Often in development, a typeface gets approved early and becomes part of the interface without a ton of thought beyond the look and function. Months or years later, a studio may discover that the font license never allowed distribution inside a commercial game or that a renewal of the font license changed the rules for …
Contracts are full of magic words, and two of my favorites words are ‘perpetual’ and ‘exclusive.’ In a grant of rights, ‘Perpetual’ speaks to how long that grant lasts. ‘Exclusive’ turns on whether anyone else, including the creator who made the work, can ever use that work again. Each word does a lot more work …
‘Perpetual’ and ‘Exclusive’: Two Magic Words Doing More Than First Appears Read More »
Marketing a game is becoming ever more important as platforms get flooded with new games daily. Developers, especially those with smaller marketing budgets, have to get increasingly creative with how they market their games, lest they get pushed to the back of the search results. With great creativity comes great responsibility. There are an infinite …
Today’s content creators can choose from myriad platforms to build their careers on. For short-form vertical content, creators have found audiences through TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram, while for livestreaming, creators can choose between or multi-stream on Twitch, Kick and Rumble. But for long-form content, YouTube remains the primary platform, and a diverse array of creators, …
Anime Expo. Comic-Con. Offkai. Any convention season means thousands of attendees walking the floor as Frieren, Mao Mao, Spider-Man or even their favorite VTubers such as Calliope Mori or Ironmouse. Cosplay is one of the most visible and beloved parts of fan culture and has been widely accepted by every party in the industry. Brand …
Legal Issues in Cosplay: When Cosplay Becomes a Business 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 …
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 …
A lot goes into creating and selling a physical product. The product and packaging has to be designed. Then the product needs to be manufactured (and maybe marketed). Finally, the product needs to be shipped and distributed to customers. Sometimes, a third-party merchandise company will handle the process. Other times, a developer or creator (who …
Hidden Legal Risks When Dealing with Physical Games and Merchandise Read More »