Technology & Business

Technology is changing how businesses are built, how products and services are delivered and how companies interact with customers and markets. From software and hardware to artificial intelligence, digital platforms and new electronic solutions, technological development is creating new business models while transforming established ones.

Our involvement often begins before a technology reaches the market. We work alongside founders, developers and businesses as new technologies and technology-enabled solutions are conceived, developed and commercialised. By becoming involved at an early stage, we can help shape the legal and commercial framework around a product as it evolves, addressing questions of ownership, intellectual property, data, regulation, contracting and commercial exploitation as part of the development process.

We advise technology companies, startups, entrepreneurs, investors and established businesses across software and hardware, SaaS and cloud services, artificial intelligence and automated systems, digital platforms, e-commerce, IT and technology solutions and emerging digital products and services. We also work with businesses seeking to adopt, acquire or integrate technology into existing operations or to develop new technology-enabled products and revenue streams.

Our approach is both legal and commercial. We seek to understand what the technology does, how it will be used and where its value lies, allowing us to bring together the corporate, commercial, intellectual property, data and regulatory expertise needed to support both the technology and the business built around it.

At the development stage, the decisions made around a new technology can have consequences long after launch. We assist in structuring relationships between founders, developers, employees, contractors and commercial collaborators, establishing ownership and usage rights over code, designs, data, know-how and other intellectual property, protecting confidential information and putting in place appropriate development and collaboration arrangements. Early involvement also allows potential legal and regulatory obstacles to be identified while there remains an opportunity to address them within the product or its commercial model.

As a technology moves towards commercial use, we help establish the contractual infrastructure through which it can be supplied, licensed and scaled. Our work includes software development and licensing, SaaS and cloud arrangements, hardware development and supply, IT procurement, implementation and systems integration, maintenance and support, outsourcing, distribution, reseller and partnership arrangements and contracts for integrated technology solutions. Where products combine software, hardware, connectivity, data and third-party technologies, we help define responsibilities and allocate risk across the different components and participants.

Artificial intelligence presents a particularly fast-moving set of opportunities and challenges. We assist clients working with AI and automated systems on issues including access to and use of data, intellectual property and outputs, relationships with third-party providers, governance, transparency, responsibility and regulatory compliance. We recognise that established legal frameworks will not always provide a complete answer to a new technological development; in those circumstances, our role is to identify the relevant principles, assess the risks and help construct a workable path to commercial deployment.

The value of a technology is also closely connected to the business through which it is developed and exploited. We advise on founder and shareholder arrangements, corporate structures, investment and financing, joint ventures, acquisitions and disposals and other strategic transactions. Intellectual property can be central to valuation and investment, and we assist clients in identifying, protecting, licensing and commercialising software, brands, designs, copyright, know-how and other proprietary assets.

Data and cybersecurity increasingly sit at the intersection of technology, regulation and commercial strategy. We advise on privacy and data protection, data-sharing and commercial use of data, cybersecurity obligations and responses to security incidents. We also help clients understand the regulatory environment applicable to digital products and services, particularly where new rules may affect how a technology is designed, marketed or deployed.

Technology is no longer confined to businesses traditionally described as part of the technology sector. Established companies across the economy are adopting AI, automation and digital systems, replacing legacy infrastructure and developing technology-enabled services of their own. We advise on these projects from the perspective of the customer as well as the developer or supplier, including procurement, implementation, intellectual property, data, operational dependency and the allocation of risk when critical business functions rely on third-party technology.

We also act when technology projects or commercial relationships do not develop as intended. Our disputes work includes failed or delayed technology projects, contractual performance, intellectual property and licensing, confidential information, corporate and shareholder issues and other disputes in which understanding the underlying product or business model is essential to resolving the legal problem.

Whether we become involved when an idea is first being developed, when a product is ready to enter the market, when investment is sought or when an established business is introducing a new technological solution, we focus on the same objective: creating a legal and commercial framework that allows innovation to become a sustainable business.