A Legal Resource For Indie Game Dev
April 9, 2008 Business Planning
In the beginning, most independent developers don’t think about hiring employees. Much of the work is done on an independent contractor basis, and the projects are small enough to not require additional labor. However, once you earn a reputation and…
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April 2, 2008 Intellectual Property
As to the topic—don’t misunderstand me. Fair use can be an entirely plausible defense if you are ever sued for copyright infringement. However, to prove fair use you usually have to go to court. You don’t want to go to…
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April 2, 2008 Game Development
Ok– I’m getting to the point where I’ve provided a lot of general information, but unfortunately without more specific questions from readers there isn’t much more "general ed" I can provide. This means I can do a few things. 1)…
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Good law professors* will tell their students that when looking at any agreement, your first job is to examine the position of the parties. Any good lawyer who works with contracts and every developer who signs an agreement must go…
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March 31, 2008 Business Planning
Before You Get Started: Before you start sending out applications and visiting city hall, you need to determine what kind of business you want to set up. To do this, you will want to take your business plan, including your…
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March 29, 2008 Business Planning
Financing is very important for serious independent developers. Game development is considered a high risk venture by most lenders. Therefore obtaining financing for your project can be difficult. However, that does not necessarily mean that financing will be impossible. Depending…
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March 28, 2008 Business Planning
I previously went over some of the general characteristics, advantages, and disadvantages of small business types. I’d like to discuss one more small business type before discussing entity formation. S-Corporation For tax purposes, an S-Corporation is a federal tax classification…
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March 27, 2008 Game Development
Game ratings are usually a hot button issue. Although the Manhunt 2s of the world are few and far between, widely distributed games are subject to the rating processes in every country where they are released. This is a time…
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March 26, 2008 Entertainment Law
Often game developers want to use the names, images, or likenesses of others in their games. This can present a few problems for the developer if they do not get a proper name & likeness release. This entry will go…
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What is an EULA? An EULA, or End User License Agreement, is a license that sets forth the rights and restrictions the end user receives along with the software or program he or she purchases. The end user is just…
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