Legal support of IT companies
Legal services for information technology companies
With the development of information technology, the activity of specialized organizations specializing in the IT sector is increasing. At the same time, the current legislation provides for both general requirements for the activities of legal entities, which are necessary for compliance, and a fairly large number of specific features of the legal regulation of the IT sector. Lack of knowledge of all the nuances of doing business in the field of information technology can entail not only loss of profit, but also the occurrence of significant losses.
Features of legal support of IT companies
In fact, the activities of IT companies are characterized by the ability to implement projects anywhere in the world without limiting the availability of the created product. This requires the application of knowledge not only of national legislation, but also of international law and the law of other jurisdictions. At the same time, the application or non-application of certain legal norms depends on the actual activities of a particular organization, the type of IT-product being implemented, the planned concept of the company's development, taking into account state policy and established law enforcement practice.
Legal support of IT companies requires knowledge in various areas of legislation. For example, when creating an IT product, it is important to resolve issues with rights to the results of intellectual activity. At the same time, it is important to correctly build relationships with both the customer / contractor and directly with the developer, who may be in labor or civil law relations with the company.
Also, an equally important aspect in the activities of IT companies is compliance with the requirements for working on the Internet. In particular, when processing personal data, determining whether certain information disseminated on the Internet is a trade secret, whether there is a violation of the rights of third parties when working in the virtual space. Also no less important is the correct execution of transactions concluded remotely and making / accepting payments through the official website. The authorities pay special attention to the content of a particular site and the content of the transmitted information, which should not violate the rights of users, and in some cases comply with the requirements of advertising legislation, consumer protection, antimonopoly legislation, etc.
Another important aspect in the development of an IT business is the legal optimization of taxation with the choice of the most acceptable model of tax accounting and protection of the company’s interests in the tax authorities.
Any activity of a legal entity is not complete without the conclusion of contracts with counterparties. Contracts have their own specifics and differ significantly from the standardized types of contracts presented in the public domain in open sources. Licensing agreements, software distribution agreements, service provision agreements, including those concluded through a public offer and other types of agreements, require careful consideration with a balance of interests of the parties and the requirements of current legislation. Involving a lawyer to participate in negotiations at the stages of preparation, conclusion, amendment or termination of contracts allows you to optimally resolve emerging issues, minimize legal risks and prevent the emergence or development of conflict situations with counterparties.
Often, numerous inspections are carried out in relation to IT companies, which slow down their growth and development, since without the necessary preparation and development of the correct line of interaction with regulatory authorities, the risks of not always justified bringing organizations to justice are significantly increased, which can bring corresponding losses or require additional costs to litigation.
In this regard, most aspects of the activities of IT companies are subject to legal regulation and require legal support.
Business structuring of IT companies
The main feature of the work of IT companies is their rapid development and the creation of new products that require market introduction and promotion. Many IT startups have been developed precisely thanks to prompt and competent legal support.
Quite a significant number of issues related to the work of an organization in the field of information technology arise and are settled at the stage of the business plan. In particular, when opening a company, it is necessary to choose its organizational and legal form, field of activity, determine the procedure for distributing profits between the founders and the procedure for their interaction, appoint a person who will manage current activities, and determine the taxation system.
After opening an organization, it is important to determine the main directions of the organization's activities, recruit personnel and clearly define the conditions for interaction with employees both on an individual basis (for example, through the development of an employment or civil law contract) and in the process of developing a unified corporate policy. This allows avoiding a conflict of interests between employees and employers, employees and counterparties, to comply with the requirements of corporate ethics, anti-corruption legislation, and to fulfill obligations both directly to the company and to partners in a quality manner and in good faith.
When creating/selling IT products, it is necessary to secure the contractual obligations of the parties with a detailed settlement of potential conflict issues.
It is also equally important to determine the range of legal acts that will regulate the activities of one or another IT company, since some legal acts regulating the procedure for protecting personal data, as well as protecting against corruption factors, are international in nature and may in some cases extend their effect for Russian companies (for example, the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and the UK Bribery Act, the General Data Protection Regulation of the European Union and etc.).
In the framework of the activities of any organization, control and supervisory bodies can conduct both scheduled and unscheduled inspections. At the same time, it is important to assess the possible risks of such inspections and inform the company's employees in advance about the rules for interacting with inspectors, as well as to minimize the potential risks of organizing inspections and identifying violations by developing appropriate preventive measures.
Taking into account the multidimensional nature of the legal regulation of an IT company, the early construction of the structure of business processes will significantly minimize legal risks, make transparent procedures for interaction between partners and counterparties, predict the receipt of profit and outline the procedure for its distribution, optimize taxation, etc.
Legal services
- Due diligence of IT companies as part of their current activities
- Legal support on issues related to the protection of intellectual property rights
- Support of IT projects from the start of development
- Contractual support of IT companies (development of contracts, legal verification of contracts provided by counterparties, participation in negotiations with counterparties)
- Development of rules for using the site, strategies for processing personal data, schemes for making electronic payments that meet the requirements of current legislation
- Development of internal policies for IT companies
- Legal support on compliance with the requirements of advertising legislation, antimonopoly legislation
- Legal representation of IT companies
