International Technology Law Association 2016 European Conference

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 3, 2016

International Technology Law Association 2016 European Conference: From Brexit to Blockchain, Focusing on Technology Enterprises in the Age of Disruption

The International Technology Law Association’s (ITechLaw) 2016 European Conference will take place 9-11 November in Madrid, Spain. This conference promises a strong lineup of sessions and workshops from the industry’s leading technology lawyers and subject matter experts. More than 300 attendees from nearly 40 countries around the world will be gathered to expand their knowledge of cutting edge issues and exchange ideas in lively debates.

Some highlights from the program include:
•    Brexit Means Brexit…So What Does Brexit Mean?
An array of panelists will seek to identify and explore some of the issues which the recent UK referendum has given rise to. The panelists include an experienced politician, Ed Vaizey; expert lawyers, Jordi Sellares and Shankar Singham; and trade expert Tony Noel; all with their unique perspectives on Brexit and what it may mean.
•    The New ISO 37500 Outsourcing Standard: Useful Tool or “Outsourcing for Dummies”?
The ISO 37500 Guidance on Outsourcing (1st ed.) (the “Outsourcing Standard”) was published Nov. 1, 2014. The Outsourcing Standard purports to provide guidance for organizations contemplating the implementation of an outsourcing strategy. For outsourcing practitioners, the hope was that the Outsourcing Standard could be a useful standard similar to the ISO 27001 and ISO 27002 Security Management Standards. However, while the Outsourcing Standard provides a useful “soup to nuts” overview of the process of effecting an outsourcing arrangement, the standard is also characterized by a number of flaws which severely diminish the utility of the standard such that it is, in effect, “Outsourcing for Dummies”.
•    Saving IT projects in mediation – technical, legal or emotional mediation as a dispute resolution tool
Complex IT projects bind the parties closely together like few other legal relationships. Particularly, customers may feel a huge dependency from core service providers, and the damage from such projects falling into crisis often goes beyond what can be monetarily compensated. This workshop deals with mediation as a tool for saving such projects out of crisis in order to help avoiding such major damage for the parties which may occur when the case goes to litigation.
•    Blockchain: challenges presented by a disruptive technology – regulation, practical limitations and contracting for solutions.
Blockchain, the technology underpinning the crypto currency bitcoin, continues to cause a stir in the technology sector.  The potential for the use of this distributed ledger technology to transform transactions and record keeping is becoming increasingly apparent.  In this session the speakers will explain the technology, consider its regulation and outline some of its potential uses and some real life proof of concept case studies.

Registration ends on Wednesday, 2 November, and on-site registration is available. Additional details and event information can be found on the conference website at http://itechlaw.wpengine.com/2016-european-conference/.

About The International Technology Law Association
The International Technology Law Association (ITechLaw) is a not-for-profit organization established to inform and educate lawyers about the unique legal issues arising from the evolution, production, marketing, acquisition and use of information and communications technology. We provide a forum for the exchange of ideas and in-depth examination of information technology and telecommunications law issues. For more information on ITechLaw, visit www.itechlaw.org.

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