TG7 – Business models and SLAs

BEinGRID - Legal Issues

ICRI – K.U. Leuven

Davide M. Parrilli davide.parrilli@law.kuleuven.be

Business Experiments in GRID2

Agenda

•Description and objectivesDescription and objectives: what we do;

•Tasks and topics covered in the Tasks and topics covered in the projectproject: fields analysed in BEinGRID;

•Next StepsNext Steps.

Business Experiments in GRID3

Description and Objectives

•Overall missionOverall mission: to address the legal framework that is applicable to Grid computing scenarios and tackle the

possible legal hurdles that may hinder or impede the provision of Grid services on a

commercial basis.

•Case studiesCase studies: 18 + 6 Business Experiments (BEs): real Grid-based businesses involving

several partners.

Business Experiments in GRID4

Tasks and topics (I)

General analysis of legal issues related to Grid computing

• Starting point: absence of specific legislation dedicated to the provision of Grid services: we need to be creative and

flexible.

• Under the European legal framework for electronic communications networks and services (5 Directives of

2002), Grid services should be characterized as information society services: the actors involved in a Grid scenario are all to be considered recipients of electronic communications services, as these are provided by the

operators of the underlying telecommunications infrastructure, which enables the communication between the Grid actors, thanks to an electronic communications

network.

Business Experiments in GRID5

Tasks and topics (II)

Intellectual property rights (IPRs)• Grid service provisioning is a nascent market:

compromise between the interest of one entrepreneur, owner of IPRs, and the market as a whole: tension

between proprietary software and open source.• Grid technology is prone to possible copyright

infringements.• Databases: although Grid databases are of pivotal

importance, it is doubtful whether or not they are eligible for protection under copyright law or a separate sui

generis right provided by the EC lawmaker.• Patentability of Grid software: programs for computer can

be patented if, when running on a computer, they cause a further technical effect going beyond the normal

interaction between software and hardware (e.g., where the program serves to control a technical process or

governs the operation of a technical device).

Business Experiments in GRID6

Tasks and topics (III)

Personal data protection• Starting point: highly shared resources in BEs are prone to

system insecurity and privacy violations.• Principle: data subject’s consent: it is not enough a general and

a priori consent, every time the personal data processed change, there is need for a specific consent.

• It is necessary to guarantee the data subjects’ rights, granted by the relevant legislation.

• Necessity to draft a data protection policy in advance, taking into account the network infrastructure and deployment of

resources in a Grid scenario, and aiming at the processing of the minimum data that are required for the proper provision of the

Grid services (‘privacy by design’).• Network security is a prerequisite to privacy and data protection:

confidentiality of communications in the provision of Grid services should be assured not only for the actual content transmitted but also for the traffic data that relate to such

content (issue at level of underlying network).

Business Experiments in GRID7

Tasks and topics (IV)

Contractual relations and liabilities between Grid actors

• Method followed: practical approach to the issues in order to show to the BEs which contracts they can use to make business in Grid environment and in

which contractual liabilities they can incur.

• Contracts analysed: outsourcing agreement and outsourcing agreement and related contracts (SLAs), joint ventures, strategic related contracts (SLAs), joint ventures, strategic

alliances agreement, software contracts (licenses)alliances agreement, software contracts (licenses).

• Liabilities: which clauses should be written in the contracts in order to set mutual liabilities? Which risks are involved in the analysed agreements?

Business Experiments in GRID8

Tasks and topics (V)

Consultancy with the BEs

•Provision of templates of contracts;

•Solutions to specific problems: face-to-face consultancy;

•Legal evaluation of the BEs’ business plans.

Business Experiments in GRID9

Next steps

• FAQ for the new BEs; concrete solutions to real questions.

• Taxation issues in a Grid environment:

•Is a server a P.E. of the company? Does the government have the right to tax the profits generated by the server?

•VAT profiles in the field of electronically supplied services.

THANK YOU

© BEinGRID Consortium