Protect Source Code in Colombia
We shield your software with DNDA registration, patrimonial rights assignment contracts, and an intellectual property strategy tailored to technology companies.
Why protect your software's intellectual property?
Source code is a technology company's most valuable asset. In Colombia, software is protected by copyright under Law 23 of 1982 and Andean Decision 351. Protection arises automatically upon creation, but without proper documentation, proving authorship and ownership can be extremely difficult.
If you don't have rights assignment contracts with your developers, confidentiality agreements with third parties, and a formal registration of your software, you're leaving your main asset unprotected against former employees, competitors, and unauthorized copies.
Comprehensive protection strategy
DNDA registration
Software registration with the National Copyright Directorate. Generates official proof of authorship and creation date.
Patrimonial rights assignment
Contracts transferring code ownership from developers to the company. Essential for co-founders and employees.
Confidentiality agreements (NDA)
Protect trade secrets, proprietary algorithms, and technical know-how from employees, contractors, and partners.
Non-compete clauses
Reasonable restrictions to prevent former employees from using your technical knowledge at direct competitors.
Software licensing
Definition of terms under which third parties can use your software: proprietary, open source, or hybrid licenses.
Trademark protection
Complement code IP with trademark registration of your product before the SIC to protect your commercial identity.
Our process
IP audit
We identify all your company's intellectual property assets: code, designs, trademarks, databases, and technical documentation.
Protection strategy
We design a protection plan based on your assets, risks, and business model (SaaS, license, open source).
Legal documentation
We draft assignment contracts, NDAs, license agreements, and internal IP policies.
Formal registration
We register your software with the DNDA and your trademark with the SIC if applicable.
Implementation
We help you integrate IP clauses into employment, service, and commercial contracts.
What does our service include?
- ✓Intellectual property asset audit
- ✓Software registration with the DNDA
- ✓Patrimonial rights assignment contracts
- ✓Confidentiality agreements (NDA) for employees and contractors
- ✓IP clauses for employment and service contracts
- ✓Licensing advisory (proprietary, open source, dual)
- ✓Trade secret protection strategy
Complementary services
Protect your IP comprehensively:
- → Trademark registration to protect your product's name before the SIC.
- → SaaS Contracts with robust IP clauses for your clients.
- → Tech employment contracts with rights assignment and confidentiality clauses.
Frequently Asked Questions
Source code is automatically protected by copyright under Law 23 of 1982 and Andean Decision 351. You don't need to register it for protection, but registration with the DNDA (National Copyright Directorate) gives you official proof of authorship and creation date, useful in disputes.
In Colombia, software as such is not patentable (Andean Decision 486, art. 15). However, if your software implements a novel technical process that solves a technical problem, you could protect that process through an invention patent. The primary protection for software is through copyright.
When a developer creates code, copyright is born in the author's name (the developer). For the company to own the code, you need a patrimonial rights assignment contract. Without this document, the developer could claim rights over code written for your company.
In Colombia, patrimonial copyright over software lasts 70 years from the author's death (natural person) or from first publication (legal entity). Moral rights are perpetual and inalienable.
A trademark protects your product's name and commercial identity before the SIC. Software intellectual property protects source code, architecture, and algorithms through copyright. They are complementary protections: the trademark protects your brand, copyright protects your code.