Commercial Contracts

The term “commercial contracts” embraces a wide range of agreements on which companies rely to trade effectively. In an increasingly litigious society, it is now more important than ever for businesses to ensure they have enforceable contracts with all third parties, i.e. customers, suppliers, etc.

Commercial contracts form the basis of solid trading relationships. However, if these are not in writing, companies can be exposed in a number of ways, for instance:

Unlimited liability if claims are made against the company;
Be bound to a verbal contract which makes proof difficult;
Be bound by the other party’s terms which may be unfavourable to the business.

Janet regularly assists her clients with the following:-

Agency and distribution agreements
Terms and conditions of sale or purchase
Information technology agreements e.g. software licences
Licensing agreements
Joint venture agreements
Commercial negotiations.

So, whether reviewing or drafting contracts, Janet ensures her clients have much more than a ‘handshake’ to rely on.

 

Intellectual Property Rights (IPR)

Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) refer to creations of the mind: inventions, literary and artistic work; and symbols, names, images and designs used in commerce. IPR allow individuals to own their creativity and innovation in the same way that they can own physical property. Often, more than one type of IPR may apply to the same creation.

IPR can be powerful tools for gaining commercial advantage. IPR such as patents, trademarks, copyright, design rights and more can be very valuable business assets, capable of both defending products and creating significant commercial and strategic opportunity.

Janet helps her clients to identify, protect and exploit IPR, thereby gaining commercial advantage and security for potential lending. This way, clients can boost the value of their business, with IPR potentially accounting for 90% of the company’s assets.

 

Information Technology (IT)

There has never been a more critical time to address the issues of IT security. Businesses must keep pace with security developments to ensure that they can work effectively as suppliers to large organisations which have more comprehensive security policies. If not, then their attractiveness as business partners can be impaired. In addition, as larger enterprises make themselves increasingly secure, smaller firms can be seen as “the weakest link” in a supply chain and an easy point of entry to these organisations.

In addition to security issues, Janet specialises in advising her clients on a wide variety of contractual issues pertinent to the IT sector, some of which include:

Agreements for software development and licensing
Agreements for purchase of hardware products
Outsourcing agreements
Software distribution agreements
Software maintenance agreements
Agreements for IT consultancy services.

 

E-commerce

Despite being a relatively new area of commercial law, e-commerce now almost mirrors the real world of commerce in terms of legislation. Janet guides her clients around the virtual minefield of e-commerce regulations, ensuring full compliance as well as peace of mind, in the following areas:-

Buying and selling via the Internet
IPR
Website policies
Data protection requirements.

In terms of contractual issues in this area, Janet advises her clients on the following:-

Agreements for design of websites (and provision of related software)
Agreements for website hosting/maintenance
Website terms and conditions of supply.

Email Janet Entwistle