This sessions focuses on:

• Sponsorship overview
• Applying for a sponsor licence
• Tier 2 sponsorship processes
• Sponsor compliance

The aim of the SCL Tech Law Essentials Programme series is to provide a foundation for lawyers who are qualified practitioners (2- 5 years PQE) who have decided that they want to specialise as IT lawyers. SCL’s programme of twelve modules will cover all the key areas of practice in IT law. By taking this programme you can be confident that you will have the know-how and understanding to advise effectively across the whole range of IT law issues.

The post Tech Law Essentials – Immigration “Sponsoring overseas nationals to work in the UK” appeared first on Society for Computers & Law.

Programme and Project Management

Programme and project management are significant components of IT development and delivery. Not only do they help the project get delivered as planned, the methodologies adopted could underpin the agreements or, if the project goes off the rails, become relevant to dispute resolution or litigation. Understanding the core project management concepts is therefore vital for both those advising on contracts and those litigating at a later date.

This session is designed for those working either in the establishment of agreements that include project management or on the resolution of disputes in which this is a factor. It will introduce the major concepts used by practitioners and show their relationships. The objective is to support you in writing agreements that need to incorporate programme and project management. For contentious lawyers, the material should help you in pleading and managing a case.

The Presenters

Both the presenters are experienced and current practitioners in programme and project management. They have been schooled in good practice, have applied it well, made their own creative mistakes and observed the weaknesses of others. They have also worked together in the delivery of programmes.

William Hooper is an SCL member and practices as an expert witness in IT and outsourcing disputes. He worked first in the design and delivery of IT and outsourcing services with suppliers, undertaking the project and programme management of several. He has also worked client-side in the sourcing and delivery of services. His company is Oareborough Consulting.

Volker Matz is an experienced Chartered Manager and Certified Management Consultant leading engagement teams to provide consulting, auditing and advisory services to various clients foremost across Financial Services, Insurance and Consumer Product Goods. His focus is mainly on operational excellence and process improvement across transactional services alongside programme and project management. He is a director at MMC London.

The aim of the SCL Tech Law Essentials Programme series is to provide a foundation for lawyers who are qualified practitioners (2- 5 years PQE) who have decided that they want to specialise as IT lawyers. SCL’s programme of twelve modules will cover all the key areas of practice in IT law. By taking this programme you can be confident that you will have the know-how and understanding to advise effectively across the whole range of IT law issues.

The post Tech Law Essentials – Programme and Project Management appeared first on Society for Computers & Law.

With the computing sector now dominated by software-led companies, from the FAANGs to individual app developers, it’s easy to take the view that patents are of little importance. After all, you “can’t patent software”… or can you? (Spoiler alert – you can, as demonstrated by the fact that the FAANGs all have significant patent portfolios.)

In this webinar the speakers:

• introduce the basic elements of the patent system;
• explain how it is possible to obtain patent protection for a wide range of computer-implemented inventions despite the apparent exclusions;
• explain the requirements for patentability of computer-implemented inventions; and
• review specific areas of innovation to demonstrate how these requirements are applied in practice.

Speakers’ Details:

John Leeming is a European and UK Patent Attorney with over 30 years’ professional experience. He drafts and prosecutes patent applications in the software, electronic and optical fields, with particular expertise in semiconductor device manufacturing equipment and processes. John’s clients range from large multinationals to smaller start-ups, including firms that have successfully progressed beyond the early stages to develop extensive foreign filing programmes. Protection of software inventions (often referred to as computer-implemented inventions) is a particular interest. John has written several articles on the EPO’s approach to this type of invention and has given many presentations on the topic to a variety of audiences. John also handles litigation and enforcement matters, having conducted IPEC and Patents County Court proceedings and assisted in various Patents Court proceedings over the years. Many matters have been successfully resolved without recourse to litigation, sometimes making use of alternative dispute resolution methods such as mediation and IPO Opinions.

John has extensive experience in recovering lapsed patents and applications, using restoration and restitutio procedures in the UK Intellectual Property Office (UK IPO), the EPO and elsewhere in Europe.

He is the chair of J A Kemp’s management committee and is recommended by The Legal 500, where he is described as “an eminent patent attorney well versed in European computer-implemented inventions practices” and “ knowledgeable about software technology, including cutting edge technologies such as AI”.

Stephen Hodsdon’s patent work focuses on the telecommunications, electronics, computer software, cleantech and medtech industry sectors. Stephen has particular expertise in handling cases where there is a cross-over with aspects of bioscience and biotechnology. Stephen’s design and trade mark work encompasses the fashion, consumer products, pharmaceutical, retail and transport sectors.

Stephen’s clients include multi-national companies, several universities in the UK and elsewhere and local SMEs. He is also a regular visitor to Japan and Korea. Stephen is also qualified as a patent attorney litigator and advocate and handles patent, trade mark and design litigation in the Patents Court (High Court) and Intellectual Property Enterprise Court (IPEC) and has conducted patent and trade mark appeals from the UK IPO in the High Court and advised on numerous pre-action matters in patents, trade marks, designs and copyright to achieve settlements for his clients.

In 2008 Stephen was called to the Bar (Lincoln’s Inn) to undertake a one year pupillage (training as a barrister) at one of the leading chambers specialising in IP in London, where he gained substantial experience in all aspects of IP litigation.

In 2009 he was awarded the Patent Agent Litigator Certificate allowing him to conduct intellectual property litigation in all relevant courts. In 2014 he was awarded the Higher Courts Advocacy Certificate, giving him full rights of audience in these courts, including the Patents Court, Intellectual Property Enterprise Court and on appeal from the Patents Court or IPEC.

Hermione Thompson is a European and UK Patent Attorney based in our London office. She has experience drafting, filing and prosecuting patent applications, particularly in Europe and the UK. Hermione has a technical background in engineering and has handled a wide range of electrical, electronic and mechanical patent cases. She has experience working in a large variety of fields, for example, those related to medical devices, software, power tools, packaging and manufacturing methods, and lithographic apparatus. Hermione often works on cases with subject matter relating to life sciences as well as engineering. In particular, she is familiar with the considerations of agricultural companies and has worked on various agritech cases. Hermione enjoys working on clean/green technologies. She heads up J A Kemp’s cleantech team and has experience drafting, filing and prosecuting related applications.

Hermione’s clients include individual inventors, start-ups and large multinationals and tailors her advice depending on the specific needs of the client. In addition, Hermione has experience advising clients on freedom to operate matters for both patents and designs.

The post SCL Tech Law Essentials webinar: “Patents for computer inventions – always worth thinking about” appeared first on Society for Computers & Law.

This sessions focuses on:

• Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT)
• Where did blockchain come from
• the 4 main characteristics of blockchain
• the benefits of blockchain
• use cases
• legal issues
• bitcoin
• Smart Contracts and their relationship to blockchain

The aim of the SCL Tech Law Essentials Programme series is to provide a foundation for lawyers who are qualified practitioners (2- 5 years PQE) who have decided that they want to specialise as IT lawyers. SCL’s programme of twelve modules will cover all the key areas of practice in IT law. By taking this programme you can be confident that you will have the know-how and understanding to advise effectively across the whole range of IT law issues.

The post Tech Law Essentials – From Blockchain to Smart Contracts appeared first on Society for Computers & Law.

This session will provide a brief introduction to the following topics:

• Role of regulators
• Regulatory relationships
• Working with Compliance teams
• Selected regulated environments
• Contract remediation projects for regulated clients

The post Tech Law Essentials Module 12 – Regulated Environments: an introduction appeared first on Society for Computers & Law.

This session will cover:

• The nature of projects and where they go wrong
• Diagnosis and your case
• Trends, developments, their implications
• Managing a failing project
• Renegotiating scope of delivery
• Termination and preparation for disputes
• Starting and pleading claims
• Injunctions
• Lifecycle of a claim

The post SCL Tech Law Essentials Module 11 – Renegotiation and Disputes appeared first on Society for Computers & Law.

In this session our panel of experts will cover:

• A market overview of big data and IoT, including the scale, key players and use cases
• Big data and data as an asset, including data opportunities and identifying the value of data
• Internet of Things from an infrastructure perspective, including the benefits and opportunities
• Commercial and contractual considerations, including protecting rights in data as well as privacy, cyber and data security, competition, consumer and other contractual considerations
• Managing risk and disputes, taking a look at some of the key associated risks and how best to address them

The post Tech Law Essentials Module 10 – Big Data and IOT appeared first on Society for Computers & Law.

Speakers:
Rich Gibbons, ITAM Services Director, The ITAM Review
Andrew Vernon, Associate, Addleshaw Goddard
Andana Streng, Associate, Addleshaw Goddard

In the session we will be discussing:

1. What is cloud computing?
2. What are the business benefits of cloud computing?
3. What are the key legal risks and challenges of the cloud computing model?
4. What are the key areas to focus on when negotiating cloud contracts?

The speakers have experience acting for both customers and suppliers and will therefore be looking at these items from both a customer and supplier perspective to help attendees really focus on the key issues during negotiations.

The post SCL Tech Law Essentials Module 9 – Cloud Computing appeared first on Society for Computers & Law.

This session will cover:

1. Context of Data Protection in UK and wider implications

2. Basics of GDPR

3. More complex processing activities

4. Roles, obligations and rights

5. Contracting for compliance

6. International data transfers

7. Breaches and enforcements

8. Marketing-related key features and impact of GDPR

The aim of the SCL Tech Law Essentials Programme series is to provide a foundation for lawyers who are qualified practitioners (2- 5 years PQE) who have decided that they want to specialise as IT lawyers. SCL’s programme of twelve modules will cover all the key areas of practice in IT law. By taking this programme you can be confident that you will have the know-how and understanding to advise effectively across the whole range of IT law issues.

The post Tech Law Essentials Module 8 – The A-Z of Data Protection in the IT World appeared first on Society for Computers & Law.

This session will cover:

– Cyber security
– Computer misuse
– Liability for cyber risks
– Insurance of cyber risks

This event is the seventh Module of the third cycle of the Tech Law Essentials Programme.

The SCL Tech Law Essentials Programme is intended to provide a comprehensive overview of everything a practising IT lawyer should know.

The aim of the SCL Tech Law Essentials Programme series is to provide a foundation for lawyers who are qualified practitioners (2- 5 years PQE) who have decided that they want to specialise as IT lawyers. SCL’s two year rolling programme of twelve modules will cover all the key areas of practice in IT law. By attending the SCL seminar programme you can be confident that you will have the know-how and understanding to advise effectively across the whole range of IT law issues.

The post Tech Law Essentials Module 7 – Risk, Cyber & Computer Misuse appeared first on Society for Computers & Law.