How to review support terms for Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) or Online Subscription Services

Most online subscription services or SaaS agreements include provisions regarding support, maintenance, uptime and repairs. These terms cover how often the services work, how often they might experience “downtime” or unavailability, and what to do when that occurs (who do you contact, how quickly must they respond, etc.). These terms are often in a separate document or exhibit, typically called a Service Level Agreement or SLA. 

Optimize the value of licensed content by including auditing and reporting rights in outbound content license agreements

The owner/licensor of digital content is typically in the driver’s seat when it comes to structuring the terms of a content licensing arrangement. To that end, licensors will be better served using their own form of agreement, rather than relying on that of the licensee. Licensors can determine everything from the scope of use and amount of control they retain over their content to the terms of compensation. With respect to the latter, compensation is often a variable amount based on either a percentage of advertising revenue earned on pages containing the licensed content, or some other metric such as the number of clicks, unique visitors or page views.

Series Note: The goal of our Deal Accelerators series is to help in-house attorneys provide greater support to their business teams by sharing useful resources – written in plain English by our team of former in-house lawyers – designed to educate, encourage collaboration and facilitate the completion of important business objectives. In previous posts, we have shared checklists to promote marketing collateral compliance and avoid delays with online product launches. 

The Basics of Advertising Compliance 

As you know, advertising is a highly-regulated business practice. Legal risks associated with false advertising exist at the federal and state level, under consumer protection laws and through NAD challenges, and more importantly, on a consumer level, such practices can lead to upset customers, poor reviews and negative press. By collaborating with business units in the “early stages” of new brand development, marketing campaigns, sales strategy, legacy product updates and other initiatives, legal team members are likely to uncover key concerns well-ahead of important deadlines, enabling them to offer solutions for minimizing risk while still achieving the desired marketing objectives.

Below is part 2 of our series on International Nonprofit Expansion. For part 1, click here.

The launch of any new product is a highly collaborative process, involving many business units including design and engineering, distribution, marketing and finance, and finally, the legal team who oversees compliance and ensures protection of the company’s interests. However, the type of product being offered can impact the process considerably. Unlike physical goods and services, online products carry a unique set of business and legal issues. Further, because an online launch tends move quickly and iterate on existing online experiences, it is critical for the business team to be aware of potential pitfalls in order to avoid delays.

Last year, Outside GC welcomed Gina Wodarski to the New England team. We are thrilled to have her onboard, drawing on her extensive employment, benefits and litigation background, as well as her commitment to service on behalf of our clients.