Odin Law and Media is excited to welcome Layla Maurer to the firm! Layla Maurer, Attorney Layla’s practice focuses on helping clients across the creative, gaming and technology industries structure practical transactions. Drawing on her background in IT, digital media and in-house counsel at Wizards of the Coast, she understands both the business and creative …
Many game developers dream of starting a game studio. For some, that has always been the goal. For others, recent layoffs have created the opportunity to build something new. Launching a studio is exciting, but a few early legal decisions can shape everything that follows. Getting these issues right from the beginning can prevent expensive …
Starting a Game Studio: 5 Legal Issues to Get Right First Read More »
Layoffs and restructurings across the games industry have become a recurring feature of the business, and each one puts a spotlight on a document most studios only think carefully about when they need it: the severance agreement. For the studio or publisher offering it, a severance agreement is the primary tool for closing out an …
The Anatomy of a Severance Agreement: What Every Game Studio Should Get Right Read More »
Every so often, the online discourse returns to a thorny topic in creative industries: working for exposure. The general sentiment is to NEVER work for exposure (i.e., creators should always get paid in cash money), but what does “exposure” actually mean and when might it make sense to work for exposure? What Might Exposure Mean …
Publishers do a lot of things developers complain about: they take a cut of revenue, they have approval rights over content, they can move slowly, and they sometimes lose interest in the game after launch. However, publishers also absorb a significant amount of legal and administrative work that most developers never see. Self-publishing means that …
Self-Publishing: 5 Key Things Developers Need To Know Read More »
Here is a sentence that makes everyone feel warm and cozy: “You retain ownership rights in your content.” Almost all platform’s terms of service include some version of this, and in each case, it is technically true. The copyright is yours. You can register it, license it elsewhere, and sue an infringer who is not …
What Creators Should Know About Platform Licenses and AI Training Read More »
In our “VTuber IP 101: Protecting Avatars, Content, and Branding” blog post, we talked about what intellectual property rights VTubers already have, when they have to register those rights, and what protections different intellectual property rights give. We also briefly mentioned certain legal actions that VTubers can take after they establish their rights. When it …
VTuber IP 201: DMCA Strategy and Personal Privacy Read More »
When developers think about trademark protection, they usually think about The Game. Look at the cover of lots of our favorite games and you’ll see the little TM or circle-R symbol on the game name. Makes sense: the game is the product, the thing players search for and talk about. But there’s another brand sitting …
Arbitration clauses are reasonably common in Terms of Service and EULAs. The logic has always been that keeping disputes out of court, keeping them more confidential, avoiding class actions and resolving claims faster and cheaper, is good. But recent cases involving Valve, Epic Games and Roblox illustrate the unintended risks of arbitration provisions. A Clause …
When a developer joins a studio, whether as a full-time employee or an independent contractor, a nondisclosure or confidentiality agreement (NDA) is often part of the onboarding paperwork. NDAs are typical as studios want to protect unreleased games, proprietary technology, and internal processes. But developers who sign an NDA without reading carefully may find themselves …
Read Before Signing: Why Developers Should Negotiate Portfolio Rights Up Front Read More »