Thomas C. "Tom" Bell
Tom Bell is a partner at Perkins Coie where he represents leading businesses
in Internet, e-commerce, IT, software and wireless law matters. His practice
includes both commercial agreements and regulatory compliance counseling.
Technology Transactions:
Enterprise IT. Tom represents a
number of FORTUNE 500 companies in large software and service procurement
transactions, including Request for Proposals (RFPs) and enterprise computing
contracts. While Tom has worked on a number of commercial off-the-shelf and
standard software and hardware transactions, he has extensive experience with
mission-critical systems and IT services. He has significant experience working
on large enterprise transactions for Boeing, Costco Wholesale Corporation and
T-Mobile USA Inc.
Cloud Computing. Tom represents buyers and
providers of web and cloud computing services in online agreements and
negotiated transactions. In early 2010, he assisted a FORTUNE 100 company with
the legal requirements and documents for its RFP for cloud computing services
and a major data center. In May 2010, he spoke to a legal conference regarding
the key clauses and negotiating positions in cloud computing arrangements
between providers of software as a service (SaaS), platform as a service (PaaS)
and infrastructure as a service (IaaS) in a presentation entitled "Putting It All Together: Working Through Key Terms in B2B
Cloud Service Contracts".
Privacy and Data
Security. Based on many years of commercial and consumer-facing contracts
and numerous Internet and e-commerce website launches, Tom and the Perkins Coie
Privacy & Data Security group recognized the need for more than standard
confidentiality clauses in commercial agreements. Tom has worked on more than
100 commercial contracts into which he has negotiated specific privacy and data
security clauses intended to protect the interest of the enterprise as it
outsources key data to service providers and hosts. In particular he attempts
to protect the enterprise in the event of data security breaches and to advise
concerning required responses pursuant to state laws. He has been a frequent speaker
about privacy and data security requirements in commercial and consumer
transactions, including events hosted by T-Mobile Inc. and Amazon.com Inc. and
programs by Perkins Coie's Retail & Consumer Products group and Interactive
Entertainment group. In 2008, he co-authored an article for Digital
Transactions entitled "Prior to Data Loss, Check That
Contract" in which the authors described the risks
associated with outsourcing data to third parties and possible contract
strategies for mitigating those risks.
E-Commerce and
Internet:
Website and Online Product and Service Launches. Since
1995, Tom has been advising traditional retailers and Internet companies on a
variety of website and product launch issues, including commercial agreements
with site developers and hosts, online terms and conditions, outsourced
functions, marketing and co-branding arrangements, regulated activities, privacy
and data security, advertising agreements and online content regulation and
liability. Tom enjoys working with retailers and other consumer-facing clients,
including Amazon.com Inc., Costco Wholesale Corporation, Google Inc., Columbia
Sportswear Company, PetSmart Inc., Recreational Equipment Inc. (REI), T-Mobile
Inc. and many others. He has also worked with numerous emerging Internet and
e-commerce clients over the past fifteen years.
Social Media.
With the rise of social media and the launch of social networking platforms and
social features by e-commerce companies, Tom has advised both platforms and
enterprises as to their social media participation and product launches. He
routinely works with companies on their consumer-facing agreements and
documentation for social networking platforms and features and with large
enterprises and retailers on their contracts with social media platforms and
networking sites. In the spring of 2009, he spoke on the "Critical Legal
Questions for Companies Participating in Social Media" in seminars sponsored by
Perkins Coie in Portland, OR and Seattle, WA. He was invited by Madrona Venture Group LLC to present the
legal perspectives in the "Role of Twitter in
Your Business". Also in 2009, he published two articles on the law
and social media: "Opinion: It may be social but it's still
media" in Computer World and "Social Savvy: Why Your Lawyer is so Conservative about
Social Media" in American Executive
magazine.
Outdoor Retail Industry. Tom works in the Outdoor
Industry to combine his deep interest in law and technology with his passion for
the outdoors. In October 2010, he spoke on technology and law issues at
the Outdoor Industry Association's 2010 leadership
conference.
Multi-jurisdiction Internet Issues.
Tom works on multi-jurisdiction website issues and launches and benefits from a
strong network of e-commerce lawyers around the world. He has presented on the topic of jurisdiction and
multi-country launches to audiences in the United States, Canada, Japan, Taiwan,
Hong Kong and China.
Wireless Industry:
The dramatic growth of
the wireless industry and the evolution to online business models have presented
great opportunities for wireless carriers and mobile commerce providers. Tom has
worked with some of the largest carriers in the United States and with CTIA -
The Wireless Association in outsourcing transactions, industry
infrastructure arrangements and numerous wireless product and service launches.
He has particular interest in online application stores and has advised a major
Internet company on its application market.
Technology Industry
Standards:
Tom has worked with the legal formation and industry
deployment documents of a variety of technology standards bodies in the
computer, payment and chip card industries. Since its formation in 1999, Tom has
worked as the primary counsel for EMVCo, a joint
venture among Visa, MasterCard, American Express and JCB that focuses on global
standards for credit and debit payment cards based on chip card technology. He
has worked on the organizational and original deployment documents for two other
payment industry standards bodies and two computer industry standards
bodies.
- Peer Review Rated AV in Martindale-Hubbell
- Listed in Seattle Business Monthly' as one of "Puget Sound's Top Business Lawyers," April 2006
- Listed in Washington Law & Politics "Washington Super Lawyers," 2006 - 2012
- Listed in The International Who's Who of Internet & e-Commerce Lawyers
- Profiled as one of 16 lawyers in America shaping Internet law in “Suite Sixteen,” CyberEsq. magazine, January 2001
- Listed in The International Who's Who of Business Lawyers
Seattle, Washington 98101-3099
