Copyright in the Digital Age: Safeguarding Your Software

Unlike trademarks, copyright protection in Thailand is Automatic the moment you create the work. However, in a legal dispute, "automatic" is hard to prove.

 

The Benefits of 'Recordation'

While not mandatory, we strongly advise tech companies to Record their copyright with the Department of Intellectual Property (DIP).

• The Evidence: You receive an official certificate that acts as prima facie evidence of ownership.
• The Detail: For software, you typically submit excerpts of your source code and a description of the program’s functionality.

 

Employee vs. Contractor

This is where many startups fail. Under Thai law, unless your contract says otherwise, the copyright for work created by an employee belongs to the employee, but the employer has the right to use it. For a contractor, the copyright belongs to the contractor.

• The Fix: Ensure all your employment and service contracts have a clear "Work for Hire" or "Assignment of IP" clause that transfers all rights to your company.

 

Practical Evidence Habits

Beyond formal recordation, build a paper trail as you develop: keep dated commits in your repository, retain design documents and sprint records, and tag releases with clear timestamps. If a dispute ever reaches the courts, a consistent development history is usually what settles who created what, and when.

 

Cross-Border Basics

Thailand is party to the Berne Convention, so works created in most home countries are protected in Thailand and vice versa. That comfort does not remove the contractor problem—if your developers sit in three different jurisdictions, align every contract to one standard of IP assignment.

 

Trade Secrets Still Matter

Copyright protects expression, not ideas. Algorithms, customer lists, and business logic are best guarded through confidentiality clauses, access controls, and non-disclosure agreements with every developer who touches the codebase.

 

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Related Service: Company Registration & Legal — Review of IP clauses in employment and vendor contracts.