Software Copyright & App Trademark Protection in Pakistan
Source code is protected as a literary work under Pakistan's Copyright Ordinance automatically, from creation — but an app's name, logo and branding need a separate trademark filing, since copyright doesn't protect names or short phrases.
Software companies sometimes assume that because their code is automatically protected, their app is fully covered. Copyright and trademark protect entirely different things, and a complete strategy needs both.
Copyright protects the code, automatically
Under Pakistan's Copyright Ordinance, 1962, computer programmes are protected as literary works from the moment of creation — no registration is required for the protection to exist. This covers the source code itself as an original expression.
Why registration is still worth doing
Registration with IPO-Pakistan isn't required, but it creates an official, dated record of authorship that becomes valuable evidence if ownership or originality is ever disputed — particularly relevant for software, where proving who wrote what and when can otherwise turn into a difficult factual argument.
Trademark protects the name — copyright doesn't
Copyright does not protect names, titles or short phrases — an app's name, its logo, and any tagline used to market it need their own trademark application to be protected as a brand. This is the gap we see most often: a startup with genuinely original code and zero protection for the name customers actually search for and remember.
Ownership: who actually owns code built by contractors or employees
Ownership of copyright in code written by an employee generally sits differently than code built by an outside contractor or freelance developer, and the default position isn't always what founders assume — a written assignment in the development agreement is the reliable way to make sure the company, not the individual developer, ends up owning the code outright.
For International Law Firms
Referral Partnership
We work with law firms outside Pakistan whose clients need trademark protection here. Firms that commit to referring at least 10 trademark filings a year receive their first 5 trademark applications — including official IPO-Pakistan fees — at no cost, while we build the working relationship.
Discuss a Referral PartnershipThis article is general information about Pakistani law and procedure, not legal advice for any specific matter. If this touches on something you're currently facing, get in touch and we'll advise on your facts directly.