Software and SaaS Licensing Lawyers

A partner to cut through the jargon and implement the right agreement for your business.

The legal issues surrounding software licensing and SaaS (software as a service) agreements are just about as complex and dynamic as the development of the software itself. Choosing the wrong type of software licensing or SaaS agreement can have a dramatic, lasting impact on your ability to capitalize on your software, so it’s important to make the right choices upfront. Since you’re working to stay abreast of the constantly changing technology landscape, it’s also important to find a legal partner who is equally adept at understanding the constantly changing agreement options. DRM’s software licensing attorneys can explain the benefits and risks of each of the different types of licensing and SaaS arrangements available to help you make an informed decision about which agreements are appropriate to support your business objectives, and then provide you with those documents to ensure that your interests are protected.

DRM’s software licensing attorneys cut through the legalese and counsel clients on which type of agreement is most appropriate to support your business objectives.

DRM’s software licensing attorneys work closely with clients to understand their specific business goals. Then, drawing upon years of experience managing software licensing, our attorneys take the time to explain – in laymen’s terms – what each of the available agreement options could mean for your business. Armed with this information, you’ll be able to actively participate in the selection of the best agreements to serve your purposes, be it downloadable software license agreements, SaaS agreements, OEM license agreements, reseller agreements, terms of service or end user license agreements (EULAs).

For more information about Software Licensing and Saas Agreements, please contact Peter Kunin or Kate Foley.

DRM’s software licensing attorneys represent an excellent value for your software licensing solutions.

Whether you are a technology-focused software licensor or a software licensee, you’ll find that DRM represents an excellent value for your software licensing solutions. Our team is led by directors who cut their teeth doing software licensing at “big-firm” IP practices, and have spent decades honing their legal capabilities and business acumen here at DRM. Because our IP directors are business-minded, they use innovative legal project management processes to leverage DRM’s IP associates and dedicated paralegals to provide the highest-quality legal work, all while being mindful of your budget and business objectives. These are the types of services we provide for licensors and licensees.

Developing Form Software License Agreements – Software Providers (Licensors). We have a great deal of experience developing form software agreements for use by companies that license downloadable software or provide software in hosted environments as a service offerings (SaaS). We develop tailored form software agreements that support your business goals and protect your intellectual property by collaborating closely with both your internal business and software teams. These form Agreements are also developed to include enough flexibility so that you can customize the agreements in the future for use with a variety of your different customers, yet standard enough to maintain consistent terms that your company can use to build your licensing business around.

Negotiating Vendor License Agreements – Software Licensees. DRM’s attorneys also work closely with companies who are licensing software from vendors. This work includes software of all different varieties, from standard components of your business’s IT system, to mission-critical, enterprise-wide software. In our experience, we have seen that while software vendors may be initially reluctant to vary from their standard forms, opportunities often exist to improve key aspects of the licensing arrangement. Then, we negotiate these aspects with the vendors to ensure that the software agreement ultimately includes terms that are in your business’s best interest.

Recognizing that software licenses do not always fall within these broader categories of Agreements, we also have significant experience in a number of other software licensing agreements, including software development agreements, OEM licensing agreements, reseller agreements, terms of service, and EULAs.

If you are entering into a licensing agreement with parties who are located in different jurisdictions, we can help with that, too. To ensure compliance, we leverage our network of law firms throughout the U.S. and the world.

Recent Software and Saas Licensing Legal Accomplishments

Here are a few of DRM’s software licensing attorneys most recent accomplishments:

• When a small, innovative database software company was entering into a relationship with a leading original equipment manufacturer, they engaged with DRM to ensure their software was protected. Our attorneys drafted and negotiated an OEM Licensing Agreement that provided a unique structure to help our client both monetize their database software and protect their business interests.
• DRM was retained by a technology company to prepare a series of inter-related agreements that allowed the company to seamlessly license software in conjunction with the sale of hardware and services.
• When a social media-focused technology company developed new software leveraging big data resources, DRM represented them in the negotiation of mission-critical software license and development agreements that not only protected our client’s proprietary intellectual property, but also provided our client’s with the rights to effectively integrate the third party software into their platform.

Additionally, DRM’s software licensing team has helped clients across a broad range of industries achieve their business goals via strategic software licensing strategies:

• Advised a dynamic software vendor in the health care industry in connection with the negotiation of a system-wide license and development agreement with a network of health care providers.
• Negotiated a strategic agreement for the development of a mobile application and the allocation of related revenue streams in the tourism sector.
• Assisted a social media focused technology company with entering into comprehensive licensing and joint development agreement with a third party currently developing software in a strategically aligned industry.
• Assisted multiple clients with development of agreements for use in connection with websites, including Terms of Use, Privacy Policies, and software as a service (SAAS) agreements.