Technology Law

Our eCommerce attorneys understand the unique business opportunities and obstacles presented by the Internet and are experienced with applying new and traditional legal principles to achieve our clients’ goals. We serve clients and businesses with a wide range of needs, from one- and two-person startups to industry leaders.

We represent clients throughout the lifespan of their businesses, from initial formation and funding to implementation of an exit strategy. We also counsel eCommerce companies in a variety of industries and represent clients across the full spectrum of Internet law matters, including:

• The preparation and litigation of web hosting agreements, content and technology licenses, website disclaimers, terms of use, privacy policies, affiliate marketing agreements, electronic data interchange (EDI) agreements, and service level agreements
• Domain name disputes
• Matters raised under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA)
• Interactive publishing issues, such as the protection of copyrighted material distributed online
• Internet marketing compliance and disputes
• Internet reputation management and Internet defamation claims
• Compliance with local, state, federal, and foreign laws and regulations applicable to online retailers, publishers, distributors, and developers
• Tax and duty obligations related to online commerce

Our eCommerce attorneys are thought leaders on the application of new and traditional legal principles to Internet transactions and have litigated a number of cases on emerging legal issues affecting e-commerce businesses including the imposition of personal jurisdiction based upon a party’s Internet presence; the immunity afforded to website operators by Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act (CDA) of 1996; and trademark issues in keyword advertising.

Our technology attorneys understand the practical business issues of technology companies where product development cycles and time to market are compressed and the rules and laws governing these technologies are rapidly evolving and potentially span the globe.

We provide strategic legal counsel to Virginia technology companies spanning diverse industries at every stage of the business life cycle. Our attorneys stay abreast of the industry trends and issues as well as the legal decisions that affect them.

In order to protect clients with best practices, we advise clients on the following:

• Protecting software and hardware through the use of copyright, trade secret, and contractual arrangements
• Negotiating and drafting
  • Software licenses
  • Development, distribution and reseller agreements
  • Service level agreements, including maintenance and support agreements
  • Electronic rights agreements
  • Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) agreements
  • Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) agreements
  • Consulting agreements
  • Confidentiality and non-disclosure agreements
  • Non-compete agreements
  • Employment agreements
  • Subscription service agreements
  • Liability disclaimers
  • Data center and co-location agreements
  • Transactions, including contracts for the acquisition of computer hardware and software
  • Commercialization of products and services

Even with best practices in place, disputes and issues can arise, and our attorneys also litigate matters including:

• Misuse and theft of source code
• Web harvesting and website scraping
• Violation of terms of use
• Unfair data mining
• Security breaches and data loss
• IP infringement and unfair competition

Our clients include:

• Software developers
• Internet and mobile-based businesses
• Value-added resellers
• System integrators
• Data center service providers
• SaaS providers
• Hardware developers
• IT consulting firms