Negotiating Tech Contracts with a Large Customer

Getting the chance to contract with a large global company can be a huge opportunity for a small technology company, but it comes with potential pitfalls. Large companies “tend to dictate much more customer-favorable terms and are more likely to try replacing your documents with their own,” writes Josh Silver in this Today’s General Counsel article. It may be possible to push back, according to Silver, and he explains how five specific areas of a technology contract can provide an opportunity to negotiate more favorable terms: acceptance testing rights, confidentiality and information security, indemnification, liability caps, service levels and service credits. Success is not guaranteed, but if you provide “a mission-critical product that gives customers a competitive edge, you probably have the clout to hold your ground on key terms.”