Copyright and content protection

Copyright arises automatically, from the moment the work is created. The difficulties start when authorship has to be proved, or when unauthorised use of content has to be stopped.

When to get in touch

• your content, photographs, text or code are being used without permission
• rights need to be transferred from a contractor or an employee
• a dispute has arisen about authorship or the scope of the rights transferred
• you plan to commercialise a work and want the rights secured

What the lawyer does

• establishes the scope of the rights and who holds them
• builds the evidence of authorship and of when the work was created
• prepares assignments of economic rights and licence agreements
• responds to infringement: demands and cease-and-desist notices
• prepares the claim for protection of copyright
• deals with rights in works created in the course of employment

Legal basis

These relations are governed by the Law of Ukraine “On Copyright and Related Rights”: copyright in a work arises by the fact of its creation and requires no registration (Article 9); the economic rights in a work are set out in Article 12; the moral rights in a work created in the course of employment belong to the employee who created it (Article 14); the assignment of economic rights by contract is governed by Article 49; and the grounds for protecting copyright and related rights by Article 53. The disposal of intellectual property rights is governed by Articles 1107–1109 of the Civil Code of Ukraine.

Legislation and case law are updated over time; this page reflects the position as of August 2026.

Frequently asked questions

Does copyright have to be registered?

No: the right arises by the fact of the work’s creation (Article 9 of the Law). Registration is not mandatory, but it makes proof easier.

Who owns a work created by an employee?

The moral rights in a work created in the course of employment belong to the employee; who holds the economic rights is determined by the law and by the terms of the employment or services contract — which is worth settling in writing.

Need legal assistance? Call us or leave a request — a lawyer will contact you and explain what to do in your situation.