Newspepper Report - Chinwag and Bootlaw Summer BBQ from Newspepper on Vimeo.

- Woohoo, we've got a new look website!

First came the meetup, then came the website – today we’re pleased to unveil the new look Bootlaw.com.

In December last year we launched our own WordPress site as we wanted to offer more than was possible on a meetup page. We were very fortunate to have some expert help from George Wiscombe in getting this together.

But we felt it was time for a change of pace and style and we’ve been helped out this time by Bootlaw regulars and UX experts, Howard/Baines, who’ve built us our very own customised theme, which gives us the flexibility to do a few things which were a bit tricky in the old theme.  It’s also been set up so we can’t break things quite as easily (although the challenge is tempting).

We’ll continue to add useful content as well use the site to keep you all up to date on our latest adventures in the technology world.  So do drop us a line if there is any content you’d like to see – a topic or an issue you’d like us to write about, we’re always keen to have your input.  Our monthly legal meetups will be back in the autumn, although a bit delayed by travel schedules and other events going on – so we’re aiming for an event in early October. Stay posted!

Yum!

It’s that time of year again when Bootlaw takes a break from dishing out helpful legal advice and instead dishes out tasty BBQ food and drinks – yes, it’s time for our summer BBQ.  This time, on Thursday 26 August, we are running it in association with our good friends at Chinwag as a joint event for Digital Mission alumni.  We’ve been the proud sponsors of four out of five Digital Missions to the US, taking scores of great UK companies to the US, so we’re looking forward to seeing many of them again at this event.

Last year there were some grumbles that there was no sign of a real BBQ – well this year it will be different and we’ve got exclusive use of the 3rd floor plus roof terrace of the stylish pub, the Driver in Kings Cross.

You can sign up via the Eventbrite page or via the form below.

Tickets are priced as low as possible at £15+VAT.  However, there are 50 tickets for Bootlaw members priced at £10+VAT, which will be for the first 50 Bootlawyers to use the special discount code contained in an email sent via Meetup!

This event is open to all, so bring your friends and let’s have a great party to round off the summer!

The Information Commissioner, Christopher Graham - Image via Wikipedia

On 7 July 2010 the Information Commissioner‘s Office  (ICO) issued new guidance relating to the collection of personal data online  following a succession of high profile data losses by public sector and Government departments.

The guidance followed a consultation process which began informally in July 2009, and which included a meeting hosted by us in October 2009.  The formal consultation process ran from December 2009 to March 2010.  Barry wrote about this last month here.

The new Code explains how the Data Protection Act applies to organisations that collect information about individuals online and provides good practice guidance on how to comply with the DPA when collecting and using personal data online.

The Code is divided into sections for useful advice on different areas including:

• How the DPA applies to information processed online;
• Marketing your goods and services online;
• Privacy choices;
• Operating internationally; and
• Individuals’ rights online.

Using the Cloud

The Code also highlights the difficulties in complying with the DPA’s overseas transfer rules especially as UK companies could be required to comply with several different sets of rules when transferring information across international borders. The Code sets out sensible recommendations for business who both use and provide online data storage services.

If your business uses cloud services the Code advises that use of such services must not lead you to relinquish your control of the personal data you have collected and expose it to security risks. It recommends that you enter into a written contract with the service provider and also recommends that the information should be encrypted when it is sent to the provider to avoid interception by hackers.

The Code also recommends that you should do a risk analysis before contracting with an online services company about its ability to look after the information. The Codes sets out the types of questions you should ask a provider when conducting such a risk analysis.
Click here for a full copy of the Code (ebook).
If your business provides cloud based services the Code sets out a list of recommended information you should give to your clients so as not to be at a competitive disadvantage including:

• Providing written guarantees about your security arrangements;
• Guarantee that data will only be processed in accordance with your clients instructions;
• Explain your capacity to deal with serious technological and procedural failures.

The Code also recommends that if you comply with any relevant standards (e.g. security) you should make this clear to potential clients on your website.

The Code also contains a helpful list of things for businesses to avoid to prevent action being taken against them and hints on how to protect privacy online.

We were pleased to see that many of the points raised in our consultation meeting, particularly in relation to the cloud, have been taken on board by the ICO in the Code. The ICO certainly recognises the value of the cloud in assisting businesses to keep their data more, rather than less, secure and companies using reputable cloud services should be reassured by this guidance.

Further guidance for businesses on how to comply with the Data Protection Act is available here.

The BVCA is the leading industry body and public policy advocate for the private equity and venture capital industry in the UK.

The report is the first to capture the overall size of the Venture Debt industry across Europe and was launched to a packed audience of BVCA members at Bootlaw Towers to raise awareness among the UK and European Private Equity industry of the availability and use of Venture Debt.

For those of you who haven’t heard of Venture Debt before. It’s been around since the 1960’s in the US but in Europe it is a more recent phenomenom.

The European Venture Debt industry officially launched in 1998 with the arrival of European Venture Partners (now Kreos Capital).  Since then a raft of other Venture Debt Providers have emerged on the scene including Silicon Valley Bank who entered the EU in 2005 and investments are now approximately US$1.5 billion across the EU.

The report is brimming with detailed facts and statistics about an industry in Europe for which information is not normally easy to obtain.  Of the many interesting facts to emerge the report revealed:

• Close to 400 companies have received venture debt from UK venture lenders of nearly £1 billion [Ed - thats a lot of folding stuff].
• Companies in the internet, biotech and semiconductor sectors had the highest average loan size.
• Companies raising their second round of equity were the No.1 recipient of Venture Debt with only 18 investments made in companies in a Series A round.

The launch event included a panel discussion chaired by none other than our very own Bootlaw supremo Barry, a representative from the BVCA and three leading Venture Debt providers, ETV Capital, Kreos Capital and Noble Venture Finance.  The panel dispelled some of the myths surrounding the Venture Debt industry.

Ending on an upbeat note the panel confirmed that after economic turbulence of 2009 where activity in the Venture Debt market slowed (and mirrored the experience in the Private Equity market) in 2010 the Venture Lenders are very much open for business and looking for new deals.

As all Bootlawyers know Bootlaw Towers has a vibrant Emerging Growth company Venture Capital and Private Equity practice and is a recommended firm in the Legal 500 for Venture Capital and recognised as a team which “knows its tech inside out and targets start-up companies in the digital, new media, and emerging technology fields”.

So if you do decide to borrow some readies you know who to call (or tweet).

This year we were lucky enough to be invited back.

On Friday, Barry participated on a panel at the conference with John Lunn, Dragos Ilinca and Reshma Sohoni on love and marriage (A.K.A finding and keeping a good co-founder) & what if things don’t work out and you split up.

Some surprising themes emerged in the panel.

How do you find your perfect match?

Look around those who you know. Leverage your networking and spend plenty of time working out if you can live with each other (you’ll spend more time with them than your family) and make sure they have a complimentary skill set.

Whats mine is yours…..Really?

We spoke about the equity split between Co-founders, the importance of a pre-nup agreement (some basic agreements dealing with the shares and what happens to them if someone leaves) and the importance of listening to each other and compromise.  It really *is* like a marriage!

Getting people to work for you on fresh air?

Heck money’s tight.  We’ll need to hand over lots of equity right?

Wrong.

Bootlaw (okay we *are* lawyers) warned against “handing out equity like sweets” in the early days. Think ahead….if you do there might not be much left in the sweetie jar for anyone later.  Beware too the bureaucratic nightmare that is having gazillions of shareholders. Made worse if they got their shares for some work they did a long time ago and have disappeared!  This isn’t to say don’t do it.  If the price for the person you absolutely have to have is stock.  Do a deal.  We’d love to help you [Ed - shameless plug].

Confounding conventional wisdom John told the crowd the primary motivation for joining a start up will not always (and in many cases won’t) be the prospect of some killer stock options.  Instead, lots of peeps will be attracted by the challenge of working at the cutting edge and solving really interesting problems in a fun environment.

Top tip: this is a *great* excuse clever capitalist argument to your investors for having Wii and Table Football.

It takes some dedication (O.K it takes a *LOT* of dedication for Barry) to (i) get up early’ish on Saturday morning and (ii) go Sarf of the river – even if there is geekery involved.

But here’s the thing.  It’s a pleasure for Launch 48.  The enthusiasm of the teams and the organisers is infectious.

I was inspired by everyone.  This is an event that gets better and better. Great teams and fantastic mentors (even without Bootlaw).  Who wouldn’t want to hook up with Hugh Chappell a very serious serial entrepreneur and big supporter of Launch 48 who made time to share his experience and network on Friday and Saturday (and who has successfully exited twice, once to Time Warner and then to Dennis Publishing).

Without exception I loved all the ideas and, having set myself a deadline of midday to get away, (an important meeting involving errrm. golf was pre-arranged) I found it hard to leave and ended up dashing off for the train late!

So. Hat tip to Ian Broom and all those involved in Launch 48.

Good luck.

Bootlaw hopes to have the privilege of being involved again.

The Information Commissioner has announced that following responses from over 200 organisations (including Winston & Strawn London) the final code will be launched in July 2010. At the same time, the Information Commissioner published a summary of the responses to its December 2009 consultation on a draft code of practice which can be found here.

The new code will contain a better explanation of the interplay between it and the UK legislation and include various explanations and a glossary of terms to make it user friendly.

Importantly, the Information Commissioner has revealed in the code that it takes the position that in many cases an IP address is sufficient to be classified as personal data.  It is reported that the code will also deal with other important issues including vulnerable users, children and will contain extensive revisions to the guidance around online marketing.

Drown your sorrows and eat some pizza after another pathetic England performance against Slovenia (it will all be over by the time we take the stage) and come and visit your friendly lawyers where we’ll tell you all about sex, lies and money. Not necessarily in that order.

In our June 23rd Bootlaw, just so we can tell Bootlawyers all they need to know about the Emergency Budget the day before, we’re going to stay up really late just for you working out what it means for entrepreneurs and growth businesses.

We’ll see if Danvers got his predictions here right and we’ll tell you our unbiased views of what we think it means from a government David Cameron has pledged will make the next decade the “most entrepreneurial and dynamic in our history”

In other news we’ll touch on the Epic Boobs Girl. The latest developments on privacy following the ruling from the Press Complaints Commission about online privacy…just so long as we’ve managed to prise Danvers away from his detailed research on the web about it. [no links available - Ed.]

And finally, we’ll look at the hints given by the Information Commissioner in its long awaited guidance for the Online Privacy Guidelines and we’ll look at the much anticipated Libel Bill proposals.

Bootlaw members can sign up here

Image via CrunchBase

I had a guest post on Techcrunch EU today: “Will the new UK government be good to entrepreneurs”

“The day before the UK General Election, Techcrunch EU ran this post highlighting the taxation policies of the Liberal Democrat party and suggested that plans to raise capital gains taxes could be damaging for UK based start-ups. Whether or not the disappointing results for the Lib Dems were directly connected to this withering attack is yet to be proven but nevertheless, having the balance of power and entered into coalition with the Conservatives, it would appear that the Lib Dems are to get their way on capital gains tax.

At this point, I should declare an interest as a card carrying member of the Conservative Party and I have been enthusiastically supporting the new coalition through my personal blog. But before you hurl your laptop through the nearest window, it’s worth pointing out that I also happened to comment on the earlier Techcrunch EU post along the lines that the cut in capital gains tax by Labour was not all it was cracked up to be, but on balance was pretty good for the tech sector.”

You can read the rest on Techcrunch here

Meanwhile in Boston Andrew introduced Bootlaw to Marybeth Peters.

Marybeth is the Register of Copyrights of the United States Copyright Office and is responsible for all copyright registration in the US.  This means Marybeth is very important.  But what is the Register of Copyrights?

For Bootlawyers that isn’t a dumb question. In the UK we don’t have one.

Bootlaw TIP: There are some official sounding companies in the UK offering to register your copyright for you.  But these are non government services which simply register your work for evidence purposes, normally by assisting you to prove the date work was provided to them in cases where there might be an argument as to whose work came first.

But in the US before an infringement suit may be filed in court, registration is necessary for works of U. S. Registration and can be made at any time during the lifetime of the copyright in the work.  Registration can be effected for US$35 online and you can learn more about the process here.

Importantly if the registration is made within three months of the date of creation of the work then statutory damages and attorney’s fees will be available to the copyright owner in the case of a claim. Otherwise, only an award of actual damages and profits is available to the copyright owner.

In some cases Statutory Damages can be a huge sum far in excess of the actual damages and profits (which can be hard to quantify).

In so called “innocent” cases of infringement damages can be between $200 to $750 per work infringed.  However, in normal cases the statutory damages will be between $750 to $30,000.  In cases of wilful infringement statutory damages range from $30,000 to $150,000.  It soon adds up and can lead to millions if not billions of claims in the US.

Just one word of caution. Marybeth told delegates to the conference of a number of recent cases where omnibus applications for a number of works in a publication had been made by registrants for named copyright holders “and others” where the US courts have held that it is necessary to expressly name the author.  At present Bootlaw understands that these are being dealt with by supplemental applications.  But if you do decide to register copyright in the US do make sure that you include the full names of the author(s) whose work is being registered.