Dallas Technology Lawyers

Conflicts often revolve around equity vesting, intellectual-property ownership, decision-making authority, and dilution in later funding rounds.

The founder should collect system logs, document unpaid invoices or unauthorized use, and send formal notice under the contract’s cure provisions. Prompt legal action maintains leverage for settlement or court enforcement.

The startup can negotiate term sheets that cap board seats, limit protective provisions, and include drag-along and tag-along rights that favor the founders. Thorough counsel review ensures financing aligns with long-term control goals.

A purchase agreement for a technology business should address earn-out formulas, representations on intellectual-property ownership, non-compete covenants, employee-retention bonuses, and post-closing indemnities. Escrow holdbacks can safeguard against undisclosed liabilities.

Texas law provides four years from the date of breach to file suit on a written contract. Acting quickly protects evidence and bargaining power.

A well-drafted operating agreement can include rotating casting votes, buy-sell triggers, or mandatory mediation. Without such mechanisms, the co-founders may need judicial dissolution or appointment of a receiver.

Arbitration offers privacy and faster timelines but can be costly and provides limited grounds for appeal. The dispute-resolution clause should reflect the parties’ bargaining strength, need for confidentiality, and tolerance for cost.

A Texas startup should execute work-for-hire agreements that assign all intellectual-property rights in the code to the company. The contract should include confidentiality clauses, venue and choice-of-law provisions favoring Texas courts, and explicit restrictions on reuse of code. Regular code-audit checkpoints and secure repository access further reduce exposure.

A software-escrow agreement places source code with a neutral escrow agent who releases it to the customer only if predefined triggers occur, such as vendor insolvency or failure to meet support obligations. Escrow gives enterprise customers business-continuity protection while allowing the vendor to keep its code proprietary.

A well-drafted SLA should cap damages at a multiple of the monthly service fee, exclude consequential damages, and offer predefined credits as the sole remedy for downtime. Clear notification and cure periods give the provider an opportunity to correct issues before the customer may terminate or sue.