Know someone who’s an up-and-coming video game creator? We’ve got some useful advice on how they can develop and protect their ideas
Scotland is a leading player in computer games creation and development. Scotland has helped to and continues to create video game franchises worth hundreds of millions of pounds (from Lemmings to Minecraft) and were the first country to launch video game university degrees (at Abertay University, in Dundee).
"Completing the legal framework needed for a computer game is best compared with trying to do a jigsaw: It’s impossible without all the pieces."
Given Scotland’s continuing pedigree and experience in developing video games, you may have a rising gaming entrepreneur or developer in your own family. If you do, it’s worth hammering home to them one key piece of advice: when creating computer games think about the legal aspects early on. If they don’t, they could find themselves in a horrendous legal puzzle.
Think of it like a jigsaw
Completing the legal framework needed for a computer game is best compared with trying to do a jigsaw: It’s impossible without all the pieces.
From a legal perspective a jigsaw is exactly what the creation of a video game is. There are many parts to the completion of your video game jigsaw, but it is particularly important to pay attention to the pieces of intellectual property (IP) and contracts that exist to enable you to create a full jigsaw. From first drawings, maps, characters, sound effects and scripts each part of the jigsaw may have different owners. These different owners each may have their own legal rights and potentially be entitled to a stake in a game’s success, depending on legal relations.
Get all the pieces in place
Identifying who owns any IP – and how that is rewarded – is all about avoiding dispute and ensuring all your pieces are legally secure and protected (and therefore available when you need to complete your jigsaw). That means getting legal contracts in place at the earliest opportunity for each piece especially when working with anyone who you do not employ, whether that’s a consultant, friend or someone you chat with in a bar (employee contracts should also be well thought through to offer best protection).
As is all too obvious when doing a 100-piece jigsaw, if you are missing a handful of pieces, you will not make a success of the puzzle!
