Do I automatically own the copyright in software my own employees write for my Ontario business?

Generally, yes. Under the Copyright Act, when an employee creates a work — including software code — in the course of their employment, the employer is generally treated as the first owner of the copyright without needing a separate assignment agreement, unless the employment contract states otherwise. This is the key distinction from independent contractors, who generally keep ownership of what they create absent a written assignment even if paid for the work.

That said, this default depends on the work genuinely being created "in the course of employment" — software an employee wrote entirely on their own time, using their own equipment, unrelated to their job duties, may fall outside that default and remain the employee's personal property. Employers should be cautious where a worker's classification as employee versus contractor is unclear, since the legal test looks at the substance of the relationship, not just the label used, or where a former employee later disputes what was created on company time. A written employment agreement that expressly confirms company ownership of work product removes ambiguity rather than relying solely on the default rule.