TOPIC

Drawing from the forthcoming Government Procurement textbook, this presentation will focus on some of the most significant trends in the area of information technology tendering, covering recent decisions, breaking issues and future developments.

More particularly, this presentation will:

• Discuss the impact of recent business scandals and public inquiries on government procurement practices, canvassing a number of local and international public policy developments.
• Explain how trade treaties are impacting technology tendering, examining recent cases where the North American Free Trade Agreement opened the door to open source software and put a microscope to technical specifications.
• Describe the evolving impact of the clean tender doctrine, drawing from a recent example where a telecommunications tender was rejected due to counter-offer non-compliance.
• Consider future trends in technology tendering formats, where the UN’s Model Procurement Law and the Supreme Court’s dual procurement paradigms are blended together to balance government procurement rules with technology industry practices.
• Assess the increasingly litigious relations within and between tendering teams, with recent case studies involving subcontractor claims, inter-tender tort claims and battles over the confidential business information of competing bidders.

ABOUT THE SPEAKER

Paul Emanuelli is a Crown Counsel with the Ontario Ministry of the Attorney General. He practices at Management Board Secretariat, the Government of Ontario’s corporate head office. His practice focuses on information technology procurement, outsourcing, supply chain management and province-wide infrastructure initiatives. Paul previously served four terms on the executive of the Toronto Computer Lawyers’ Group and is the current Chair of the Government of Ontario’s Commercial Lawyers’ Group and of the Ontario Bar Association’s Public Sector Lawyers’ Section. Paul frequently speaks and publishes in his areas of practice and is a regular columnist with purchasing b2b magazine. His forthcoming textbook entitled Government Procurement will be published this summer by LexisNexis Butterworths.

TCLG is also pleased to present at this meeting the TCLG essay contest winner Damien McCotter:

DESCRIPTION OF PAPER/PRESENTATION:

“Where Hardware Meets Software: IP Management and Protection Strategies for Semiconductor Technology”. This paper examines the various forms of intellectual property protection available for semiconductor technology, and formulates an IP strategy for companies operating in this sector.

PERSONAL BIO:

Damien graduated from the Faculty of Law, University of Windsor in 2004 and is currently articling with the litigation group at Torys LLP in Toronto. Prior to attending law school, Damien graduated from Queen’s University in 1998 with a degree in Materials and Metallurgical

Engineering. As a law student, Damien pursued his interest in IP litigation while working as a summer student for Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP in Ottawa, Torys LLP in Toronto, and Cooper & Dunham in New York. In his final year of law school, Damien attended the University of Copenhagen on a Guest Student Scholarship for the Fall Term. He was the recipient of the 2003 SOCAN Foundation Copyright Award, and a Student Publication Grant from the Canadian Centre for Innovation Law and Policy.

COST FOR ATTENDANCE

Cost for lunch: $10 for members and students, $15 for non-members, payable at the meeting. Receipts will be available. Cheques should be made payable to the Toronto Computer Lawyers’ Group.

REGISTER BEFORE NOON, Monday, March 28, 2005

REGISTRATIONS WILL NOT BE CONFIRMED UNLESS THE LUNCH IS FULLY BOOKED.

Cancellations also accepted before noon, Monday, March 28, 2005. Substitutions are permitted anytime. Registrants who do not attend and do not cancel or send a substitute may be invoiced for lunch.

PLEASE E-MAIL REGISTRATIONS OR CANCELLATIONS TO: secretarytclg@hotmail.com

MEMBERSHIP RENEWALS AND NEW MEMBERS

Review your membership for 2004-2005. The fee to join the TCLG for 2004-2005 is $30. Law students enrolled in full time studies may join free of charge. Membership runs from September to August, and the TCLG meets monthly from September to May.

The membership form can be accessed through the following link: http://www.tclg.org

Please circulate this notice to business associates, clients, colleagues or others who may be interested in attending a meeting or joining the TCLG.