Legal Support for IT Companies & Startups

There is no universal set. It depends on the product model, team, monetization method, users and data processing. Usually the first step is to review rights to the code and other development results, agreements with the team and clients, personal-data documents and the corporate relationships between the founders. Only after the product has been analyzed can the exact set of documents be determined.

This is not determined only by whether development was paid for. The author of the software, the nature of the parties’ relationship, the agreement, the exclusive-right provisions and the documents confirming creation and delivery of the work result all need to be considered. For a product created by several contractors, the chain of rights needs to be reviewed for every material component.

No. Computer programs are protected by copyright, and state registration of a computer program or database is carried out at the rights holder’s discretion. Registration can be a useful part of documenting a software product, but it does not replace agreements and documents proving ownership of the exclusive rights.

Federal Law No. 152-FZ generally requires a controller to notify Roskomnadzor of the intention to process personal data before such processing begins, but the law contains separate exceptions. Whether notification is required and what information it should contain must therefore be determined from the actual processes of the specific product and company.

The foreign origin of a service does not provide a universal answer. It is necessary to determine what personal data the service receives, where and how it is processed and whether a cross-border transfer occurs. When personal data of Russian citizens is collected via the Internet, the statutory requirements concerning localization of the operations with such data must be taken into account, and a separate Roskomnadzor notification procedure applies before cross-border transfer begins.

That depends on what the client actually receives and how the product works. In one model, granting the right to use software may be the central element; in another, services or a combination of obligations may be central. The legal structure should match the actual product model rather than being chosen solely by the title of a template agreement.

Before a transaction, it is useful to review the company’s rights to the core product, the corporate structure, the founders’ ownership interests, existing arrangements between them and the project’s obligations to third parties. The terms of the specific investment transaction should separately define the amount of investment, the parties’ rights, corporate governance and other matters material to the project.