RESOLVING TECHNOLOGY DISPUTES
Technology has become critical to most organisations and impacts virtually all industries. Its growing importance has led to significant changes in the way technology is developed, transferred and shared between organisations. As such, technology-related disputes are now often high-value and international in nature, and like technology itself, permeate all sectors.
A technology dispute can be interpreted in several ways and there are notable distinctions that separate them from general commercial disputes. Technology-related disputes include licensing of patents and copyrights, as well as their infringement. They also cover IT systems and infrastructure projects, collaborations and joint venture agreements, outsourcing arrangements, data or security breaches, media rights and smart contracts, to name a few.
“Technology disputes frequently arise under contracts, such as licences or non-disclosure agreements, or laws governing different types of intellectual property,” explains Caleb Hayes-Deats, counsel at MoloLamken LLP. “In the US, patents are a common way of protecting ownership of technological developments. Computer programmes can also receive copyright protection.”
Intellectual property (IP) infringement claims, for instance, take in trademark infringement, patent infringement and copyright infringement, and usually involve allegations of ongoing infringements, or those which occurred in the past prior to a trial or hearing.
Cyber security disputes are also rising. Virtually every sector is vulnerable to sophisticated cyber crime, carried out by skilled attackers who are extremely difficult to identify. The frequency of cyber attacks means related technology disputes will arise more often.
Oct-Dec 2021 issue
Richard Summerfield