IP & Collaboration Policy

What Is IP Custodianship?

Rock Soup holds intellectual property as a neutral nonprofit custodian on behalf of project contributors. This means that when a collaborative project is formed, the resulting IP is registered under Rock Soup's legal entity — not owned by any single contributor. This neutral custodianship prevents disputes about who controls the work and ensures all contributors' interests are protected equally.

• Rock Soup acts as a neutral third-party custodian, not an owner
• IP is held in trust for the benefit of all contributors
• No single contributor can unilaterally claim or sell the shared work
• Custodianship terms are defined in each project's collaboration agreement

How It Works

When a project is formed on Rock Soup, contributors sign a collaboration agreement that specifies roles, deliverables, and revenue splits. IP created during the project is registered to Rock Soup as custodian upon project formation via this standard agreement. This registration happens automatically as part of the agreement signing process.

• Contributors agree to terms before any work begins
• IP is registered to Rock Soup upon agreement signing
• Revenue splits are documented and enforceable
• All contributors retain copies of signed agreements

Your Rights as a Contributor

Contributors retain full moral rights to their work at all times. You are always credited as the creator of your contributions. Revenue shares are distributed according to the terms specified in your collaboration agreement. You can showcase your contributions in your portfolio and reference the work publicly.

• Moral rights are always retained — you are always credited as the creator
• Revenue shares are distributed per your collaboration agreement
• You can showcase contributions in your portfolio
• You retain the right to create similar (but not identical) works independently

IP Return Policy

After the agreed collaboration period ends, IP returns to the original creators according to the terms in the collaboration agreement. Rock Soup retains a right of first refusal for future commercial exploitation of the work. This ensures that creators eventually regain full control of their work while giving the community the option to continue supporting it.

Dispute Resolution

If a dispute arises between contributors, Rock Soup acts as the registered IP owner to enforce the original collaboration agreement. As the neutral custodian, Rock Soup can mediate disputes about credit, revenue distribution, or usage rights. For disputes that cannot be resolved through mediation, the collaboration agreement includes binding arbitration provisions under Thai law.

International Protection

Creative works produced through Rock Soup are automatically protected under the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works, which provides copyright protection across 181 member countries. This means your collaborative work is legally protected internationally without requiring separate registration in each country. Rock Soup's Thai legal entity provides the formal registration point for IP custodianship.

• Berne Convention coverage across 181 countries
• No separate registration needed per country
• Thai legal entity as formal registration point