The firm supports retailers, distributors, internet giants, and payment providers on digitizing retail and driving connected commerce. Latham lawyers address all aspects of establishing and maintaining online platforms, including service agreements and vendor contracts, data security and privacy compliance, as well as intellectual property (IP) and licensing issues. As e-commerce regularly transcends geographic boundaries, Latham advises clients on the additional complexities of conducting cross-border retail sales online.
The firm helps facilitate cross-border e-commerce by advising digital marketplace providers and platform developers on the suite of contractual documents necessary to establish and operate such platforms. Latham also helps retailers procure enterprise e-commerce solutions, ensuring the platform’s technology and operational features are interoperable with key business systems, processes, and channels. By combining market practice and local law insight, we ensure our clients are compliant with relevant regulations and implement appropriate contractual mechanisms to effectively govern digital platform usage, including: registration requirements; sector-specific regulations; user consent; terms of sale; and IP provisions, such as brand protection, domain names, use of third-party content, and licensing of proprietary content.
Operating or using digital marketplaces expose organizations to significant global compliance obligations — in particular regarding data privacy and security. Identifying and complying with the applicable regulations is an ongoing challenge that Latham lawyers can advise on. The firm’s dedicated practitioners worldwide advise on the collection, use, transfer, storage, and disclosure of user data to help craft data exchange and analytics agreements that support both privacy obligations and business objectives.