Best Practices for Corporate Restructuring

Like so many others, software has become a truly global industry. This title explores the legal aspects of software licensing and distribution software that companies need to know, country by country. In Licensing & Distributing Software in Europe, intellectual property legal experts from England, Germany, France, Spain, Portugal, and The Netherlands articulate the finer points of software licensing and distribution in the main European markets listed above. From protecting intellectual property to an overview of these countries' legal systems, experts in the field touch on licensing and distribution issues that occur now, as well as issues that will hold true in the future. This book provides the reader with sample agreements that have been used widely by U.S. companies to successfully license and distribute their software in Europe.

Broken down by country, experts discuss the following topics in their chapters:

• intellectual property protection for software (copyright, trademark, and patent)
• legal framework for licensing software
• warranty and liability in licensing and distribution agreements
• typical mistakes made by U.S. companies licensing in Europe
• detailed discussion of how standard U.S. licensing and distribution contracts are interpreted in European courts
• overview of the legal system including the courts and alternative dispute resolution
• covers issues listed above in England, Germany, France, Spain, Portugal, and The Netherlands

About the Authors:

• Esme de Guzman Vos is an intellectual property lawyer and the founder of Muniwireless.com, the portal for news and information about citywide wireless broadband networks around the world. She runs her own firm, Lemon Cloud BV, based in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Ms. Vos has been practicing law since 1988 as a litigator and transactional lawyer specializing in intellectual property. She served as the Chief Legal Officer and Secretary to the Board of Spray Network NV and Director of Legal Affairs of Baan Business Systems worldwide. Ms. Vos obtained her law degree from Harvard Law School, and holds bachelor's and master's degrees in Chemistry from the University of California (Santa Cruz and Los Angeles).
• Richard French (England and Wales ): a barrister with years of experience as general counsel of software companies.
• Marie Laure-Laffaire and Sylvia Jonas (France): partners at the LEXVIA law firm in Paris who specialize in intellectual property law and are experts in the legal aspects involving electronic signatures.
• Jens Horstkotte (Germany): partner in the Munich office of von Boetticher Hasse Lohmann who specializes in intellectual property law and is an expert in complex cross-border transactions involving technology companies.
• Serge Gijrath (Netherlands chapter part I): partner in Amsterdam office of Baker & McKenzie who specializes in intellectual property law and is an expert on outsourcing and electronic commerce legal issues.
• Wanda van Kerkvoorden (Netherlands chapter part II): partner and co-founder of SOLV, who specializes in intellectual property law and is an expert in complex technology transactions.
• Jos Manuel Prez Marzabal and Miren Gracia Badiola (Spain): intellectual property lawyers with the firm of Jausas Abogados (Barcelona), who are experts in data privacy, Internet law and electronic commerce.
• Filipe Leito de Sousa (Portugal): the founder of Leito de Sousa Advogados in Lisbon who is an expert in intellectual property and Commercial.