Why is it important that the issues related to the use of software are clearly set out in the contract?
In the development, transfer and use of software, there are many cases where the parties’ agreement is not clearly set out in the contract and is not brought into compliance with the relevant intellectual property and contractual requirements, which can lead to significant legal and contractual risks and loss of trust in the partner.
In addition, agreements and projects relating to software may typically raise issues in multiple areas of law (including, for example, copyright, data protection), where it is essential to comprehensively review and identify or resolve any potential issues.
How can we help you regarding software development and licensing?
We have many years of experience in advising on software development projects and drafting and reviewing contracts related to the use and transfer of software, including assistance with relevant copyright, contractual, data security and data protection issues.
Why is it important to be aware of the legal aspects before using open-source software?
For open-source software, different rules may apply depending on the license governing the software or software component. For example, software or software components under a so-called copyleft license are typically required to maintain the rules of the license for derivative works created during the development of the software (e.g. GPL), whereas under a so-called permissive or non-copyleft license (e.g. BSD or Apache), this obligation does not apply and proprietary software can be created. It should be stressed, however, that there are many variations of these licenses, so it is necessary to consider carefully the rules involved, including whether the use of the components in development may entail the application of the original license governing them.
Given that we have many years of experience in providing legal advice on open-source software, you can turn to us with confidence on these issues.
Our success stories in this field
We have assisted a number of clients in providing comprehensive software law advice and legal due diligence for software development projects and businesses in the IT sector. In 2021, for example, we advised a transport software company on the use of software solutions under open source license, and in 2022 we represented an innovative Hungarian start-up in the drafting of a software development agreement with a US partner.
Labels: Software license Open source Usage rights Software protection Software copyright Software patent protection Software legal dispute resolution Legally compliant software Software tool agreement End-user license agreement Software audit Software legal expert Software acquisition Software development rights Software legal information
