As a full-service law firm, DWT can provide legal solutions to almost any IT-related matter you may encounter as a developer, seller, licensor, buyer or user, including:

Purchase, license and sale of technology products and services
For any business or organization to operate efficiently,it must be supported by the right software, equipment and services. Our IT lawyers regularly negotiate the purchase, license, development and sale of complex technology—including COTS, custom systems, servers, networking hardware and anything else you might need to run your business.

Distributing/reselling of software and other products
We provide advice about, and draft agreements for, distributing, reselling and marketing products and services worldwide. These include software, systems, equipment, and consulting and support services.

Outsourcing and offshoring
As more IT work is moved from the United States to offshore locations, we help purchasers and vendors assess risks related to forming relationships with offshore entities and vendors that subcontract with offshore companies.

Forming strategic alliances/joint development relationships
As clients attempt to expand the channels for marketing and developing new products and services, we help them form strategic relationships, including joint development agreements, joint ventures, strategic marketing and other types of relationships.

Protecting security and privacy
Networks and systems are constantly under attack and vulnerable to new methods of intrusion. We regularly conduct legal research and advise clients about security and privacy risks, including methods for securing networks and computer systems from intrusion or hacking, developing privacy and email policies, and rights under applicable computer crime laws. Our lawyers have also been analyzing and advising on privacy issues since the inception of the Internet. We are familiar with COPPA (Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act), Gramm-Leach-Bliley (financial privacy), HIPAA (Healthcare Information Privacy and Accountability Act), the European Data Initiative and all of the many state privacy regulations.

Online services
Our lawyers understand that application service provider and hosting services are the latest iteration of online software-based services, which began with service bureaus and evolved because of the ubiquity and power of the Internet. We have drafted and negotiated numerous ASP and hosting agreements for all aspects of the Internet, from transaction processing to search engines, and from database storage to hosting of applications and content.

Developing your website
Our lawyers regularly draft and negotiate web development agreements with industry leaders and for new ventures. If you’re a web designer or a company contracting with a hosting company, we know how to protect your proprietary services and software and to maintain the security of your data or environment.

Website legal reviews
Before your website goes live, how can you know you’ve considered all the potential legal issues? By contacting us, of course. We regularly review our clients’ websites for potential legal issues, including misuse of copyright, compliance with privacy statutes, compliance with employment laws, defamation issues and security issues.

Content licensing
One of the primary purposes of the Internet is to provide content to the user. Creating, licensing and aggregating content is key to making the most of your web presence. Our lawyers regularly negotiate author and freelance agreements, syndication agreements and inbound and outbound content licenses on behalf of some of the largest media companies in the world.

eCommerce and back-end issues
We regularly help our clients with their eCommerce issues by negotiating sales referral agreements, warehousing agreements, fulfillment agreements, and private label credit card agreements.

Internet banking and electronic payment systems
We represent companies engaged in Internet banking, money transmission, check cashing and similar financial services. We also represent issuers of both consumer and commercial private labels and multi-purpose credit cards as well as a wide range of merchants accepting cards for sales over the Internet. We have experiencewith prepaid cards, stored-value cards, ACH and otherforms of electronic payment.

Related Services and Products

Financing and corporate issues
One of the most important needs of any IT companyis proper financing for launching and operating the business. DWT’s Emerging Business and Technology group helps structure start-ups and mature companies and helps them explore the capital markets to procure needed financing.

Intellectual property
Protecting and leveraging your innovation is critical to the long-term success of any venture. Our patent, copyright, trademark, and trade secret lawyers are experienced in all aspects of intellectual property, including both software and business method patents. We regularly prepare and file patent applications, license patent rights, register copyrights and trademarks, and work with our clients to help determine strategies to maximize innovation.

Telecommunications services and equipment
Without the proper telecommunications services, switching and other systems, an organization is unable to function. With some of the nation’s top telecommunications lawyers, we can help you with a panoply of issues, including domestic and international services agreements, switching systems, Internet infrastructure agreements, and federal and state regulations, and the acquisition of bandwidth.

Dispute resolution and litigation
Unfortunately, many IT projects fail. We have represented clients in numerous disputes involving small and large system implementations. We provide efficient and cost effective dispute resolution and mediation services to help resolve disputes, and represent clients inarbitration and litigation involving failed or troubled computer projects, technology services and products,and the ownership of intellectual property.

The Next Step

Simply contact us, at any of our offices. We welcome the opportunity to meet with you and discuss innovative and cost-effective strategies for your immediate and long-term needs. We look forward to working with you.

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