An author's economic rights are non-transferable. A program commissioned directly from its author generally falls under the employee-work regime, and the customer exercises the rights unless the parties agree otherwise. Where a company supplies the software, however, the customer does not automatically obtain every entitlement: rights from its employees and subcontractors must be checked, and an appropriate licence or an assignment of the right to exercise economic rights must be agreed. The contract should also address source code, modifications and further licensing.
Can software copyright be bought?
Slovak copyright law gives an author the right to use their work and authorise its use (Section 19 of Copyright Act No. 185/2015 Coll.). One central rule surprises most customers: an author’s economic rights are non-transferable, cannot be waived and cannot be subject to enforcement (Section 20(2)). Wording such as “I transfer all copyright to you” is therefore legally inaccurate: authorship always remains with the creator. What you actually need is either a licence or, for software, the statutory exercise of economic rights.
What regime applies to computer programs?
For an ordinary commissioned work, such as graphics or text, the author is deemed to have authorised use only for the purpose arising from the contract. Another purpose requires further consent (Section 91(1)).
For a computer program commissioned directly from its author, the law makes an exception: the employee-work provisions apply, and the customer is treated as the employer (Section 91(4)). This means that the customer exercises the program’s economic rights in its own name and for its own account, unless the parties agree otherwise. The author must refrain from exercising those rights and may not license the program to someone else (Section 90(4)). The scope of the customer’s exercise of rights follows from this statutory regime and any agreement providing otherwise, while authorship remains with the programmer.
For a corporate supplier, the entire chain of rights must be verified. Rights in an employee-created program are generally exercised by the author’s employer, rather than automatically by the end customer. The customer needs an appropriate licence or a valid assignment of the right to exercise economic rights under the conditions in Section 90. The same applies where other authors and subcontractors are involved; the customer’s right to license every supplied program further cannot be inferred from the order alone.
What the contract should still address
The statutory regime is a good starting point but does not replace a well-drafted contract. We always recommend expressly agreeing:
- Delivery of source code and technical documentation: without them, “ownership” exists only on paper.
- The right to further development and modifications, including without the original supplier.
- Treatment of open-source components and third-party licences incorporated into the solution.
- Entitlements relating to works by the supplier’s employees, subcontractors and freelancers. The supplier must document which rights it exercises itself and which it may provide to the customer by licence or by assigning the exercise of rights.
We address these matters when preparing software and IT development contracts and software and licence agreements. If you need to assess rights in an existing work, our copyright and licensing service can help.
This answer provides general information on the law as at 10 September 2026. It does not constitute legal services or replace an assessment of an individual case. The details of your situation may differ. Book a consultation to discuss them.
