TECHdotMN: News about Minnesota Startups

April 29, 2010 | by Paul Godfread Comments

Kate Andresen is an attorney specializing in information technology and software licensing.

Kate began her own law practice, Andresen Law, PLLC over a year ago, prior to which, she was a partner with Bonnabeau Salyers Stites Doe Andresen (BSSD), a law firm specializing in IT.  Notably, she has authored a treatise entitled The Law and Business of Computer Software.

Kate spoke with us about a few of the basics of contract law and why startup businesses need to pay attention to the legalese.

Here are a few of the questions we address:

What is a contract? A contract is an agreement.  It can be a simple as a quick oral agreement.  Having written contracts is preferable because they allow transactions to be predictable and it is easier to hold people accountable.

How can you use well drafted contracts to limit your risks? Contracts usually assign risk to one party or another.  If things go wrong, its important to know who needs

What are some “gotcha” terms in a software contract? Representations and warranties can be a hidden source of problems.  If you agree to take software “as is,” it means that even if the code doesn’t work at all, there is no breach.

Kate explains to us why certain terms are in most contracts and how they are used.  We also discussed website terms of service, EULAs, how to best approach your own business transactions.

Tags: Andresen Law, BSSD, GTK, IT law, Kate Andresen, software law