Davide Maria Parrilli

Legal Issues in Grid and Cloud Computing

A business scenario based on the adoption and implementation of Grid and Cloud technology presents many legal issues that have to be taken into account by companies and individuals that plan to start a Grid/Cloud-based business. In general terms, Grid/Cloud technology is not ‘neutral’, in the sense that it brings several particularities as regards, contractual and security profiles (Parrilli et al. 2008). In other words, a contract between a Grid/Cloud provider and a customer is likely to be slightly different from an agreement between a provider of a different technology (not based on dispersed resources) and a client. The legal issues that affect a Grid/Cloud-based business are many, and include, just to mention a few, contract law, intellectual property rights, privacy law, taxation, etc. The aim of this chapter is that of providing the reader with some clarifications and guidelines as regards the most relevant legal issues that a typical customer should take into consideration when reviewing the terms for the provision of Grid/Cloud services from a technology provider. Two moments will be specifically analysed: (i) the contract, or contracts, signed by the customer and the Grid/Cloud provider, i.e. formation, validity and enforceability of the agreement(s); (ii) the contractual relationship following the signing of the agreement, in connection with the liabilities of and the remedies at the disposal of the parties. Special attention will be dedicated to security (and privacy) profiles, which are supposed to be the Achilles’ heel in Grid and Cloud computing. A few comments will also be dedicated to the most relevant taxation issue. In other words, we guide a typical customer in the process of entering into an agreement with a technology provider and therefore we will follow the negotiations phase (if any) and the signing of the contract. Furthermore, we will identify the risks underlying the contract and explain how these risks can be reduced or avoided. When the agreement is ready for signature, our mission will end.

The Determination of Jurisdiction in Grid and Cloud Service Level Agreements

Service Level Agreements in Grid and Cloud scenarios can be a source of disputes particularly in case of breach of the obligations arising under them. It is then important to determine where parties can litigate in relation with such agreements. The paper deals with this question in the peculiar context of the European Union, and so taking into consideration Regulation 44/2001. According to the rules on jurisdiction provided by the Regulation, two general distinctions are drawn in order to determine which (European) courts are competent to adjudicate disputes arising out of a Service Level Agreement. The former is between B2B and B2C transactions, and the latter regards contracts which provide a jurisdiction clause and contracts which do not.

Grid and Taxation: The Server as Permanent Establishment in International Grids

Tax issues can be a great barrier to the development of international Grids and can be perceived as an obstacle for ICT companies. Provided this fact, the scope of this paper is to analyse the concept of server (to the ends of income taxation) in case of international Grid infrastructures, in the light of the findings of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (Model Tax Convention and Commentaries) and of the practices so far developed in some countries and, in particular, to assess whether any server can be considered to be a permanent establishment of the company acting as Grid provider, with all its consequences in terms of tax liability.

SME cluster vs. multinational companies: similarities and differences for tax and competition lawmakers

The aim of the article is to analyse to what extent some traditional tools developed in the area of tax and competition law for big companies can be applied to SME clusters in order to promote their development. The focus of the research, in particular, will be on group taxation and the EU competition provisions in the fields of abuse of dominant positions and mergers, as well as anti-competitive agreements. Based on the examples coming from some European countries, in particular Italy and on an accurate review on literature and legislation, it will be shown that the extension of group taxation and the non-expansion of competition tools to SME clusters are efficient ways to promote their growth and development.

Grid Economics and Businesses: Meeting the Challenges

Even though the new and advanced technologies can provide benefits for business their wide adoption in industrial settings requires always clear evidences how, and under which conditions these technological advantages can be turn into business benefits. The economic, business and legal factors should not be underestimated but rather examined in detail together with the technological context. Based on this statement, this paper presents a number of valuable conclusions and hands-on advice for new players that wish to enter the market by adopting Grid technology. The authors discuss the main challenges to be dealt with, provide a set of business advice and suggestions and place this discussion in the context of new architectural paradigms such as Cloud computing. The paper has been built on the experience of a business and legal consultancy team with the responsibility of assisting the adoption of Grid technologies in the EU.