On July 24th, 2013 the Massachusetts legislature passed An Act Relative to Transportation Finance (“the Act”), which, among other things, makes “computer system design services and the modification, integration, enhancement, installation or configuration of standardized software” taxable services under the Massachusetts sales and use taxes. Under the Act, “Computer system…
Today the European Commission unveiled its legislative package to adapt the EU payments market to the opportunities of the single market and to support EU economic growth . The package includes a proposal for a cap on multilateral interchange fees (MIFs) for card-based payment transactions. MIFs are set by credit-card…
Jim Gatto and James Chang recently published “Mobile Privacy Practices: Recent California developments indicate what’s to come” in the June issue of Computer Law Review International. The use of mobile applications has seen huge growth in the past few years. As the use of apps become increasingly commonplace, social concerns…
The Affordable Care Act of 2010 mandated the creation of health care exchanges (“Exchanges”) which will enable individuals to shop on-line for health insurance beginning October 1, 2013. Creating and configuring the software, databases and interfaces that comprise the technology platforms for these Exchanges has created huge challenges for the…
When in the course of commercial events, it becomes necessary for one client to dissolve the operational bonds that have connected it with its supplier, and to assume a new service delivery model . . . As the outsourcing industry has matured, we have seen a greater incidence of clients…
Deploying a software package across the company (or most of the company) is becoming a reality for most companies. Standard processes and systems drive cost, quality and performance improvements. Unlimited deployment rights may also reduce transaction costs and project completion timeframes. The right enterprise and unlimited license agreement can make…
The rise of cloud computing services and the privacy/security issues involved have been much discussed (see, for example, our prior blog posts here). But when customers procure cloud-based services, a critical “behind the scenes” issue is often overlooked: is the cloud provider itself relying on third party subcontractors to perform…
Although reconciliation of the key terms has been a best practice for over-the-counter derivative trades for some time (particularly with collateralised trades), the scale of the reconciliation exercise imposed by forthcoming regulations in the EU and U.S. has caused many market participants to undertake a fundamental review of the systems…
As noted in our previous blog postings on the subject (Applications Outsourcing Pricing – Part 1 and Applications Outsourcing Pricing – Part 2), the most prevalent model for pricing applications outsourcing services involves the following components: a fixed monthly charge for applications maintenance and support; a fixed monthly charge for…
You’re a CIO and a major software publisher proposes an “enterprise” or an “unlimited” license arrangement. Having made its way up the chain to your desk, you are told the deal looks promising. There can be pitfalls in any software deal. In “enterprise” or “unlimited” license arrangements the pitfalls can…