Companies that want to use the offers of the Belarusian software developer market can hire Belarusian software developers and act as customers. In this case, you need to understand the specifics of the local market, formalize relations with Belarusian companies taking into account the interests of business and the specifics of Belarusian legislation. To do this, foreign companies need the services of experienced lawyers.
Features of IT outsourcing in Belarus
Representing the interests of foreign software customers in Belarus is an important area in the field of IT outsourcing. Belarus is known for its highly qualified IT specialists, innovative environment and favorable conditions for the development of IT business. In this regard, many foreign companies prefer to delegate software development to Belarusian IT companies.
To represent the interests of foreign software customers in Belarus, the outsourcing model is widely used, which allows companies from other countries to entrust the development of their projects to Belarusian IT specialists. Representation of interests can be carried out through international agreements for the provision of services, business partnerships, as well as through the opening of branches or offices of representative offices of foreign companies in Belarus.
Belarusian IT companies offer a wide range of services, including software development, testing, support and maintenance of software products, data analysis, outsourcing of IT services, etc. This allows foreign customers to find reliable partners in Belarus to implement their IT projects.
One of the features of representing the interests of foreign software customers in Belarus is the high level of professionalism and readiness of Belarusian specialists to successfully complete various tasks in the field of IT. In addition, favorable economic conditions and tax incentives contribute to attracting foreign investment in the IT industry of Belarus.
Features of cooperation with a company or an individual entrepreneur — a resident of the Hi-Tech Park
It is not required to sign a bilateral agreement on paper with a resident company of the Hi—Tech Park. You can agree on the specifics of software development and online payment and exchange the terms of the contract. Or join the terms of the agreement that the Park’s resident company posted on its website.
A resident of the Hi-Tech Park will not require the presence of a representative of a foreign customer to sign documents on the fulfillment of their obligations under the agreement.
In this case, representing the interests of a foreign customer is justified by monitoring the development process, testing and updating software, competent translation of technical specifications and monitoring their implementation.
Peculiarities of cooperation with residents of Belarus in other cases
As a rule, in the case of cooperation with companies and individual entrepreneurs who are non—residents of the Hi-Tech Park, it will be necessary to sign a physically bilateral agreement. Since non-residents of the Park are subject to the requirements for registration of a currency agreement by the National Bank of the Republic of Belarus and the bank may require a physical agreement. When signing an agreement with a foreign software customer, a resident has a number of obligations related to the timing of receipt of revenue under the agreement and the reflection of the stages of execution of the agreement in the form of registration on a special portal of the National Bank.
In this case, a lawyer who has experience in the field of currency legislation and software contracts should represent the interests of a foreign software customer.
What kind of contract should a foreign software customer conclude with a Belarusian contractor in relation to the finished software
The Belarusian contractor may offer a foreign software customer to conclude a license agreement. The parties to the license agreement are called the Licensor (this is the copyright holder who allows the software to be used by another person) and the Licensee is a foreign customer to whom the developer allows the use of the intellectual property object — the software. Such an agreement is usually concluded with respect to ready-made software that was developed earlier.
The license agreement between the companies should always provide for remuneration in favor of the licensor.
The peculiarity of the license agreement is that the Belarusian side can simultaneously retain the right to use and transfer the right to use the software to other persons. This is called a “simple (non-exclusive) license.” An exclusive license agreement can be concluded when the Belarusian side transfers the right to use software to a foreign customer and refuses to transfer this right to other persons. The exclusive license must be specified in the text of the agreement. By default, the license is simple (non-exclusive).
What kind of contract should a foreign customer conclude with a Belarusian contractor for software development
There are no requirements for the name of a software development agreement in Belarusian legislation. You can use the rules on a contract with an individual when the developer is an individual. When the contractor is an individual, it is possible to conclude an agreement with him on the creation and use of the results of intellectual activity (Article 986 of the Civil Code of the Republic of Belarus).
In relations with a Belarusian company, you can use the norms of the Civil Code of the Republic of Belarus on the contract. According to the contract, one party (contractor), on the order of the other party (customer), performs the work specified in the contract and delivers it to the customer within a certain period of time. The customer accepts and pays for the work.
The contract stipulates at whose expense and by whose forces the work is performed, whether the contractor has the right to involve subcontractors, the price of the contract, the procedure for checking the progress and quality of work by the customer, the contractor’s obligation to eliminate the shortcomings of the work performed at his own expense, etc. In the contract, it is necessary to use the provisions on the disposal of the exclusive right in relation to the transfer of software to the customer.
When developing software, you can formalize a relationship with the customer with an agreement on the performance of technological work or a mixed agreement that contains provisions on the provision of services (for the software development stage) and the provisions of the license agreement (for the transfer stage of the software to the customer).
How we can be useful in representing the interests of foreign software customers in Belarus
Our lawyers and attorneys are experienced specialists in the field of software development support, cooperation with foreign customers and speak English. We can:
- Advise you on the selection of the contractor of your software order and the registration of relations with him;
- Advise you on the specifics of currency legislation and taxation of a transaction with a Belarusian contractor;
- Help you choose the optimal form of cooperation with Belarusian performers for your business;
- Develop contracts and other documents for registration of relations with Belarusian performers;
- Represent your interests at all stages of concluding contracts with Belarusian performers, monitoring their execution, transferring the results of the work performed to a foreign customer;
- Represent your interests in state bodies if necessary.
Contact us
If you have any questions about representing the interests of foreign software customers, we will be happy to help you! Our long-term experience in representing the interests of non-residents and in the field of software development support will help you in resolving any situations.
Phone and email communication options are available for your convenience:
- +375293664477 (WhatsApp/Telegram/Viber);
- info@ambylegal.by.
