There is a new Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals opinion that is likely to have a significant impact on SaaS providers. In Digitech Computers, Inc. v. Trans-Care, Inc. (link here), the 7th Circuit focuses on a SaaS agreement for Digitech to provide certain management software licensing components for Trans-Care (an ambulance and medical transportation service). The Court ultimately upheld a breach of contract claim in favor of Digitech, significantly reduced Digitech’s damages award, and...
Read More »The end is finally nigh for the ongoing litigation roller coaster
that is the Facebook/Mark Zuckerberg v. Cameron and Tyler
Winklevoss saga. This has always been an interesting piece of
software litigation based upon (a) the personalities involved and
(b) the scale. It is safe to say that when you are one of the
fastest growing companies in the country, you are going to face
litigation. In fact, that's why you call me. And it is
equally logical that when you are creating a website or working...Read More »
The first caveat is that I'm sorry I haven't posted anything
recently. Work here at Alerding Castor Hewitt has been going
like gangbusters and yours truly has been up to his distinguished
eyeballs in work. Trust me, however, I'm now dutifully
committing myself to continue providing insight and humor as your
Indiana Internet Litigation guru.
Second caveat is that this post actually has nothing to do with privacy litigation, software litigation or really any other technology law issues. ...Read More »
Second caveat is that this post actually has nothing to do with privacy litigation, software litigation or really any other technology law issues. ...Read More »
Your friendly neighborhood litigation attorney at Alerding Castor Hewitt, LLP with a final post for the year to all of our business, Indiana internet litigation, and technology law clients. Saturday, December 25th will no doubt be a date of celebration in many homes. As you spend time with your family, remember how special the day is and all of the changes that have taken place in the last 20 years.
Some of you might wonder what I mean exactly. I’m not referring to Christmas. And for those...
Read More »
Your
friendly Indianapolis attorney at Alerding Castor Hewitt, LLP with
a brief overview (not an in-depth analysis of all of the legal
issues) of some recent Seventh Circuit decisions involving internet
litigation, trademark disputes, and anti-cybersquatting that could
affect technology, software, and business clients maintaining
websites and engaging in cyber-marketing.
Last Friday, October 1, 2010, the Seventh Circuit upheld the dismissal of a suit for lack of personal jurisdiction...
Read More »Last Friday, October 1, 2010, the Seventh Circuit upheld the dismissal of a suit for lack of personal jurisdiction...
Alerding
Castor Hewitt, LLP is a law firm that does a
substantial amount of legal work with clients in SaaS law and as
technology legal counsel. So much so that we were asked to
contribute to Corporate Blogging for Dummies, a
best practices book that our friends Douglas Karr and Chantelle
Flannery were approached to write.As a law firm that utilizes blogging to reach our current and potential clients, the Alerding Castor Hewitt, LLP website was featured as an example within these pages....Read More »
Back in October, 2009, I posted about the new endorsement /
testimonial rules set out by the Federal Trad Commission (blog.alerdingcastor.com/blog/alerding-castor/0/0/ftc-makes-changes-to-blog-law).
There has been some development since that time, but mostly
everyone is still watching and waiting. The FTC did
threaten to pursue Ann Taylor back in April, but otherwise, it has
been relatively silent.
That is, however, until now. On August 26, 2010, the FTC reached a settlement with Reverb...Read More »
That is, however, until now. On August 26, 2010, the FTC reached a settlement with Reverb...Read More »
FIRM JOINS INNOVATION SUMMIT AS SPONSOR
For the second year in a row, the firm committed to this year’s Innovation Summit as the Plenary Panel Sponsor.
This annual event brings together entrepreneurs, executives and policymakers for learning, dialogue and debate on the central challenge of today’s economy – turning today’s ideas into tomorrow’s business breakthroughs. The Summit includes keynote speakers, breakout sessions on a variety of innovation related topics, and dozens of trade and...
Read More »FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 23, 2010
Contact: Lainey Scheetz
317.403.9012
lscheetz@alerdingcastor.com
ALERDING CASTOR HEWITT, LLP CLIENT NAMED 10TH FASTEST GROWING PRIVATE COMPANY IN INDIANA FOR THIRD TIME
Indianapolis, IN – Iasta, the leading provider of eSourcing software and solutions, was titled as the 10th Fastest Growing Private Company in Indiana for 2010 by the Indianapolis Business Journal (IBJ). A third time honoree, Iasta boosted its three-year growth rate at 134 percent.
The report...
Read More »This one is a fun little piece of pseudo-software litigation.
The basic facts are that Facebook and its majority stockholder Mark
Zuckerberg have been sued by Paul D. Ceglia, who claims 84%
ownership in the website juggernaut. The part of this story
that has been clogging the Net is that a state court judge in
New York actually issued a temporary restraining order ("TRO")
prohibiting Zuckerberg and Facebook, Inc. from disposing or
selling any of its assets. This has produced the...Read More »
Be
prepared: I'm going to get on a bit of a soapbox. I
read a recent article at WSJ.com entitled "Using Social Networking
as Legal Tool" (Linked Below). There is
nothing wrong with this article. It very succinctly and
pleasantly explains how certain law firms are using social
networking and the Web to find clients for high-value plaintiff
cases. And I don't disagree with that approach. As an
attorney posting on a blog, I too hope to use social networking to
get business, and would be...Read More »I recently read a summary of a lecture on applying the seven deadly
sins to software development. The sins are:
The idea is not to sell products leading to the sins themselves...
Read More »
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Lust
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Obsessive or excessive thoughts
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Gluttony
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Over-indulgence, over-consumption
|
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Greed
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A sin of excess like lust and gluttony, but in reference to
wealth
|
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Sloth
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Laziness, indifference, apathy
|
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Wrath
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Uncontrolled feelings of hatred and anger
|
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Envy
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Resenting another because they possess something you do
not
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Pride
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Excessive love of self
|
The idea is not to sell products leading to the sins themselves...
Your friendly neighborhood technology counsel here: The
Indiana Supreme Court recently discussed the ability of a lay
witness to provide "expert" opinions in Sibbing v.
Cave, 922 N.E.2d 594 (Ind. 2010). In that
case, counsel asked the plaintiff what she believed caused her
pain. She responded something to the effect of "the bulging
disc in my lower back", and the opposing party objected based on a
lack of expert foundation. The basic argument to the trial
court was that this lay person...Read More »
Given the firm's
technology legal counsel and software litigation practice, it
only makes sense that the firm would support the prestigious
2010 Techpoint MIRA Awards Gala taking place on
Saturday, May 15th, 2010. It makes for a positive synergy
between the two groups.
The TechPoint Mira Awards, presented by BKD, is the premier technology awards program in the state of Indiana. Since the turn of the century, TechPoint has honored Indiana businesses, schools and universities, and individuals for...
Read More »
Your friendly
neighborhood technology legal counsel here for Part 2 of my
riveting analysis of the dreaded "venue-selection clause" In
Part 1, I scared you with the reality that when you absently click,
"I agree" you are very likely binding yourself to litigate any
dispute in a location that is likely not conducive to your case or
your pocketbook. And I'm sure that the point you've been
wondering about since last we interacted is, "what can I do about
it". Unfortunately, the answer is not...Read More »
How
many times have you signed up for a service on-line, scrolled past
all the legal jargon, and clicked "I Accept" or "I Agree"
without taking the time to actually read the terms and conditions
you're agreeing to? Admit it. We all do it.
But, just as a warning to be careful the next time you're purchasing that new mp3, or more importantly signing your company up for something on-line... those shrink-wrap and click-wrap agreements have been held by the courts to be binding.
Contracting in...Read More »
For SaaS companies, the customer agreement is critical.
Why? A SaaS relationship is not a 1-time purchase of software
to be installed. The SaaS customer agreement is a
document which will govern (what you hope will be) a long-term
relationship with your client. It must cover the software
license aspect of the relationship, the ongoing maintenance,
upgrading and use of the software and - often overlooked - the
professional services to be provided by the SaaS company to the
client. The...Read More »
New technology businesses usually face two hurdles to get their
product to market. The first is proof of concept. The
second is proof of scale.
Both are intended to solve the “Ability” stage of the business plan process and move the business into the "Meeting" stage:
Proof of concept is simply the proof that the business can develop a working prototype that...Read More »
Both are intended to solve the “Ability” stage of the business plan process and move the business into the "Meeting" stage:
Recognition of Market ->
Recognition of Market Opportunity -> Ability to Meet Market
Opportunity -> Meeting Market Opportunity at Profit
Proof of concept is simply the proof that the business can develop a working prototype that...Read More »
So
you've launched your company and hired a web-developer to breathe
life into the idea you've poured your heart and soul into
developing over the past several months, perhaps even
years...Maybe you never even thought to ask the question, but at the end of the day who actually owns "your" website? You or the web designer?
Indiana software litigation in a ruling by the Supreme Court of Indiana, Conwell v. Gray Loon Outdoor Marketing Group, points to the fact that hiring a contractor for the...Read More »
Here
at Alerding Castor Hewitt, LLP, often times we work with clients
who have software that inherently transcends state and national
borders. Not just brick and mortor storefronts, many of our clients have customers nationwide and around the world.
Such is the realm of cloud computing law, and it's up to us as technology legal counsel to answer the inescapable question of what state, federal, or even country's law applies should a lawsuit arise.
Well, if you haven't contracted for this simple...Read More »
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