Compared to other legal topics, IT law is a fairly young field of law; it includes software contracts of all kinds, data protection law, all facets of online commerce (e-commerce) and the central forward-looking issues of digitalisation. We grew up with the internet as the first generation and, as „digital natives“, therefore have a fundamental understanding of the subject matter., With law and technology being closely intertwined in this area, IT law also requires knowledge of technology. Not least the new regulations in data protection law (e.g. the GDPR and the German Telecommunications Telemedia Data Protection Act (TTDSG)) have given IT law a special significance.
A particular focus of our work is the drafting and negotiation of software contracts in all their typical variants (software as a service contracts (SaaS), outsourcing, software lease, software purchase, software development contracts, service level agreements) and the associated agreements under data protection law (data processing agreements, joint controllers agreement, standard contractual clauses). We can draw on the experience of many software projects that we have accompanied nationally and across borders. We particularly benefit from the fact that our IT team advises bilingually in German and English.
We also specialise on e-commerce and, in this context, especially on advising platform operators. Here we have done pioneering work, both in academia and in practice (evidenced, for example, by our collaboration on the book „Rechtshandbuch Industrie 4.0 und Internet of Things“ (C.H. Beck Verlag, 2nd edition, 2020) and the operation of an own online shop). Although we can draw on standards that have been tried and tested for years, we seek individual and special solutions for each Client on request.
Our activities include in particular:
IT-Law
- Advice on and negotiation of IT contracts
- Software development contracts
- Software customisation contracts
- Software as a Service contracts (SaaS)
- Software maintenance contracts (SLA – Service Level Agreements)
- Data storage / hosting (data centre contracts)
- Contracts with network providers (provider contracts)
- Outsourcing projects
- Telemedia law (including provider liability issues)
- Advice on open source software (e.g. GPL, LGPL, MPL, MIT)
Data Protection Law
- Creation of data protection concepts for companies
- Privacy policies for websites, apps and software tools
- Drafting and negotiation of data processing agreements (DPA)
- Advice to internally appointed data protection officers
- Representation vis-à-vis data protection authorities in administrative fine proceedings or requests for information
- Advice on access and deletion requests
- Advice on transfers of personal data to third countries (esp. standard contractual clauses; Transfer Impact Assessment (TIA); EU-US Data Privacy Framework)
- Advice on the implications of the Cloud Act when using US service providers
- Technical and organisational measures (TOM)
E-Commerce
- Advice for online shops in day-to-day business (as an outsourced legal department)
- Preparation of modern (!) general terms and conditions, customer information, instructions on withdrawal, imprint for online shops and eBay/Amazon traders
- Advice on all questions of pricing (e.g. advertising with strike prices, clearance sales and promotions)
- Advice on environmental law issues (REACH, RoHS, German Battery Act (BattG), Stiftung EAR, packaging), in particular when launching new products
- Sales law, including all issues relating to warranty and guarantee as well as product liability
- Right of withdrawal, including fundamental proceedings up to the European Court of Justice (ECJ)
- Legal representation of online traders in all the above-mentioned matters
- Advice to platform operators
Digitalisation und Industry 4.0
- Drafting of contracts for the implementation of new technologies
- Advice to IoT providers
- Advice on new business models with artificial intelligence (AI)
- Drafting of contracts for self-learning algorithms
- Automotive industry and issues related to autonomous driving
Social Media
- Advertising campaigns via social media
- Facebook Fan Pages
- Influencer marketing
- Advice and representation of influencers (infringements of personality rights; right to one’s own image; copyright infringements)
