276.41S sec. 001 - Advanced IT Contracts: Drafting and Negotiating (Summer 2026)
Instructor: David William Tollen (view instructor's teaching evaluations - degree students only)
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Units: 1
Grading Designation: Credit Only
Mode of Instruction: In-Person
Meeting:
MTuWThF 2:00 PM - 3:40 PM
Location: Law 113
From July 27, 2026
To August 04, 2026
Class Number: Click to show Class Number
Enrollment info:
Enrolled: 14
Waitlisted: 0
Enroll Limit: 30
As of: 04/16 08:33 AM
This course teaches students to write and negotiate artificial intelligence contracts, software licenses, cloud computing agreements, and other contracts related to technology. The goal is to prepare students to practice as transactional attorneys in the IT industry.
The primary content is a clause-by-clause review of the key terms in the IT industry’s typical agreements. But the course will also include content that is not clause-specific, like a review of the industry and its particular legal concerns. Those other topics also include issues surrounding AI, privacy, and open source software.
This is not a course on IP licensing, though that topic will play a role. Rather, this course teaches the commercial terms typical of technology contracts.
The course title includes "Advanced" because basic training on contracts will be necessary or at least very helpful. So we recommend that students have experience drafting or negotiating contracts, though not necessarily in IT. That experience could include work as an attorney or contract manager, of course. A typical first year contracts class does not provide that sort of experience, but other typical law student experiences might, including work in a legal clinic or similar setting.
David Tollen is an author, expert witness, trainer, and attorney. He wrote the number-one bestseller from the IP Section of the American Bar Association: The Tech Contracts Handbook, Cloud Computing Agreements, Software Licenses, and Other IT Contracts for Lawyers And Businesspeople(opens in a new tab) (ABA Publishing 2015).
David is also the founder of Tech Contracts Academy™(opens in a new tab), where he provides training on drafting and negotiating IT agreements. His programs are for both businesspeople and lawyers, and they cover all the key clauses in software licenses, cloud computing agreements, and other technology contracts, as well as special topics like indemnity and open source software.
In addition, David is the founder of Sycamore Legal P.C.(opens in a new tab), an IP and IT boutique law firm in San Francisco. He and his staff represent both buyers and sellers in contracts about cloud computing, big data, software licensing, and other IT relationships. They also advise on intellectual property issues related to IT. Clients include Silicon Valley startups and some of the best-known and most influential companies in the world, like Lockheed Martin, Sabre, Del Monte Foods, and the World Wildlife Fund.
David also serves as an expert witness in litigation about IT contracts. And he is a sought-after industry speaker and thought-leader.
David graduated with honors from Harvard Law School and has degrees from Cambridge University in England and U.C. Berkeley. He’s served as General Counsel of a publicly traded software company, as Vice President of Business Development for a technology start-up, and as a lawyer in the Silicon Valley offices of Morrison & Foerster LLP.
Exam Notes: (TH) Take-home Final Exam
(Subject to change by faculty member only through the first two weeks of instruction)
Course Category: Business Law
This course is listed in the following sub-categories:
AI Law and Regulation
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