A new set of rules by the .au Domain Administration Limited (auDA) governing the use of the .au country code top-level domain (.au ccTLD) will come into effect on 12 April 2021. The new rules will apply to all domain names in the .au ccTLD registered, transferred, or renewed on or after this date. [Read more…]
technology law
Standard form IT procurement contracts – legal issues
Standard form IT procurement agreements are commonly used by businesses which have an established procurement department to standardise the commercial and legal procurement process. Below we address key terms in standard form IT procurement agreements which suppliers should look out for when presented with one. [Read more…]
What is in a network access agreement?
Network access agreements are agreements between licenced carriers in which a carrier (First Carrier) gives another carrier (Second Carrier) access to its network, which the Second Carrier can then access to provide telecommunications services to end customers or other wholesale carriers. Below we set out the key considerations, carriers need to cover in their network access agreements. [Read more…]
Managed service agreements for IT companies
A Managed Services Agreement (MSA) is an agreement between an IT managed services provider (MSP) and its client. An MSP will manage and provide a defined set of services to its client as set out in the MSA. Some common services that are provided by MSPs are systems and application management, managed communications, data backup and recovery, data storage, cloud services, network monitoring, management and security and software support and maintenance, authentication services, as well providing any necessary hardware. [Read more…]
What is a software licence agreement?
A software licence agreement (Software Licence Agreement) is a contract where one party (Licensor) grants to another party (Licensee) the right to use the defined software. It is often used by software developers (Developers) so that they can build and own a core application, customise it for particular clients and provide them with a licence to use the core. In many cases this licence has been the start of a substantial business enterprise. The term Software Licence Agreement can apply to both installed software as well as cloud based applications. That said cloud based Apps are commonly referred to as “Software as a service contracts” or SaaS Contracts because they involve the right to access and use a software application as opposed to a right to reproduce the code. [Read more…]
e-Signatures – legally binding on companies?
The rise of e-signing software such as docuSign (e-signature) has become commonplace for the execution of contracts electronically. Each state of Australia and the Commonwealth has its own equivalent to the Electronic Transactions Act 2001 (Qld) (ETA). The use of E-signatures has streamlined the contract execution process, however a recent case in the Supreme Court of South Australia has highlighted their vulnerability. The decision of Stanley J in Bendigo and Adelaide Bank Limited v Kenneth Ross Pickard [2019] SASC 123 (Adelaide Bank) is illustrative of this. [Read more…]