Software and database lawyers in Paris
Domains of expertise > Software and database law
Are you developing, purchasing or operating a software programme or a database? Problems usually surface once the project is well under way — because ownership was never properly defined, because the source code is hard to recover, because a licence lacks precision, or because data has been reused without authorisation.
Our software and database lawyers advise publishers, companies, start-ups, platforms, in-house legal teams and IT departments on protecting, contracting, monetising and defending their software and data assets. In advisory work as well as in litigation.
To discuss your software, your database or your contracts:
A firm recognised in intellectual property by the leading legal directories: Chambers, Legal 500, Décideurs, IP STARS and Lexology Index.
Our software and database law services
Bouchara & Avocats works at every stage in the life of a software programme or a database, to secure the project and to act quickly when a dispute arises.
Rights verification and legal audit
Before marketing a software programme, signing with a client or preparing a fundraising round, the first question is to establish who actually owns the rights.
Our lawyers assist you in particular with:
- reconstructing the chain of title to the software or the database;
- reviewing the assignments and licences already entered into;
- auditing third-party and open source components;
- preparing an acquisition, a disposal or a fundraising round.
At the end of the audit, the firm identifies the points to be regularised and the documents to be drawn up or completed.
Drafting and negotiating IT contracts
IT contracts must match how the solution actually works and how responsibilities are shared between the parties. A generic template cannot properly govern ownership of the developments, acceptance testing, software upgrades, service levels or data retrieval.
The firm drafts and negotiates in particular development and integration agreements, software licences, SaaS agreements, maintenance agreements, distribution agreements, data and API licences as well as reversibility and source code escrow agreements.
We act for the publisher as well as for the customer, taking into account the rights held by each party, the authorised uses and the degree of dependence on the solution.
Software and database disputes and litigation
IT disputes often call for a swift reaction, since technical evidence can change, disappear or become difficult to use — particularly where copying, a deadlock with a supplier or automated data extraction is involved.
The firm acts in particular in cases of:
- reproduction of source code or of documentation;
- reuse of parts of a software programme by a former employee or partner;
- use going beyond the scope of a licence;
- improper integration of an open source component;
- extraction or reuse of a database;
- automated scraping of a website or platform;
- refusal to hand over the source code;
- disagreement over acceptance testing or software compliance;
- development delays or abandonment of the project;
- failed reversibility;
- a licence audit launched by a publisher;
- an allegation of infringement or of breach of contract.
We assist you as claimant and as defendant, whether in a negotiation, an evidence-gathering measure or court proceedings.
Typical situations
Your software was developed by several contributors
Founders, employees, freelancers, agencies or IT services firms have worked on the same software one after another. We reconstruct the chain of title, identify the missing assignments and define the documents required to secure its exploitation.
Your supplier refuses to hand over the source code
The project is stalled by a disagreement over acceptance testing, invoices or ownership of the developments. We review the contractual obligations, the rights held by each party and the steps needed to continue the project or to exit it.
You market a SaaS solution
Your solution must be governed by contracts suited to the way it works, to its users and to its compliance requirements. We draft and negotiate the clauses covering licences, hosting, maintenance, service levels, data and reversibility.
Your software includes open source components
Poorly documented components can slow down a product launch, a fundraising round or an acquisition. We identify the licences that carry risk and the steps to be taken before the transaction.
You operate a database or an API
Your business collects, organises or enriches data from various sources. We check the rights in the database and in the data it contains, then put in place the framework governing access, licences and reuse.
A competitor is extracting data from your platform
Automated queries allow a third party to reconstitute part of your offering. We analyse the investment made, the data taken, how often extractions occur, the applicable contractual terms and the available evidence, in order to identify the remedies open to you.
You are preparing a fundraising round or an acquisition
Investors and buyers scrutinise ownership of the software, the contracts entered into with developers and the technical dependencies. We carry out the necessary audits and identify the matters to be regularised before the transaction.
Awards and rankings
Bouchara & Avocats is regularly recognised for its expertise in data law, cybersecurity, digital platforms and the protection of digital content.
Chambers France 2026 — Intellectual Property: Trade Mark & Copyright
Vanessa Bouchara — Band 2, ranked in this directory for thirteen years.
Legal 500 EMEA 2026 — France — Intellectual Property: Copyright
Bouchara & Avocats — Tier 2.
Décideurs | Leaders League 2026 — Data law and cybersecurity
Bouchara & Avocats — « Strong reputation ».
Décideurs | Leaders League 2026 — Digital platforms and applications law
Bouchara & Avocats — « Strong reputation ».
IP STARS — Managing IP 2026
Bouchara & Avocats — Trusted Talent Firms, Intellectual property.
Lexology Index, formerly Who’s Who Legal
Vanessa Bouchara — Thought Leader, France, IP – Trademarks.
Best Law Firms in France 2026
Bouchara & Avocats — Paris Tier 3, Intellectual Property Law.
Intellectual Property Lawyers Team
Who owns the intellectual property rights in a software programme?
The intellectual property protection of software rests primarily on copyright, in particular for the code and the preparatory design material.
By contrast, an idea, a method or a feature is not protected as such. It is therefore necessary to determine precisely which elements can be protected and who is entitled to claim the rights in them (French Intellectual Property Code, art. L. 112-2, 13°; Directive 2009/24/EC, art. 1, §§ 1 to 3).
This analysis means identifying the contributions, checking that they are original and reconstructing the transfers of rights. It draws in particular on the contracts, the Git history, the specifications, the technical documentation, the filings and the successive versions of the code.
Employees, contractors and founders: who owns the code?
The rights in software created by an employee in the course of their duties vest in the employer, unless otherwise agreed (French Intellectual Property Code, art. L. 113-9). That rule does not apply automatically to freelancers, agencies or IT services firms: the contract must set out precisely how the developments are assigned or licensed.
| Situation | What we check |
|---|---|
| Development by employees | Duties assigned, circumstances of creation and internal documentation |
| Work by a freelancer or an agency | Assignment of rights, scope of permitted use and delivery of the code |
| Contributions by the founders | Developments carried out before the company was incorporated, and the transfers required |
| Third-party or open source components | Applicable licences and compatibility with commercial exploitation |
Depending on the nature of the project, this protection may be supplemented by contract law, trade secret protection or, for certain technical inventions, patent law.
This verification allows uncertainties to be dealt with before they are raised by an investor, a buyer, a client or an opposing party.
Which clauses should an IT contract contain?
Development agreement, licence, SaaS, maintenance or integration: the right document depends on how the software is designed, delivered and used.
Our lawyers deal in particular with:
- deliverables and the acceptance testing procedure;
- rights in pre-existing code and in bespoke developments;
- authorised users, group companies and permitted uses;
- updates, fixes and new releases;
- hosting and service levels;
- delivery or escrow of the source code;
- return of data and reversibility;
- liability and the consequences of termination.
The contract must be drafted with regard to each party’s role, the degree of dependence on the supplier and the operational consequences of a delay, a service interruption or the end of the project.
Our aim is simple: to avoid a contract that says one thing while the solution works another way. That gap is very often where deadlocks with a supplier, a publisher or a client begin.
How do you protect and monetise a database?
A database is not protected merely because it took time to build or because your company created it. You have to identify the maker of the database and be able to demonstrate the investment made in obtaining, verifying or presenting its contents.
We help you to organise that evidence, to clarify the rights in the data it contains and to govern its exploitation: licences, client access, partner feeds, APIs and reuse conditions.
Where the statutory conditions are met, the maker can act against the extraction or reuse of a substantial part of the database. Repeated and systematic extraction of smaller volumes may also be caught (French Intellectual Property Code, art. L. 341-1, L. 342-1 and L. 342-2).
This analysis matters particularly where a competitor harvests the data of a platform, reconstitutes an offering or uses the information collected to launch a competing service.
Open source: check before you distribute
Using an open source component may trigger obligations as to the notices to be retained, the disclosure of modifications or the availability of part of the code. Their scope depends on the applicable licence and on how the component is integrated or distributed.
We list the libraries used, check their versions and licences, then analyse how compatible they are with your commercial model. The audit identifies the applicable obligations and determines which components must be documented, regularised or replaced.
Databases and personal data: when does the GDPR apply?
Where a database contains information relating to identified or identifiable individuals, its intellectual property protection must be reconciled with the rules on personal data (Regulation (EU) 2016/679, art. 4, § 1).
The firm advises in particular on allocating the roles between the parties, verifying that processing operations are compliant and governing retention, security and data transfers.
This analysis matters particularly for SaaS solutions, platforms, applications and any project built on data exchanges between several players.
Responding to copying or unauthorised use
Where code, documentation or a database has been taken, the priority is to preserve the evidence before it disappears or is altered.
We check the rights you hold, analyse the similarities or the extractions and determine the most appropriate legal basis: infringement, breach of contract, unfair competition, free-riding or misappropriation of trade secrets.
Depending on the situation, we can arrange a bailiff’s report, work with an IT expert, send a cease-and-desist letter or prepare an infringement seizure. That measure can cover the software, the disputed database and the related documents (French Intellectual Property Code, art. L. 332-4).
We also act in defence where a company is accused of copying software, exceeding the scope of a licence or unlawfully extracting data.
Would you like to secure a software programme or a database?
For a review of your project, your contracts or an infringement of your rights, our lawyers are at your disposal.
Bouchara & Avocats
17 rue du Colisée
75008 Paris, France
Tel. +33 (0)1 42 25 42 30
info@cabinetbouchara.com
FAQ
Can software or an algorithm be patented?
Software as such is not patentable. A computer-implemented invention can be, however, where it provides a technical solution to a technical problem (art. L. 611-10 of the French Intellectual Property Code). Our lawyers examine the nature of the innovation, how it works and the elements to be preserved, in order to determine whether patent protection, copyright, trade secrets or contractual protection is the better route.
Is a licence breach a contractual matter or an infringement?
It depends on which obligation has been breached. Exceeding the permitted number of users, making a prohibited copy or using the software outside the authorised scope will not necessarily be characterised in the same way. We review the licence, the rights concerned and the available evidence in order to select the appropriate basis, whether you are claimant or defendant.
How do you protect know-how and the elements copyright does not cover?
Methods, processes, features and technical know-how are not always protected by copyright. We put complementary protections in place: confidentiality agreements, tailored clauses in employment and services contracts, access restrictions, traceability of exchanges and trade secret measures.
Should you produce an SBOM for your software?
An SBOM identifies the components built into the software, their versions and their licences. It makes open source audits, fundraising rounds and acquisitions considerably easier. We help companies structure that inventory, spot poorly documented dependencies and define the steps to be taken.
What does a legal audit of software look like before a fundraising round?
We review the chain of title, the contracts entered into with founders, employees and suppliers, the open source licences, the third-party components and the main customer and supplier agreements. At the end of the audit, we identify the risks, the missing documents and the priority matters to be regularised, so that investors are presented with clear and consistent documentation.
