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 »
There have been some major updates on the United States tariff front since the previous post on this topic went up. The biggest inflection point came from the highest court in the land, with the Supreme Court ruling in Learning Resources, Inc. v Trump that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) does not authorize …
Tariff Update: The CAPE Refund Process Is Live. Who Actually Gets the Money? Read More »
Tabletop game creators and designers often work flexibly. It is not uncommon for even successful tabletop game designers to have a day job, collaborate with other tabletop game designers, work as freelancers, serve as consultants, and be involved in multiple projects. Oftentimes, tabletop game designers may collaborate with other tabletop game designers to jointly develop …
In the creator economy, unscripted entertainment and video game production, chain of title is everything. If a producer or studio cannot show it has the rights it needs in the footage, performance, voice, name, and likeness appearing in a project, that lack of rights can derail distribution, financing, insurance, or an acquisition. Publicity and appearance …
Signing Your Life Away: The Wild West of Publicity Releases Read More »
Making a game is both a creative and a business process. With that comes legal considerations that can shape a game project from its earliest concept through post-launch support. For many developers, legal issues appear in stages. A team starts with an idea, brings in collaborators, creates assets, tests the build, prepares for release, and …
A development or publishing agreement can look like a lifeline right up until it isn’t. Studios of every size have signed deals that seemed reasonable at the time, only to find themselves on the wrong end of a termination clause that wiped out their runway, stripped them of rights to work they spent years building …