Page 25 - Dittmar Quarterly Q1 2019

Iiris Kivikari, Senior Attorney Kai Holkeri, Partner
-120 Years of Thinking Ahead-
3 BUSINESS-CENTRIC REASONS TO PUT YOUR INTRA-GROUP AGREEMENTS IN ORDER
1. With or without a written agreement the recipient of data is, in principle, bound to the same rights and obligations as the discloser of the data. Operating without an agreement which sets out, if not the exact rights and obligations then at least the mechanisms for how they are determined, can severely increase the risk of data processing gone wrong. With the current data protection and data security hype, why take the risk?
2. With the roles of traditional IP and data becoming increasingly intertwined, intra-group agreements provide a basis for recognising transactions for tax purposes and, as such, are fundamental for mitigating the risk of costly tax litigation.
3. Not only can a sloppy disclosure increase risk levels, it can, in worst cases, limit a company’s ability to do business in the future. This is the case if, when disclosing data from one company to another, you end up forfeiting the discloser’s own rights to the data.