") detailing its goals, missions and visions for the next 12 months. The health, credit and finance, criminal justice, internet and mobile services and security sectors are identified by the Information Commissioner as being of its current "priority sectors" for the regulator's attention. The Strategy sets out the how the ICO will look to "uphold information rights in the public interest, promoting openness by public bodies and data privacy for individuals".
Negotiating: sharp practice, (lack of) communication and having your contract changed by the court - Summary of a recent case which establishes important rules for ambiguous contracts and how common (mutual) mistakes and unilateral mistakes in contracts are dealt with by the courts.
Future proofing your contract: how to build flexibility into your sourcing arrangements - Building flexibility into sourcing contracts upfront in order to ensure that the contracts can keep pace with changing demands and provide a user-friendly framework for a successful relationship is paramount. This article lists the most effective ways to render a contract flexible and what models to use to achieve maximum flexibility.
Outsourcing termination obligations: a recipe for dispute? - A detailed summary of how to draft termination obligations deriving from an outsourcing agreement, how to ensure that suitable exit and any other termination assistance is guaranteed and TUPE and staff related issues are adequately dealt with.
Risk and reward outsourcing liability series - Part 5 - Liability caps - all outsourcing contracts include a liability cap, by which the service provider imposes a financial limit on the claims made against it in connection with outsourcing. The size of the financial cap (and agreement upon what heads of loss are agreed as falling outside it) is a key factor in the overall risk profile of the work for the service provider and influences the price for the outsourced services. This article defines different liability caps and provides working examples.

 

 



TEAM NEWS

Forthcoming Events

 

Outsourcing Contracts Masterclass - On 22 February Rebekah Flaherty, a senior Associate (Australian Qualified) in our London office will be presenting a full day master class on "Outsourcing Contracts" through the Ark Group.


Attendees will get an in depth understanding of approaches to get the best outsourcing deal in different circumstances, including optimal results in the three key areas of services, service levels and pricing. At the end of the master class, attendees will be able to:-

  • select the right outsourcing model for your requirements;
  • understand key contract clauses and why you need them;
  • apply a range of service and service performance models;
  • avoid common traps, for example poorly managed TUPE compliance, ill-considered transition or lack of exit planning; and
  • utilise strategies to get the best out of your providers.

If you have any queries or would like to attend, please contact Rebekah at rebekah.flaherty@dlapiper.com or Gemma Lay at glay@ark-group.com.

 

New Trends and Developments in Outsourcing Agreements - Wednesday 29 February 2012 at 16.30 - 17.15 GMT. The first of our Technology and Sourcing Webinars. Outsourcing continues to be a business model to reduce cost in these tough economic times. But to get the best from an outsourcing deal it's important to ensure prevailing market trends are captured properly. This seminar looks at current trends and new "norms" in outsourcing, including contract models, treatment of liability and the increased impact of regulation.

 

For further information please contact Partners Duncan Pithouse in our London office or Jan Pohle in our Cologne office.

 

Future MESA Webinars - Our complementary MESA Webinar series focuses on topical issues and those which are important to our clients. As such, we would like to ask "what would you like us to talk about?" - we will then present via Webinar the most popular topics.


If you would like to sign up for our Webinar series, or have any queries or suggestions, please do not hesitate to contact Michelle Maravilla (MESA IPT Events Co-ordinator) on +971 4 438 6302 or via email at michelle.maravilla@dlapiper.com.

 

 

Recent Events

Proposal For The New EU Data Protection Law - on 10 January Cameron Craig, Patrick Van Eecke and Jim Halpert presented a client webinar on the new proposals of the EU Commission to strengthen the legislative framework across Union policies, the enhance individuals' rights and the single market dimension of data protection. The webinar was attended by 138 clients. Please click here to listen to the recording and here to view the slides.


For further information please contact Cameron Craig in our Sheffield office.






Editors: Mark O'Conor


Contributors: Mark O'Conor, Ani Grigorian, Cameron Craig, Kit Burden, Mark Radcliffe, Ed Corry, Anthony Day, Annabel Ashby, Mike Conradi, Hazel Randall, Jim Halpert, Patrick van Eecke,

Paul McCormack.

Posted by Gianluigi Marino on Monday 23 Jan 2012
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