Your creativity drives success - our IP expertise ensures it stays fully yours.
Let's talkCopyright
Copyright arises the moment the work exists: there is no register in Switzerland.
Copyright arises automatically, but proving what you created, when, and that you own it is what holds up when it matters. We put that proof in place and build the ownership trail behind it, so your software, designs, written work and brand creative are demonstrably yours and ready to be licensed, sold or defended.
We advise on registration and dating evidence where it is available (including across our Eastern network), structure assignments and licences so rights sit with the right entity, and monitor for misuse online.
The traffic runs both ways: we also clear the rights you need in other people's work, so the fonts, images, music, code and agency output inside your own products are properly licensed rather than a liability waiting to surface.
If someone crosses the line, we move from takedown to formal enforcement and support any litigation, so your creative output stays an asset you control rather than one you lose by default.
Copyright at a glance- 0 registersCopyright arises on creation - nothing to file in Switzerland
- 70 yearsAfter the author's death for most works
- 50 yearsThe term Swiss law sets for computer programs
- By assignmentHow rights transfer
Establish what you own
A map of who created what and when: employees, freelancers, agencies, founders before incorporation, open-source components.
Fix the chain of title
Assignments and licences drafted so the rights actually sit with the entity that needs them, before an investor or acquirer asks.
Create the evidence
Dated records, version history and timestamps for the material that is not in any register, taken now rather than reconstructed later.
Clear what you use
Fonts, images, music, code and libraries checked.
Enforce
Takedowns, cease-and-desist, customs recordals and litigation support when your work is used without permission.
Paying an invoice does not transfer copyright. Under Swiss law the rights in a commissioned work stay with the creator unless they are assigned to you.
- Registration and ownership strategy
- Evidence of authorship and dating
- Acquisition and transfer of rights
- Assignments and licence agreements
- Clearing permissions to use third-party works
- Software, design and content protection
- Monitoring and online enforcement
- Takedowns and infringement actions
- Customs recordals
- Dispute resolution and litigation support
- Mediation and negotiated settlements
Copyright - the questions we are asked most
Do I need to register copyright?
No. In Switzerland copyright arises automatically the moment a work is created: there is no copyright register. Protection generally lasts for seventy years after the author's death, and fifty years for computer programs.
How do I prove that my work existed on a given date?
Because there is no register, the burden of proof is on you. A cryptographic timestamp is one practical way to strengthen your position: it seals a fingerprint of your file into the Bitcoin blockchain, which can later help to show that the file existed in that form at that time. Our online timestamping service issues verifiable certificates in minutes.
Is a blockchain timestamp accepted as evidence?
A timestamp can be verified independently by anyone, without relying on us. It is not a legally prescribed form of proof, however: what weight it carries is for a court to assess freely in each individual case. It documents the existence and integrity of a file at a given date; it does not by itself prove who the author is. We advise on the evidence strategy that fits your situation.
My agency built our website. Who owns it?
Unless the contract assigns the rights to you, very possibly the agency does, and the same goes for a logo, photography or source code produced by a contractor. Paying for the work does not by itself transfer copyright under Swiss law. This is one of the most common findings in a pre-investment IP review, and it is much cheaper to fix while the relationship is still good.
Can I use fonts, stock images and open-source code freely?
Only within their licences, and the licences differ enormously. Some fonts are not licensed for embedding in an app; some stock images exclude use in a logo; some open-source licences require you to publish your own source code if you distribute the result. We review what you are using and tell you where the exposure actually is.
Let's talk about your ideas
DO Innovations S.A. Chemin de Bon-Abri 26a1007 Lausanne
Switzerland +41 79 199 80 73
admin@do-innovations.ch Let's talk