Facebook Agrees to Record $5 Billion Settlement with FTC on Privacy Practices

Multiple media outlets are reporting today that the Federal Trade Commission has agreed to settle its case against Facebook on its privacy  practices for $5 Billion. The Wall Street Journal reports that the vote by FTC commissioners was 3-2 in favor of accepting the agreement and split along party lines with the Republican majority favoring…

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Silicon Valley Software Law Blog’s Kristie Prinz to Present Upcoming Webinar on Software Hosting Agreements

Silicon Valley Software Law Blog’s Kristie Prinz will be presenting a webinar on July 25, 2019 for CLE provider Strafford a webinar titled “Drafting Software Hosting Agreements: Service Availability, Performance, Data Security, Other Key Provisions.” Ms. Prinz’s co-presenter will be FieldFisher partner Laura Berton.  The Prinz Law Office has issued a press release announcing the…

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The Prinz Law Office Announces Opening of New San Francisco Office

The Prinz Law Office, which publishes the Silicon Valley Software Law Blog, has announced the opening of its new San Francisco Bay Area location in San Francisco. The new location will enable the firm to better serve clients in the northern Peninsula, the North Bay, and San Francisco. For more information on the announcement, please…

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Silicon Valley Software Law Blog’s Kristie Prinz to Speak on “Negotiating SaaS Agreements: Drafting Key Contract Provisions, Protecting Customer and Vendor Interests”

Silicon Valley Software Law Blog’s Kristie Prinz will be featured as a speaker on “Negotiating SaaS Agreements: Drafting Key Contract Provisions, Protecting Customer and Vendor Interests” for a webinar hosted by Arlington, Virginia-based Clear Law Institute on Wednesday, February 21, 2018 from 10-11:15 a.m.  PST.  The firm has published a press release on the event,…

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Silicon Valley Software Law Blog’s Kristie Prinz to Present Webinar on “Negotiating SaaS Agreements: Drafting Key Contract Provisions, Protecting Customer and Vendor Interests”

Silicon Valley Software Law Blog Author Kristie Prinz will be co-presenting a webinar on “Negotiating SaaS Agreements: Drafting Key Contract Provisions, Protecting Customer and Vendor Interests” with Kelley Miller of Reed Smith on August 8, 2017 at 10:00 a.m. PST/1:00 p.m. EDT.  To register for this webinar, please sign up at:  https://www.straffordpub.com/products/negotiating-saas-agreements-drafting-key-contract-provisions-protecting-customer-and-vendor-interests-2017-08-08.

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Common Software Agreement Fee Drafting Problems and How to Fix Them

Updated 6.21.24 When a client sends me a software license agreement or SaaS agreement to review or update, I always make a priority of reviewing any terms in the contract involving fees and then carefully reviewing the website and any marketing materials or fee schedules to confirm that the fee terms in the contract clearly…

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Apple Implements App Store Affiliate Commission and Pricing Changes

If your software business makes available an app in the Apple App Store, then you will want to make note of several business changes that Apple has just recently announced. The first change is that Apple has reduced the App Store affiliate commission from 7% to 2.5%, as was reported by Tech Crunch.  An affiliate…

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SaaS Contracts: Is Your SaaS Contract Extending Your Sales Cycle?

The average sales contract being signed by a SaaS company has nothing to do with the technology being sold and fails to include all of the key contract terms that need to be in a SaaS contract.  Thus, not only does the poor nature of the contract complicate the process of signing up new customers…

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US Navy Responds to Copyright Infringement Suit Filed by Bitmanagement Software

Bitmanagement Software GmbH recently filed suit against the US Navy, alleging willful copyright infringement of its 3D virtual reality software “BS Contact Geo” and demanding $600 million in damages.  A copy of the complaint  has been posted by Business Insider at the attached  link.  Bitmanagement’s complaint alleges that the software license agreement entered into with the…

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Takeaways for Software Industry from New Study on Costs of Data Breach

If you are a cloud service provider or a software provider who offers maintenance services to enterprise-level companies, then your company has likely had occasion to negotiate indemnification clauses relating to data breaches.  Moreover, your company has probably had to provide warranties around data security or employee bad acts that would provide some protections to…

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Should Your Software Company Be Concerned about Product ADA Compliance?

If your software company leases office spaces, then you may have some familiarity with the legal issues involving whether or not the space is compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act (the “ADA”), but have you ever considered whether your software product itself is ADA compliant? If the answer is no, then it may be…

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Microsoft Launches New Constitutional Challenge Against Government Over Secret Data Requests

Microsoft has just opened a new chapter in the software industry’s pushback against alleged federal government overreach by filing a constitutional challenge over indefinite government gag orders when the government subpoenas information from customer cloud accounts.  Microsoft’s complaint alleges that the orders violate First Amendment free speech rights and Fourth Amendment rights regarding unreasonable government…

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Lumos Labs Case Signals to Health Software Industry an Intention by the FTC to Police Industry’s Advertising Claims

The Federal Trade Commission’s pursuit of Lumos Labs over advertising claims made about its Luminosity brain training software programs has sent a clear cautionary signal to the health software industry that the FTC intends to exercise regulatory authority over advertising in the space to monitor companies’ health-related advertising claims for deceptive advertising issues. The FTC…

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Prinz Law Launches New Meetup Group on Copyright Law Meetup

The Prinz Law Office has just launched a new meetup group on Copyright, Software, Internet & Social Media and the Law in conjunction with the High Tech Section of the Santa Clara County Bar Association.  The firm anticipates having remote as well as in-person events.  If you are interested in the subject, the firm welcomes…

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Recorded Webinar of “Negotiating Software as a Services Contracts”

In the event you missed the program featuring co-presenters Silicon Valley Software Law Blog’s Kristie Prinz and Reed Smith’s Kelley Miller and produced by Stafford Publications in September, 2015, the webinar is available now for viewing by our blog readers at the following link: View Webinar.   CLE credit is available for the program only when viewed at the Strafford Publications…

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FCC Decision on Net Neutrality: What Does this Mean for the Software Industry?

The Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) adopted new rules today on the issue of net neutrality, affirming the government’s right to increase its regulatory powers over the Internet. In a press release issued to announce the new rules, the FCC identified the following as the key provisions of the rules to be adopted: Application of the…

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Report Reveals that the Majority of Apps on Market Ignore Privacy Concerns

The Wall Street Journal reported this week that apps on the market overall are not providing users with even basic privacy protections. The report focused on research conducted by the Global Privacy Enforcement Network, which is a coalition of privacy officials from 19 countries, including the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, and determined that 60% of…

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California Adopts Smartphone Kill Switch Law

California has just enacted a smartphone kill switch law, which will require all smartphones sold in the state of California as of July, 2015, to have kill switch features enabled as the default settings on the smartphone. SB 962 requires all smartphones: manufactured on or after July 1, 2015, and sold in California after that…

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FTC Settlement with Google to Require Refund of Unauthorized In-App Charges

The Federal Trade Commission has announced that Google has agreed to refund customers’ unauthorized in-app purchases made by their children in the Google Play Store pursuant to a settlement over a complaint filed by the Commission alleging violations of Section 5(a) of the FTC Act, 15 U.S.C. Section 45(a) prohibiting unfair or defective acts or…

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