If data is the new oil, then you need to know how to find it, extract it, put it in the right barrels, and how to go to market with it. But data is, in legal terms, slippery. The EU and the UK have the database right, other countries have other forms of protection, but the only secure way to arrange for the licensing or purchase of data – whether incoming or outgoing – is to provide for it by contract.

But this means that the contract becomes the linchpin on which your approach to licensing turns. Get it right and you are well on your way to success. Get it wrong and problems lurk around the corner.

This is made doubly difficult by the fluid nature of data, a fast-evolving market, and the appearance of use cases which a few months ago no-one would have thought of. Defaulting to stock phrases like “internal business use” is, with something as fluid as data, just asking for trouble. This is where it’s really important to pause, think, and bring in some serious expertise if you don’t already have it in-house.

If you want more information about data-related issues, see [magnet about data].

How do I approach things? Well, it depends on whether you need help with a one-off deal, or whether you want to put in place a system that you use going forward.

On the assumption that you want to put in place a system that you will use going forward, the service comes in two parts.

Part 1: Diagnose. Review the current contract templates and contract systems of the business, and create a short report on what’s working, what’s not working, where the real problems are, and what can be done to fix things.

Part 2: Fix. Implement the recommendations of the report, and fix the problems. This usually includes creating new contract templates.

• I’m a legal data geek. I have a deep background in IPR, data and related legal issues including GDPR. I publish in professional legal journals in these areas.

• I am a specialist SaaS lawyer. The bulk of data is delivered via SaaS contracts, and the bulk of my customers are SaaS companies manipulating data.

• My in-house background means that advice and work is grounded in the pragmatic.

• I’ve got a process-mentality. The end result is a process (including the legal documentation and other tools) which intelligently, and appropriately, distinguishes between no-touch contracts, low-touch contracts, and high-touch contracts.

• I have negotiated contracts with some of the toughest negotiators in the world: Goldman Sachs, Barclays, Investec, Prudential, Blackstone, BAE Systems, Unisys, GenPac, Microsoft, Mambu, Marqeta. I also know the most efficient way to get around difficult procurement departments.

Do Nothing. Always an option, but it doesn’t move the problem forward.

DIY. Also always an option, but it’s unlikely that you have got the right skillset in house.

Use an external. If you can find an external with the right expertise and the right mindset, then this is a viable option. The trouble is, it’s really hard to find the right people for this kind of work (see next).

Part 1 - fixed price, based on scope and the nature of the business.

Part 2 - fixed price, based on scope and the desired outcome (i.e. the output of the diagnostic stage). You don’t have to use me to carry out the Fix (i.e. you could use internal resources, or other external resources to follow the recommendations in the diagnostic report).

It’s hard to measure ROI on legal spend for this kind of deal, but I expect your ROI to be at least 5x if not more.