Tech & Sourcing @ Morgan Lewis

TECHNOLOGY TRANSACTIONS, OUTSOURCING, AND COMMERCIAL CONTRACTS NEWS FOR LAWYERS AND SOURCING PROFESSIONALS
We found interesting a recent Forbes article by Cody McLain that discussed the top trends to watch in the business process outsourcing (BPO) industry. The article highlighted the following four trends for 2019.
The due diligence review of existing third-party contracts is a critical component of any outsourcing deal. For the company that is outsourcing part of its business functions to a third party, reviewing existing third-party contracts for certain key terms is an important part of the outsourcing process.
Check out this recent LawFlash by Morgan Lewis partners Michael Pierides and Simon Lightman discussing the groundbreaking fines the United Kingdom’s Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) proposed against two global organizations pursuant to the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is seeking comments on the effectiveness of the amendments it made to the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule (COPPA Rule) in 2013, to determine whether additional changes are needed due to changes in technology since the last update.

The Stop Hacks and Improve Electronic Data Security (SHIELD) Act was signed into New York law by Governor Andrew Cuomo on July 25, after passing the New York State Assembly on June 17. The SHIELD Act takes effect on March 21, 2020, and will modernize New York’s current laws governing data breach notification and data security requirements with the intention of providing greater protection for consumer's private information, while holding companies accountable for providing such protections.

As lawmakers, policymakers, tech companies, and other data collectors try to determine how much access and control of consumer data is appropriate or acceptable, and how much notice and choice consumers should have, consumers will ultimately be the arbiter of such access and use.

Open source programs are becoming a best practice in the technology, telecom/media, and financial services industries.
When an inventor of technology who is also a university employee wants to commercialize university-developed technology, it is customary for the university and the inventor to “spin out” the technology via a license agreement to a newly created company (a licensee company) that sets forth the terms of the license, including any necessary milestones for advancing the technology, restrictions on the use of the technology, and the royalties and other financial terms applicable to the licensing and commercialization of the technology.
Executive Order 13873 was issued on May 15 with the goal of “Securing the Information and Communications Technology and Services Supply Chain.”
In this Contract Corner, we are highlighting considerations for drafting sublicense provisions in the context of an Intellectual Property License.