As exciting as receiving equity in a growing startup can be, without advanced planning, that equity can carry with it some severe tax consequences. An 83(b) election is a tool that new stockholders who are subject to vesting can use to mitigate the tax burden that otherwise comes with the vesting of their shares. Granting …
What is an 83(b) election? And what does it have to do with restricted stock? Read More »
As of September 25, 2023, SAG-AFTRA’s members voted 98.32% in favor of a strike authorization on the Interactive Media Agreement which covers the union’s work on video games. The industry bargaining group representing signatory game companies to the Interactive Media Agreement consists of the following companies: Activision Productions Inc., Blindlight LLC, Disney Character Voices Inc., …
Many companies find themselves, at some point, needing to part ways with a valued team member as part of a merger with or acquisition by another company. In these kinds of situations, the company being acquired often wants to reward the old employee for their services or offer them a softer landing while they seek …
It’s a new year! And wow, the landscape is a lot different as we collectively went from a global pandemic to a global recession. Here are our thoughts and predictions on 2023 as the world continues to be a relatively unpredictable place. Artificial intelligence Artificial intelligence (AI) is going to be a big focus as …
When people refer to music that has entered the public domain, they are usually referring to music where the copyright protection has expired. Due to differences in the laws regarding duration of copyright protection, when a piece of music enters the public domain may differ from country to country. At the outset, it is important …
On or before the second Wednesday in March 2023 (and each second Wednesday in March thereafter), employers with more than one hundred employees in California must submit a report to the Civil Rights Department within the Business, Consumer Services, and Housing Agency. Why? California has released new pay transparency requirements. Those new requirements build on …
Moonlighting and side hustles – whatever you want to call them – come up frequently in the games space. However, it is important to keep in mind some potential issues that can arise – both from an employer’s perspective and from an employee’s perspective. An employer will generally want (and likely needs) to own all …
Creators should be aware that there exists a good amount of risk with influencer whitelisting. The first, and often overlooked, risk a creator faces with respect to whitelisting is a lost opportunity to earn what their services are worth if whitelisting isn’t carved out as an “added” service in the agreement. Often the Odin team …
The video game industry is a global phenomenon – there are video gamers in every country and in plenty of instances, gamers want to interact with games in their own native language. Localization can be a critical part of publishing a game to help it reach larger audiences. But what is localization and what are …
What are the legal risks involved with localizing a video game? Read More »
On August 16th, 2022, United States President Joe Biden signed into law the Inflation Reduction Act. The bill principally aims to raise tax revenue by capturing some of the traditionally tax-free benefits for high-level executives and shareholders and requiring large corporations to pay a minimum tax. With that in mind, the changes should be analyzed …