September 19 for 2011 European Conference, Oslo, Norway; Deadline for Hotel Discount is September 28

Early bird registration rates expire September 19, 2011 for the ITechLaw 2011 European Conference, taking place October 20-21, 2011 in Oslo, Norway. With an unparalleled focus on technology law, the 2011 European Conference is an invaluable education and networking event that cannot be missed.

This conference provides exceptional educational and networking opportunities at the Grand Hotel Oslo, one of the most elegant hotels in the Norwegian capital. Attendees connect with colleagues and industry leaders from around the world to discuss today's cutting-edge topics, and:

• Experience a first-class educational program of cutting-edge industry topics
• Attend more than 20 sessions and interactive workshops
• Participate in sessions and workshops taught by leading speakers 
• Enjoy unparalleled networking and social events

With leading attorneys in private practice and in-house counsel, to business executives, government officials, and academics, our attendees travel from more than 60 countries for a learning and networking experience unlike any other. View complete event details and register online at www.itechlaw.org/oslo2011.

How to Book Your Room

To reserve your room, you may register by completing the booking form and emailing it to reservations-grand@rica.no. Please indicate that you are with the ITechLaw Conference to ensure that you receive the group rate. If you have any questions or problems booking your guest room, please contact memberservices@itechlaw.org.

The booking deadline to receive the ITechLaw discounted group rates is Wednesday, September 28, 2011.

About the Grand Hotel Oslo
A luxury hotel in the heart of Oslo, the Grand Hotel Oslo is located in the middle of Karl Johans gate, Oslo's main street and the best location in town. The Grand Hotel is the most known and traditional hotel in Norway. This hotel has 292 rooms, including 54 suites, with a total of 519 beds and an excellent, well-known restaurant, The Grand Cafe. For more information on the Grand Hotel Oslo, visit its Web site.

The next ITechLaw eBulletin will be published in November 2011, and we would like to personally encourage you to submit articles for consideration for the next issue of the eBulletin by Monday, October 10, 2011. Please view our Submission Guidelines for additional detail regarding your submission, or feel free to contact me with any questions.

The eBulletin is a quarterly online law journal providing members with useful and diverse perspectives on timely issues faced by technology lawyers in jurisdictions worldwide. Each volume presents a broad array of useful content covering issues such as intellectual property, outsourcing, biotech, trademarks, etc.

Publishing in the eBulletin offers significant visibility to its contributors within the ITechLaw community, as well as the public at large as archives of the eBulletin are now open to the public.

We look forward to your submissions, and please contact ITechLaw Member Services with any questions.

Sweden

ITechLaw's Local Representative in Sweden, Bj�rn Gustavsson, Vinge, Stockholm, will host a roundtable on Agile Development, taking place September 16, 2011 at the Vinge law office in Stockholm. The roundtable is sponsored by Vinge.

Speakers will include Daniel Westman, Stockholm University; Hugo Petterson, Sigma AB; Gunnar Hamber and Tord Schultz, Sentensia Q AB; and Hakan Z. Persson, Arbetsformedlingen.

Please contact Bj�rn Gustavsson with any questions.

Amsterdam

Agile contracting is hot. Rather than the classic waterfall approach, more and more organizations choose SCRUM or other agile forms of software development, which require a different form of contracting: agile contracting.

ITechLaw Local Representatives for the Netherlands, Polo van der Putt, Vondst Advocaten and Reinoud Westerdijk, Kennedy Van der Laan have organized an upcoming roundtable to discuss the issues surrounding agile contracting in Amsterdam, Prince Bernhard van Oranje, Levi9, will provide an introduction to the business aspects of agile contracting, followed by Joost Linnemann, Kennedy Van der Laan, who will the discuss the legal considerations of agile contracting. The seminar is jointly sponsored by Vondst Advocaten and Kennedy Van der Laan.

Date and Time: 27 September 2011; 15:30 - 17:30
Speakers: Prince Bernhard van Oranje, Levi9 and Joost Linnemann, Kennedy Van der Laan
Moderators: Polo van der Putt, Vondst Advocaten and Reinoud Westerdijk, Kennedy Van der Laan
Location: Kennedy Van Der Laan, Haarlemmerweg 333, 1051 LH, Amsterdam
Cost: Complimentary

Agenda:
15:30   Registration
16:00   Welcome - Reinoud Westerdijk and Polo van der Putt, ITechLaw Local Representatives
16:05   Agile Software Projects - A Business Perspective: Prince Bernhard van Oranje, Levi9
16:45   Legal Aspects of Agile Software Projects: Joost Linnemann, Kennedy Van der Laan
17:30   Drinks

RSVP: Please respond by 17 September 2011 to Janine Boel (janine.boel@kvdl.nl) if you are interested in attending this event. If you have any questions, or if after submitting your registration you are unable to attend the seminar, please contact Janine at +31 20 5506 870.

ITechLaw is pleased to support the IFCLA 2012 Conference, which will be held June 20-22, 2012 in Munich, Germany. The conference's theme is "Smart Grid - Smart Law? Legal Challenges by the Latest e-Business Solutions." ITechLaw member Dr. Wolfgang B�chner, Hogan Lovells International, Munich is the President of IFCLA, and the IFCLA Local Advisory Board includes ITechLaw members Dr. Peter Brautigam, Noerr LLP, Munich; Dr. Christian Frank, Taylor Wessing, Munich; Dr. Oliver Habel, teclegal Habel Rechtsanwaelte Partnerschaft, Munich; and Dr. Stefan Schicker, SKW Schwarz, Munich.

For more information, please visit www.ifcla2012.com. To download the conference brochure, click here (PDF).

By Arthur F. Fergenson, Ansa Assuncao, Ellicott City, Maryland

A non-fiction book should state its main point on the first page, and that is precisely what the new edition of H. Ward Classen's "A Practical Guide to Software Licensing for Licensees and Licensors" does:  "Regardless of who creates the initial draft, a party should seek to control or at least share responsibilities for the agreement."  A lawyer who fails to follow this advice places his or her client at a substantial competitive disadvantage because, as Mr. Classen, explains, only by "controlling the drafting process," can a party best represent its interests.  Once as lawyer fulfills his or her ethical responsibilities to protect the client's interests by controlling or sharing control of the drafting process, the lawyer must competently advance the client's interests by knowing what and how to draft a software license.  The rest of Mr. Classen's book gives practical and detailed subject matter advice to allow the lawyer to do just that.  No lawyer should go into software license contract drafting without this book within arm's reach.  Observing the first command of control of the drafting process without observing the second of being conversant with the hows of advancing the client's interest is to risk being in the position of the Dustin Hoffman character at the end of The Graduate: having achieved the short-term goal of seizing the affections of the girl but having no idea of what to do next.

In describing the issues that a drafting lawyer faces in negotiating a software license, Mr. Classen is thorough, methodical, and complete.  The text of the book is approximately 400 pages, the remainder consisting of a model software license form, and it is dense, but no more so than required.  The thoroughness of the book's treatment of software license terms is balanced by its organization: clear and directed to the needs of the legal practitioner.  Clarity is not only the hallmark of the book; it is also one of its principal themes.  Especially in as complex a matter as software licenses, clarity is essential.  Lack of clarity leads to disputes, disputes lead to ruptured relations between licensor and licensee, and that leads to litigation.  Mr. Classen states his theme of clarity less than ten pages into his text:  "The importance of accuracy, clarity, and completeness in the [functional] specification cannot be overemphasized.  The specifications are the vendor's contractual obligations to the customer."

Read Complete Review (PDF)

H. Ward Classen, Esq., Computer Sciences Corp., Hanover, Maryland, has been a member of ITechLaw since 1992. "A Practical Guide to Software Licensing for Licensees and Licensors" is in its 4th Edition.

In addition to ITechLaw's quarterly online law journal for members, the eBulletin, ITechLaw often provides 1-2 short articles in eNews each month. eNews articles cover not only short legal updates but also give members an opportunity to share their unique professional experiences as they relate to ITechLaw.

ITechLaw encourages members to contribute to its publications. For more information or to submit your articles, please contact us. Submissions are subject to editorial discretion. Articles not used in eNews may be used in the eBulletin and vice versa.  Please submit articles for the eNews by the 8th of each month to memberservices@itechlaw.org.

ITechLaw welcomes member updates regarding firm changes, recent publications, speaking engagements and more. Please send all submissions to memberservices@itechlaw.org by the 8th of each month for inclusion in that month's eNews.