IT law, telecommunications, data protection

The digital transformation affects nowadays all areas of our lives. There is hardly a service that is not offered online, hardly a product that is not interconnected. Mobile online services and the Internet of Things are a challenge from a technical and social point of view. In addition, legal aspects should also be considered early on when developing and designing digital projects.

BMT supports companies, investors, institutions and public clients in this change. Information technology (IT), telecommunications (TC) and data protection are important focal points of our advice in this context. And this does not only require sophisticated knowledge in the various fields of law. The combination of law and technology also requires enthusiasm and a good sense of interrelationships.

Equipped with these tools, our IT law teams are responsible for outstanding, innovative projects time and again. Young start-ups seek our advice just as much as globally operating corporations. From product development to outsourcing, from distribution systems to customer management - BMT secures your technical visions.

IT-law

The lawyers in our IT law practice have tangible know-how, some of it acquired in the IT industry. We focus on what is important for you as an entrepreneur, both in technical as well as economic and legal terms. This includes comprehensive advice on the basics in project conception, but also the optimal drafting of necessary contracts in the realization phase. If a project involves other areas of law, we reflect this through a project-specific composition of the competence teams. Questions of trademark, competition or cartel law, for example, can be seamlessly integrated into the advice. The same applies to compliance and data protection issues.

Location-independent, globally networked, dynamic IT represents a further focus within our IT consultancy. BMT takes over the design of cloud and ASP contracts. We take care of the development of the corresponding service level agreements and are also comprehensively available for the creation and maintenance of software and hardware distribution agreements, software licensing and software production agreements. Büsing Müffelmann & Theye also has extensive experience in maintenance and support contracts.

Compliance advice in the field of IT is becoming increasingly important, especially in the areas of licences, IT security and data protection. Here, our clients benefit from the fact that our lawyers are familiar with both the provider and the user side, having been involved in numerous projects. Licensing and support models for software products are just as much a part of our advisory practice as sales strategies for hardware, software and complementary services. In addition to escrow agreements, we draft and negotiate contracts for hosting, housing or SaaS, operating contracts, system creation contracts, system introduction contracts, software leasing contracts, hardware leasing contracts, EVB-IT contracts - to name just a few of the most important examples.

IT outsourcing and business process outsourcing

IT outsourcing and IT outtasking, especially in combination with cloud concepts, are now an integral part of the IT strategy in most companies. If data is located in "unknown" places, the design of a successful business relationship between the service provider and the user is naturally of particular importance. BMT supports you in the optimal development and interest-appropriate enforcement of contractual arrangements as well as associated service level agreements; this also applies to multinational outsourcing transactions.

We can also draw on well-founded legal practice in business process outsourcing, for example in outsourcing in the interbank sector (securities settlement, custody etc.) as well as in the HR sector (Payroll, recruiting etc.). We also provide our clients with comprehensive support in benchmarking projects.

E-business, apps, websites, social media

What are your goals on the internet? How can you differentiate from competitors? And what risks does your company face when it comes to Web 2.0? Answers to questions like these and others are the focus of our strategic advice on net applications. We distinguish between companies that use the internet as a business model (such as internet portals or social networks) and those that use the internet to develop and specifically support existing business models.

BMT provides its clients with the highest level of experience in the areas of internet and e-business as well as social networks. We advise on the sustainable structuring of business projects and innovative product developments in e-business - including the clarification of possible data protection or data security issues. The drafting of legally secure terms of use for internet sites, the clarification of responsibility for content, hyperlinks and metatags as well as other security aspects under internet conditions are complementary elements of our advice in this area.

BMT is also regarded as a contact address for app developers. We provide extensive specialist knowledge on copyright, competition, liability, contract and marketing issues; we advise companies on the design of successful brand apps, among other things.

Telecommunications

Büsing Müffelmann & Theye has been involved in the liberalization of the German telecommunications market from the very beginning; lawyers in our partnership played a leading role in the establishment of private broadcasting (radio and television). Therefore, we have in-depth and practice-related experience at the interface between telecommunications law on the one hand and media and internet law as well as the law of teleservices on the other.

On this basis, we advise leading companies in the German media industry as well as domestic or multinational telecommunications providers, for example, on complex regulatory issues. For network operators (fixed network and backbone), we develop and negotiate cooperation and distribution agreements as well as contracts on the use of infrastructure, both project-related and within the scope of permanent mandates. To the same extent, we work for providers of wireless, mobile and satellite-based communication services. BMT also serves equipment manufacturers and public corporations.

Data protection

Digital transformation is leading to completely new ways of processing huge data volumes. This usually involves data with personal references, which is subject to the scope of protection provided by data protection law. Therefore, the challenge is bringing digital business models and processes into line with the data protection framework. Otherwise, using this valuable information can quickly lead to a compliance case. And also due to the globalization of the public and private IT infrastructure, especially in cloud computing, international aspects of legal advice have a significant role to play. Different national and international regulations have to be complied with and a pragmatic approach is often necessary. And as well as that, experience, creativity and prudence are required.

BMT comprehensively supports in the area of data protection compliance. In particular, we assist in the following areas:

GDPR implementation: We support in the implementation of all GDPR requirements, in particular the creation of processing directories, the implementation of processes under data protection law (e. g. data subject rights), the drafting of sample contracts (commissioned processing) and in the launch of a data protection management system.
Data protection-compliant design of business models: We accompany the development and implementation of data protection-compliant digital business models.
International data transfers: We advise on complicated legal issues in matters relating to international data transfers and support in concluding international data protection agreements (e. g. standard contractual clauses) as well as risk analyses (transfer impact assessments).
Corporate data protection: We support in structuring and setting up a data protection unit within your company, especially in the centralization of IT applications.