Commercial Contracts & EdTech

Commercial contracts and licences will be core requirements in your education business

Education businesses require to have in place many different forms of contracts and licences. For publishers and EdTech content providers, this can include commissioning contracts that assure the effective transfer of IP rights. Supply chain contracts are vital to manufacturers.

Then, when appointing distributors or agents, giving exclusivity will involve taking care over competition law considerations and imposing clear and robust expectations of the distributor in the form of sales targets and reporting duties. Use of trade marks and other IP rights require to be carefully managed.

Contracts in place with educational institutions, schools and colleges should take account of the nature of the customer – particularly important when looking for payment and in the event that any form of legal proceedings require to be pursued. Legal advisors are at their most effective when they understand the legal and regulatory requirements of the sector you are doing business with. Our education and skills business clients enjoy this advantage.

Learn more about our EdTech expertise, watch our short introductory video below:

How we can help

We advise upon distribution, agency and reseller agreements (including white label) with a full appreciation of the likely risk profile — taking client instructions in a tailored way to secure the commercial benefits and appropriate allocation of risk. Our experience includes supporting regulatory compliance in areas such as product safety and sales to parents (where consumer rights legislation is likely to be relevant). 

Our advice is available for particularly complex projects and transactions that you may embark upon. This includes franchising, strategic partnering and other forms of collaboration and joint venture.

We can provide training in consumer credit compliance to sales staff and your management team. The implications of new digital legislation in areas such as resubscribing procedures need to be navigated and we are here to help with all that is involved.

Reseller agreements in the education sector carry particular sectorial related risks. Licences may be sold with support packages covering guaranteed entry to accredited examinations and the underlying product must be responsive to curriculum changes and student outcomes expected.

We know that outcomes validation of the products you market is a vital element within a successful education business. With new legislation on the horizon relating to the placing of reviews in app stores and other online sales platforms its important your marketing strategy aligns with the legislation. We help clients assure their legal compliance across all marketing channels.

Expert advice is available in relation to:

• app development agreements
• reseller agreements
• international product distribution and support arrangements
• commissioning of curriculum materials including copyright assignment and licensing
• terms and conditions of business
• collaboration and strategic partnering agreements; and
• consumer rights (when marketing products and services to parents and carers)

Supporting the learning and skills sector is also an important part of our practice. Applying our continuously updated understanding of government supported initiatives such as apprenticeships, T Levels and programmes funded under the Adult Education Budget we have a strong track record in advising upon training provider service contracts, requirements of the DfE Apprenticeship Guidance and contracts funded by Combined Authorities under Adult Education Budget delegations.