Articles

• Bräutigam, Peter, Second-Hand Software in Europe, CRI 2012, 1-9
  The German Federal Court of Justice has referred three crucial questions to the Court of Justice of the European Union concerning the legality of trading in second-hand software. Presenting the background of the case (I.) as well as the relevant European law (II.), the article embarks on interpreting the European law on each of the questions (III. to V.) and thereby expounding the balance struck between the freedom of goods and the rights of the copyrightholder.

• Bäumer, Ulrich / Mara, Prashant / Meeker, Heather, IT Outsourcing and Offshoring, CRI 2012, 9-19
  IT Outsourcing and Offshoring is now a proven business model to reduce costs and leverage knowledge bases outside one’s own continent. A domain only for the multinationals 10 years ago, now also small and medium (sme) companies are wildly using outsourcing. By definition, IT Outsourcing requires at least two players (customer and service provider) and Offshoring requires the analysis of at least two legal regimes (the legal regime of the customer and the legal regime of the service provider, who needs to be located outside the continent of the customer for offshoring projects). It also requires the awareness of cultural differences and the ability of a very stringent project management, to name a few more requirements.The following article tries to shed some light on the subtle (and not so subtle) differences of the legal regimes in India, UK, US and Germany with respect to IT Outsourcing and Offshoring, which any party trying to engage in such a complex project should be aware of. Given India is still the world number one outsourcing destination despite growing competition from China, Eastern Europe and South America (particularly Brazil) and businesses in Germany, Great Britain and the United States have discovered offshoring as their proven solution, the following article compares the most important clauses and the most important legal issues of these four legal systems.Obviously all outsourcing agreements stipulate (or should at least stipulate) the applicable law (choice of law) and the jurisdiction. The parties to an outsourcing agreement therefore need to know what the differences of the various legal regimes are and which jurisdiction offers which advantages. The following article tries to outline the differences of the legal regimes in India, UK, US and Germany to give parties to an outsourcing some guidance of the some of the most important provisions.

• Witzel, Michaela, Legal Challenges For US-based IT Providers Entering the DACH Market, CRI 2012, 19-26
  US IT providers interested in starting a business or investing in European countries are generally attracted by the prospect of expanding into the stable or even prospering markets of Germany (D), Austria (A) and Switzerland (CH), together referred to as DACH market. Despite the financial crises since 2008 the economies of the German-speaking market still have a good reputation with respect to its economy and provide many opportunities for new entrepreneurs. Insurances and banks, the automotive and semiconductor industry, telecommunications and the various public authorities in Germany, Austria and Switzerland are interesting targets for IT providers offering software solutions and IT-related services. If a company established in the US market has success in the German-speaking market the doors can be even opened to other European markets which offer new customers and additional business opportunities. However, US IT providers also have serious concerns about the different legal systems. Especially, German law has a strong reputation of providing substantial obstacles for the use of contractual terms which are not compliant with the provisions of the German civil law code. Nevertheless, the economic needs and challenges will force more and more US IT providers to think about expanding of their business to the markets of Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Therefore, they will also have to face the differences within the legal systems.

• CRI 2012, 26-28
• CRI 2012, 29
• CRI 2012, 29

Updates

• George, Roy, India: Competition Commission’s Approach to Apple’s Tie-In Arrangements, CRI 2012, 29-31

About the Authors

• About the Authors, CRI 2012, 32