ICTResolve: How Conflicts Can Create Opportunities for Sustainable Collaboration

Blog - Intellectual property - IT contracts / 20 October 2026

You enter into a contract for a new software system. Before signing, you clearly explain what you need. The supplier agrees, the quotation is signed and work begins. Months later, you discover that one crucial feature is missing, something you had assumed was simply included. The supplier’s response: “We never agreed to that.”

That is exactly what happened in a case brought before the District Court of Zeeland-West-Brabant in August of this year.[1]

What happened in the RentBuddy case

Two event equipment rental companies entered into a three-year contract with the software company RentBuddy, for a new ERP/CRM system. According to the rental companies, they had made it clear that customers needed to be able to see real-time product availability in the webshop via an API integration. However, this functionality was not explicitly included in RentBuddy’s quotations. When the system went live, the API integration was missing, leading to a dispute over whether the functionality had in fact been agreed upon.

The rental companies sought to terminate the agreement on the grounds of breach of contract. They argued that the functionality was implicitly included in the quotations, and the court agreed. Nevertheless, the agreement was not terminated because RentBuddy subsequently built the integration. The court held that the breach had thereby been remedied and rejected the claim for termination. The rental companies were ordered to pay the outstanding licence fees. The result: a damaged business relationship and a webshop at a standstill.

Why this so often goes wrong

At its core, this case was not so much about technology as it was about communication. The parties made assumptions that were never put in writing. We see the same issue time and again in IT contracts: an unclear scope, missing acceptance criteria and no clear agreement on what should happen if one party believes the other has failed to meet its obligations. When things do go wrong, one party sends a notice seeking to terminate the agreement, while the other suspends its work. Both sides become entrenched in their own positions while the project itself grinds to a halt. What began as a promising collaboration ends in a legal dispute.

What ICTResolve does differently

With ICTResolve, litigation is not our starting point when dealing with legal disputes. Our experience shows that escalating a conflict almost always leads to a worse outcome for both parties.

We begin with a thorough analysis of the legal position. At the same time, from the outset, we work towards a solution that is acceptable to both parties. This means distinguishing between what the parties formally demand and what they actually need. Not out of sympathy, but because a solution that works for both sides will, in almost every case, deliver more value than a legal dispute. Faster, less expensive and without irreparably damaging the relationship.

In the RentBuddy case, the rental companies presumably did not really want to terminate the agreement, they wanted a properly functioning IT system. And RentBuddy did not want litigation, it wanted a satisfied, paying customer. A solution could have taken the following form: a concrete remediation plan with firm interim deadlines, a temporary reduction in any applicable fees to compensate for the period in which the functionality was unavailable, and clear agreements on the functionality to be provided for the remainder of the contract term.

What are the benefits?

A supplier that knows your system inside and out cannot simply be replaced. Terminating an agreement involves not only legal risks, but operational risks as well. Consider migration, a new implementation, and the loss of data and configurations built up over time. By opting for a solution-oriented approach through ICTResolve, you retain not only your money as a customer, but also your position.

Are you dealing with an ICT contract that has reached an impasse, or do you sense that a collaboration is beginning to break down? Feel free to contact us. Our specialists will be happy to assess the situation with you.