IT contracts

The IT industry has a number of specific features that have an impact on contractual issues. Being a highly technical business, the drafting of a contract presupposes, above all, in-depth knowledge of the technical elements (hardware, software, networks) involved in carrying out the project, as well as perfect consistency between the terminology used and the obligations defined.

In addition, the technical nature of the subject is reflected in law by the adaptation of certain rules applicable in particular to the definition of requirements, project management, warranty for hidden defects and non-conformity, or the subtle distinction between obligation of result and obligation of means, and the reinforcement of guarantees (robustness, durability, maintainability, traceability, upgradability, etc.).

Finally, this is an area where technical obsolescence is rapid, while the investment can be particularly heavy. To guarantee the longevity of an investment, it is therefore important to include clauses on evolutionary maintenance and access to sources, and to obtain system compatibility commitments from IT service providers.

This study looks at IT contracts, firstly in terms of the obligations common to all situations, and secondly in terms of the two forms of contract that are still the most widely used: the system integration contract and the outsourcing contract, as well as its new forms linked to virtualization (Cloud Computing). The study concludes with the protection of software, databases and personal data, which are fundamental legal objects in IT law.

For more information on the various IT contracts, please refer to .