IT companies in Belarus are increasingly building teams based on hybrid or fully remote models. This format gives businesses access to talent from different regions but at the same time creates new legal challenges, especially regarding intellectual property (IP). Who owns the code, design, or product architecture if the developer works remotely? How should the transfer of rights be properly arranged to avoid disputes and maintain control over the work results?

For IT companies, especially those working with foreign clients or investors, a clear definition of intellectual property rights is key to protecting the business. Errors in contracts or informal cooperation with freelancers can lead to code leaks, loss of product rights, and legal risks during scaling.

This article explains how ownership of intellectual property is regulated in Belarus, what nuances arise when working with remote developers, and how companies can properly formalize relationships to protect their product, brand, and reputation.

Why Intellectual Property Matters for IT Companies

In digital business, intellectual property (IP) code, design, algorithms, documentation, and brand is the core value of the company. For startups and established IT companies alike, rights to the results of developers’ work directly affect the ability to attract investment, sell the product, sign international contracts, and demonstrate legal stability.

Features of IT Products as Intellectual Property

Unlike tangible assets, an IT product is an intangible result of intellectual work. Source code, UX design, interfaces, databases, system architecture, documentation, and even training materials are all objects of copyright.

The main peculiarity is that:

• Ownership of an IT product does not automatically belong to the company but initially to the natural person, the author, i.e., the developer.
• For a company to use, sell, or license a product, the developer must legally transfer the rights through a contract or agreement.
• Since IP can be easily copied and transferred, legally securing rights becomes the only way to maintain control.

Risks of Improperly Formalized Rights

The absence of properly documented intellectual property rights creates serious legal and financial threats for an IT company:

• A developer retains copyright even if they were paid the company cannot lawfully use or sell the product without their consent.
• Problems with investors and clients: during due diligence, the lack of documentation confirming the transfer of rights often blocks deals.
• Complications with international contracts foreign partners require proof that the code truly belongs to the company.
• Reputational and financial risks: a dispute or leak of source code may lead to the loss of clients or lawsuits.

Even if a project is created by in-house employees, the company does not automatically become the rights holder without proper contractual arrangements.

Why Remote Work Increases the Importance of Legal Protection

Remote work adds complexity to managing intellectual property:

• Developers may be located in different countries, where legal rules vary.
• External contractors and freelancers are often engaged under simplified or oral agreements.
• Materials and code are stored in cloud services, increasing leakage risks and complicating authorship verification.

In such circumstances, the company must have a clear system for documenting all rights—from employment and service contracts to NDAs and IP transfer agreements. This ensures that, even with distributed teams, the business remains the rightful owner of its code and product.

Allocation of IP Rights Between Employer and Contractor

One of the key issues in IT is determining who owns the created product, the company or the developer. Even if the work is commissioned and paid for by the employer, the author under law remains the individual who created it. Therefore, it is important to understand how intellectual property rights are divided and which transfer mechanisms are used in practice.

What Constitutes Intellectual Property in IT

In IT, results of intellectual activity include all objects created by a developer while performing their work or contractual duties. These are not limited to source code but include many elements forming the final product.

They include:

• Program code (source and object code) – the core object of copyright creating product functionality.
• Design and interface (UI/UX) – visual solutions, layouts, and interface compositions.
• Databases – structure, organization, and content.
• Technical documentation – architecture descriptions, specifications, user manuals.
• Architecture and algorithms – original solutions ensuring product uniqueness.
• Branding elements – logo, corporate style, naming if developed internally.

All these elements are protected by copyright, which arises at the moment of creation not registration or transfer.

In Belarusian law, there is the concept of a “work made for hire,” meaning an IP object created by an employee while performing job duties. Exclusive proprietary rights to such works may belong to the employer only if specified in the employment contract or a separate agreement.

If the work was done under a civil contract (e.g., a service or subcontract agreement), the rights remain with the contractor until transferred in writing.

Thus:

• The author is always the developer.
• Exclusive rights (i.e., the right to use, sell, or license the product) can pass to the company only through a contract.
• With remote or project-based work lacking clear transfer terms, the company risks losing legal ownership of its own code.

For IT companies, this means every form of cooperation, employment, outsourcing, or freelancing must include formalized documentation confirming IP transfer. Only then can the business ensure that the created product truly belongs to it.

Ownership of Results Created by Remote Developers

Working with remote teams has become the norm for IT companies, especially in Belarus, where many specialists operate on a project basis or as sole proprietors. However, remote collaboration can create legal uncertainty if relationships are not properly documented: a company may pay for work but not receive product rights. To avoid this, it is essential to understand how authorship and proprietary rights are allocated.

Who Is the Author and Rights Holder by Default

By law, the author is the natural person who directly created the intellectual property code, design, documentation, or databases.

If a developer works under an employment contract, the results are generally considered works made for hire. In this case:

• The author remains the employee.
• The exclusive property rights belong to the employer if explicitly stated in the employment contract or job description.

If the developer works under a civil contract (as a freelancer or individual entrepreneur), all rights remain with the contractor until transferred to the client in writing.

Thus, payment for work does not automatically transfer IP rights. To use the product legally, the company must formalize the transfer of rights.

How Exclusive Rights Are Transferred

Exclusive rights to intellectual property can be transferred in several ways:

1. Through an employment contract – if the developer is a full-time employee. The contract must explicitly state that exclusive rights to works made for hire belong to the employer and describe the usage terms and compensation.

2. Through a service or work contract – if the developer is not an employee. Rights transfer only if there is a clause specifying the assignment of exclusive rights and listing all created objects (code, interface, databases, etc.).

3. Through an assignment agreement – used in long-term projects, international contracts, or post-development transfers. The agreement lists IP objects, transfer conditions, duration, and territory of use.

The documents must specify:

• The exact results covered by the transfer.
• The moment rights are transferred (e.g., after payment or upon signing an acceptance certificate).
• Compensation terms and payment procedure.

Without these details, the document may be deemed invalid or incomplete, allowing the developer to dispute the transfer.

Common Mistakes That Cause Companies to Lose Product Rights

In practice, companies often make mistakes that lead to losing or failing to confirm IP ownership:

1. No written contract. Verbal agreements or chat correspondence are not legally valid for IP transfer.

2. Incomplete wording. A “service agreement” without an IP clause does not transfer rights.

3. Undefined object. If the contract doesn’t specify the transferred object (e.g., source code, database, interface), rights remain with the author.

4. No acceptance certificate. Without one, the company cannot prove delivery or creation of the work.

5. Intermediary issues. If the developer works via subcontractors and the inter-company agreement lacks a transfer clause, the final client doesn’t become the owner.

These errors can result in serious issues from blocked source code access to legal disputes with former contractors.

To prevent this, all cooperation with remote developers must include documentation confirming IP transfer. This is especially critical for IT companies planning to scale, attract investment, or enter foreign markets, since proof of ownership is key to legal stability.

Practical Recommendations for Companies and Developers

Even with good contracts, companies remain vulnerable if their IP management processes are not systematic. IT businesses must not only document rights transfer but also confirm the creation and handover of the work and establish internal IP policies for remote operations.

How to Document Creation and Transfer of Results

To protect intellectual property rights, it is crucial to prove who created the result, when, and under what conditions, especially in remote setups.

Recommendations:

• Track the development process using corporate repositories (GitHub, GitLab) to record commits, authors, and timestamps.
• Sign acceptance certificates confirming that the work was delivered and accepted, listing all objects (source code, mockups, specifications, etc.).
• Use electronic signatures or legally recognized digital tools for signing documents remotely.
• Store source materials and correspondence to prove that the development was performed by the company’s team.
• Include IP transfer clauses in all contracts or separate agreements.

This approach ensures a transparent ownership chain from creation to company use.

What to Include in a Company Policy for Remote Teams

In distributed teams, IP issues should be regulated not only by contracts but also by internal policies. This creates unified standards and reduces the risk of mistakes during scaling.

An IP policy should include:

• Mandatory NDA and IP Agreement signing for all employees, contractors, freelancers, and consultants.
• Clear rules for when and how rights are transferred, and what documents confirm the transfer.
• Guidelines for using corporate resources (repositories, cloud storage, tools).
• Requirements for protecting code, credentials, client data, and trade secrets.
• Procedures for offboarding, ensuring that departing developers return all materials, access credentials, and confirm IP transfer.

Such a system prevents situations where a developer leaves but the company holds only files without legally confirmed ownership.

How Legal Support Helps Protect Code, Brand, and Product

Even with a solid internal IP policy, ongoing legal supervision is essential. Laws and international practices change constantly, and contractual mistakes can be costly.

Professional legal support allows you to:

• Develop contract templates for employees, contractors, and freelancers with properly worded IP clauses.
• Build an internal documentation system to prove ownership.
• Ensure compliance with Belarusian and international IP law.
• Register trademarks, domains, patents, and other IP objects to protect the brand and product.
• Support investment or client deals where verified IP ownership is mandatory.

Lawyers can turn IP management from a formality into a strategic business protection and value-building tool. For IT companies, this is crucial, code, brand, and team are the main assets determining their worth and resilience.

Conclusion

Intellectual property is the core asset of any IT company, especially those working with remote developers. Properly formalizing rights to the work of programmers, designers, and other specialists not only protects the product from disputes and copying but also increases its value during investment, contract signing, or business sales.

Even a single missing agreement or vague clause can cause a company to lose control of its code or brand. Therefore, IP management must be systematic and professional.

Our team provides comprehensive legal support on intellectual property matters for IT companies:

• Consulting on rights allocation between clients and contractors.
• Drafting and formalizing all necessary agreements (employment, service, NDA, IP Assignment, etc.).
• Supporting IP registration, from source code to trademarks.
• Developing internal IP protection policies and procedures for remote teams.

We ensure that your product, from the first line of code to the brand remains under reliable legal protection.

How to contact us 

For more information or consultations on intellectual property matters for IT companies in Belarus, do not hesitate to contact us. We are here to help and support you.

Phone and email communication options are available for your convenience:

• +375293664477 (WhatsApp/Telegram/Viber);
• info@spex.by.