Kenji Watanabe-Price

Profile

Kenji Watanabe-Price is counsel in the San Francisco office of Corvane Ryle LLP and a member of the firm's Technology Transactions Practice. He negotiates software, cloud, data and AI agreements for technology companies and for the enterprises that buy from them.

Kenji is known for turning AI risk into contract language that both sides can live with: scope of permitted data use, performance commitments, indemnities and the allocation of liability when an automated system makes a mistake.

He works closely with Daniel Achterberg and advises in-house teams on procurement playbooks and negotiating positions for AI vendors.

Kenji's work falls within the firm's Technology Transactions Practice and is particularly relevant to clients in Technology, Fintech and Retail & Consumer Products. Kenji is based in the firm's San Francisco office.

Experience

Kenji's representative matters include the following, many of which are confidential and described in general terms.

• Advised Kestrel Systems on the licensing of its inference accelerator software stack to an original equipment manufacturer.
• Advised Halvern Retail Group on contract terms for an AI customer service agent, including liability caps, human escalation and data use restrictions.
• Represented Quillon Payments in a multi-year cloud services and data processing agreement with a global provider.
• Advised Arvelo Health on a data licensing agreement for the training of a clinical documentation model.
• Negotiated an enterprise generative AI agreement for a NYSE-listed insurer, including output ownership and training restrictions.
• Advised a software company on the redesign of its master subscription agreement to address AI features and customer data.
• Represented Fennwick Home in the procurement of an e-commerce platform and related implementation services.
• Advised a venture-backed startup on an open-weight model license and the associated acceptable use terms.
• Advised Tidewater Logistics on a warehouse automation agreement with a robotics provider, including performance service levels.
• Counseled a media group on a content licensing arrangement for AI model training with an opt-out mechanism.
• Negotiated a strategic data partnership between a consumer brand and an analytics provider.
• Advised a financial institution on the exit and transition provisions of a major core technology outsourcing.

Insights

Kenji's recent insights include the following.

• Colorado's AI Act: Where Things Stand for Deployers, with Daniel Achterberg.
• Agentic AI in Customer Service: Allocating Liability in Vendor Contracts.
• Procuring AI: Ten Contract Terms Every In-House Team Should Negotiate, with Daniel Achterberg.

Qualifications

Bar admissions

• State Bar of California

Education

• JD, University of California, Berkeley, School of Law
• BS, Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences, University of California, Berkeley