Shearman & Sterling partners Emma Maconick, Nathan Greene and Barney Reynolds and counsel Sara Ashall discussed the business-planning considerations around building a data business at a recent roundtable event, moderated by Of Counsel Simon Dodds.

The amount of data available to institutions and its infusion into all aspects of business is one of the key developments of the past few years. Data brings with it a range of interesting and complex legal issues, including data ownership, data privacy and cyber. These issues are particularly challenging because they are novel, at least in the data context. At the event, topics under discussion included: 

• Business structure, including factors around entity choice and branding
• Data sourcing and protection, including considerations around cybersecurity and customer expectations
• Regulatory factors, such as regulated data and outsourcing requirements
• Data customer contracts, including how to approach reps or warranties, liabilities and disclaimers
• Intellectual property considerations, such as copyright, trade secrets and patents; and
• Tax considerations, including indirect tax.