The settlement of disputes in the IT branch is an art unto itself. This has several reasons.

Firstly, in the IT branch contracting parties have often already had a long collaboration based on mutual trust. Complex agreements, a strict legal approach to problems and communication through lawyers do not always contribute to a sense of trust between parties. That is why it is important that disputes are solved with a focus on continuing the relationship and where needed repairing the relationship. For this reason, Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) is often used in the IT branch, and all efforts are made to prevent unnecessary escalation.

Further, the cause of the dispute is often technical and complex. This makes it all the more essential that the lawyers involved are capable of understanding these causes. This goes for lawyers, but also for judges. That is why disputes in the IT branch are often not brought before a regular court, but before an arbitration institute such as the Foundation for the Resolution of IT Disputes (SGOA). This ensures that those who will ultimately decide the outcome of the dispute have sufficient expertise regarding the relevant IT. Pact lawyers also have the necessary expertise in the field of IT.

Digitalisation goes hand in hand with security and rules relating to the protection of personal data. Almost all digitalised systems have some form of personal data: information that directly or indirectly relate to a person. Obvious examples are someone’s name and address. But telephone numbers, licence plates, postcodes with house numbers and IP addresses also count as personal data.

Companies that process personal data (retrieval, storage, consultation or cloud storage) are generally insufficiently aware of the regulations relating to the protection of personal data. The source of these regulations are European and they are increasingly strict. Pact lawyers advises regarding protection of personal data, and drafts the relevant documents required by law, such as privacy policies and processor agreements.