Short answer: In Azerbaijan the person who creates a work is its author, and copyright arises automatically when the work is created, with no registration required. Where an employee creates a work as part of their job duties, the exclusive right to use it belongs to the employer unless the contract says otherwise. For a website, software, logo or content made by a freelancer or an agency, the economic rights pass to you only under a written author's contract. Rights granted under such a contract are non-exclusive unless it says otherwise, and if no territory is stated they are limited to Azerbaijan.
What copyright protects
The Law "On Copyright and Related Rights" protects works that result from creative activity and exist in an objective form. Most of what businesses commission falls within the list (Article 6):
- Computer programs are protected as literary works. Protection covers source code and object code and all programs expressed in any language or form (Article 6.2).
- Databases are protected as compilations where the selection or arrangement of material is the result of creative work.
- Design, graphics and visual art: logos, brand identity, website design, illustrations.
- Texts, photographs, video and multimedia products; advertising is also protected within the limits set by the Law (Article 6.3).
Copyright protects the form of expression, not the idea (Article 5.3). The idea of "an online ordering site" is not protected, but the actual code, design and copy are. The Civil Code lists the creation of works as a source of civil rights (Article 14.2.5) and gives priority to the special copyright legislation where it sets its own rules (Article 2.3).
Registration, moral rights and economic rights
Registration or any other formality is not required for copyright to arise or be exercised (Article 5.1). If they wish, rights holders may register a work, for as long as it is protected, with the body set up by the competent executive authority and receive a certificate (Articles 8.4–8.5). Under the Law the certificate is not in itself a presumption of authorship, but in a dispute where there is no other evidence the court treats it as one. Rights holders may also mark copies with the copyright notice: ©, the rights holder's name and the year of first publication (Article 8.2).
A key point: owning the physical carrier of a work, such as the server hosting the files or a printed mock-up, does not in itself give you the copyright (Article 5.4). Having the code on your server does not mean you own it.
The author's personal (moral) rights are the right to be recognised as author, the right to a name, the right to object to distortion of the work and the right to decide on its disclosure (Article 14.1). They cannot be transferred and stay with the author even when the economic rights are transferred (Article 14.2).
The economic rights are the exclusive right to use the work in any form: reproduction, distribution, rental, making it available online for interactive use, translation, adaptation and so on (Article 15). These are the rights that matter commercially, and they are granted under an author's contract (Articles 28 and 30).
Who owns by default: employee, freelancer, agency
| Who created it | Author | Exclusive right of use (if the contract is silent) | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Staff employee (within job duties or an employer's assignment) | Employee | Employer (Article 13.2) | The employee is entitled to royalties for each type of use; if the employer leaves the work unused for 3 years without good reason, the rights revert to the author (Article 13.3) |
| Freelancer (under a civil-law contract) | Freelancer | Stays with the freelancer; the client gets only the rights granted by a written author's contract (Articles 28, 30, 31) | Rights granted are non-exclusive by default (Article 30.4) |
| Agency (web studio, design agency) | The agency's employees or the contractors it uses | The agency, for its employees' works made for hire; the client gets rights only under its contract with the agency | Check that the agency actually acquired the rights from its subcontractors |
The employee rule applies only where the work was created in performing job duties or an employer's assignment, so describe clearly in the employment contract and job description what the employee is expected to create. As for the 3-year period, the Law expressly allows the parties to shorten it by agreement. The Law contains no special rule giving the client ownership of works commissioned from someone outside its staff, so with freelancers and agencies the contract decides everything.
The author's contract: what the Law requires
An author's contract must be in writing (Article 31.4). It must set out (Article 31.1): the methods of use (the specific rights granted), the term and territory, the royalty amount or how it is calculated, and the payment procedure and timing.
- Exclusive vs non-exclusive: the holder of exclusive rights can permit or prohibit use by others; a non-exclusive grant lets the author license the same work to others (Articles 30.2–30.3). If the contract is silent, the rights are non-exclusive (Article 30.4).
- Term: if no term is stated, the author may terminate the contract after 5 years by giving the user 6 months' written notice (Article 31.1).
- Territory: if no territory is stated, the rights are limited to Azerbaijan (Article 31.1), which is a real risk for a website or app used abroad.
- Restrictions: terms that limit the author's ability to create works on a given subject or in a given field in the future are invalid (Article 31.3).
Copyright lasts for the author's lifetime plus 70 years after death, counted from 1 January of the year following death; moral rights are protected without time limit (Article 25). It is therefore safer to state the term precisely, for example "for the full term of copyright protection", rather than "indefinitely".
Contract checklist
- Sign a written contract and set out the author's contract terms (Article 31) in a dedicated section.
- Take the rights on an exclusive basis and list the methods of use: reproduction, distribution, online publication, modification and adaptation, and the right to sublicense.
- State the term (e.g. for the full term of protection) and territory (e.g. worldwide) expressly.
- Fix the fee and payment schedule, and specify when the rights pass (e.g. on full payment).
- For software, make delivery of the source code, database schema, documentation and access credentials a contractual obligation.
- Require a list of third-party components (libraries, fonts, images, open-source code) and their licence terms, with a warranty of licence compliance from the contractor.
- Get a representation and warranty from an agency that it has acquired the rights from its employees and subcontractors.
- For a logo, take exclusive rights from the designer and also register the logo as a trademark.
- List the delivered works precisely in the acceptance certificate.
A logo is protected by copyright as a design work, but protecting the brand against similar marks in the market requires a separate trademark registration; see our guide to trademark registration in Azerbaijan. When buying a company, ownership of its software and brand rights should also be checked (legal due diligence checklist).
Frequently asked questions
If I paid for the website, do I automatically own it?
No. Payment alone does not transfer the economic rights. They are granted under an author's contract, which must be in writing (Articles 28 and 31.4).
Who owns software an employee writes during working hours?
If it was created within their job duties or an employer's assignment, the employee is the author, but the exclusive right of use belongs to the employer unless the contract provides otherwise (Article 13).
Is "all rights pass to the client" enough in the contract?
It can be risky. The Law requires the methods of use, term, territory and royalty to be set out (Article 31.1). Spelling them out reduces the risk of a dispute.
Can I remove the author's name from the website?
Moral rights, including the right to a name, stay with the author (Article 14). It is advisable to agree in the contract whether the author will be credited.
Do I have to register software?
No. Protection arises without registration; voluntary registration can help as evidence in a dispute (Articles 5.1 and 8.4–8.5).
What if the developer will not hand over the code?
The Law gives a lawful owner of a copy limited rights, such as making changes needed to run the program, fixing errors and making a backup copy (Article 24), but delivery of the source code should be written into the contract as an obligation.
How we can help
Affidacons drafts and reviews author's contracts for website, software, design and content projects, helps businesses document rights properly with employees, freelancers and agencies, audits existing chains of title and helps protect logos as trademarks. See our intellectual property advisory page or contact us.
This article is general information and does not constitute legal advice. It is based on Articles 5, 6, 8, 13, 14, 15, 24, 25, 28, 30 and 31 of the Law of the Republic of Azerbaijan "On Copyright and Related Rights" and Articles 2.3 and 14.2.5 of the Civil Code of the Republic of Azerbaijan (October 2026); legislation may change. Obtain advice on your specific circumstances before acting.
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