Copyright of the software is a fundamental question that we need to consider. There are many disputes that arise from it. Legal ownership of digital products has different standards and it is important to clearly define the first owners of a copyright. This is important to qualify whether the software can be protected by local or international laws. The software may also include many components, such as artistic works, authored materials, graphics design, multimedia works, imagery and photographs. Any law will clearly define that the original author of the work is the first owner of the digital product, unless the author is employed by someone who pays him/her for the work.
In this case, it is clear that the first author of a work isn’t always the one whole own the copyright. It can be tricky to define a person who can be protected by the law. A person may be able to synthesize and idea to a readable, audible and viewable form, but the copyright can be owned by the company or the person who dictates the material. In this case, ownership is determined by the factual circumstance. Copyright work can be related also to film and other artistic works. In the course of employment, it is important for employers to describe in the written agreement about who is allowed to obtain the ownership of the copyright.
When it is determined who comes up with the idea, who works on the idea and who owns the final product; the agreement must be validated by a legal entity. This must become a generally accepted definition on the ownership of the copyright. By having a clear definition, the relationship between employees and employers can be maintained at a reasonable degree. Employees will be able to continuously provide their work and they can maintain their performance. Employers could hope to obtain good quality content, based on the clauses written in the employment contracts.
In any kind of law and regulation, copyright is considered as a personal property and it can be transferred to a different individuals. In some countries, the law on the assignments of the copyright could be very clear. The transfer of the copyright isn’t considered as valid, if it is not approved by the original owner or a designated legal entity. There must be a document that assigns the transfer of the ownership, if the original owner died or if there are other circumstances that require the change the ownership of the software. As an example, the original owner of the software could be a company and when it goes out of business, the ownership can be passed to other people.
In this case, we should know about the consequences related to copyright ownership. A software is created to penetrate the market and the first owner of the copyright knows how the software should perform. It means that with the transfer of the ownership, there’s also a transfer of the intellectual capability.