The development and marketing of video games includes several phases that are accompanied by some legal protection. One of the first stages in the development of any software, including video games, begins with devising the concept and way of realizing an idea. The steps that need to be legally regulated will depend on whether the person producing the video game is just a developer whose goal is to create a so-called “indie” video game or is a publisher. Long time ago gaming industry has earned the position of a special branch of the economy that generates billions of dollars in revenue annually, which requires quality management of companies that base their business on that model, but also serious and thorough legal support. Whether you are a client of a computer program or video game design or a contractor, the quality of the rights and obligations set at the beginning of the cooperation will largely depend on your later business.
Legal aspects of video game development
The development and marketing of video games includes several phases that are accompanied by certain legal protection. One of the first stages in the development of any software, including video games, begins with devising the concept and way of realizing idea. Depending on whether the person producing the video game as a developer whose goal is to create a so-called “indie” video game or a publisher, the next step in video game developing will depend, and which certainly require legal regulation.
After the producer -owner of a video game determines the concept, type, user interface, content and framework design of a particular video game, as well as the budget needed to successfully implement the so-called “beta” version of a particular video game it is necessary to find for its development, design and all necessary technical assistance in its coding. In the phase of finding programmers, designers and other people who will work on the development of video games, it is first necessary to conclude a confidentiality agreement – NDA (Non-Disclosure Agreement ). NDA regulates the relationship between video game owner and another person (programmer, designer, investor, etc.), which as its object has confidential and all other business information related to the development, concept and characteristics of a particular video game. This agreement protects the owner of the video game from possible theft of an idea, concept, intellectual property created by working on the video game or unauthorized transfer of information to third parties that could misuse and damage it.
After the owner-video game’s purchaser, selects persons (natural or legal) as executors or employees who will work on the development of a particular video game, it is necessary to conclude an employment contract or business cooperation agreement or employment contract. Previously mentioned contract/agreement will further define the work that a particular person should perform, the time limit for completion of each phase of development and the entire product – video game, fees, or earnings, defining the assignment of copyright in the work – video games and intellectual property arising during the executor’s / employee’s work on the video game, the rights and obligations of the contracting parties, the duration of the contract and many other situations that may arise during this process and for which regulation is necessary. Such a contract should be made if the client decides to hire an outsourcing developer, although this is a cost-effective solution on the one hand, on the other hand it can bring potential risks and more demanding legal regulation of relations, especially if it is foreigner who is outsourcing programmer. It is important to note that copyright on video games is acquiring through the code development, design and overall – software, as well as other intellectual property rights, which is for its protection and transfer, important to regulate relations with developers and other stakeholders who develop that video games.
When working and developing a video game, it is necessary to pay special attention to using and implementation of existing licenses for certain programming languages in which the video game is created, as well as licenses for music and soundtrack. The rules of licenses code implementation must be followed in order not to infringe the copyright of the licensor. Here we draw your attention to the fact that if it meets the legal requirements, the subject to intellectual property rights may be every segment of a video game (music, design, character appearance, text record related to a certain story in a video game, voice recording, etc.).
One of the important business decisions regarding to best positioning of video games in the gaming market is to create a unique mark. The unique mark will draw users’ attention and in the future will be recognizable and synonym for the good quality and good entertainment. It is recommended that such a mark be protected as a trademark in register of the Intellectual Property Office. That registration prevent such a protected mark from being used illegally by other persons in a way that may confuse players about the origin of the video game. Trademark registration may precede the launch of a video game or “beta” version of the program, or follow after the basic version of the video game has been placed on the market. Nowadays, positioning on the gaming market is conditioned by the subjective attitude of the user towards a certain product – video game. Further follows that designing and registering of the mark so-called gaming logo is one of the basic things to start a business in the video game industry.
One of the last steps before placing a product on the market is to create the terms of use and privacy policy of a particular video game. One of the key things for the survival of the video game on the market is the correct monetization, which can be presented to the user, i.e. the player, through well-created content in a document that prescribes as the terms of use. Almost every video game collects certain personal data of its users – players, especially if it contains the option of the account creation. Drafting a quality document that will represent the privacy policy is of great importance both in terms of protecting users and their data and of protecting video game owners. Through the content of the privacy policy, users will be informed about which data is collected, how it is stored, their protection, instructions for users about their rights and other provisions that such a document must contain. The aforementioned documents will also depend on the specific topic of the video game, its purpose and interaction with users. The purpose of that documents is to protect the owner from possible lawsuits for violating the privacy right. Considering the nature of the gaming market and the fact that most video games are placed on platforms and distribution channels that make up the world market, harmonization of the aforementioned documentation is necessary, as with the provisions of the Law on Personal Data Protection (“Official Gazette of RS”, No. 87/2018) , as well as with the provisions of The General Data Protection Regulation of the European Union (2016/679), i.e. the GDPR. At this point, special protection should be provided for the protection of users or minors who access to the video games.
Depending on the type of video game and the person who owns the video game, as previously mentioned, the placement of the video game on the market will also differ, as well as the drafting of a video game distribution agreement or license agreement. After the successful realization of the video game and its placement, there is often a need to arrange various sponsorships that bring additional profit to the owner of the video game. Sponsorships speed up and accelerate the development of new versions of the video game. In order to achieve security from the occurrence of possible damage or violation of business secrets, it is necessary to make a cooperation and financing agreement with the persons who wants to sponsor a specific video game. Through the development of video games, there is a neediness to anticipate and legally regulate every new step, in order to avoid any possibility of problems for the rights holder of the video game.
Finally, we note that each project related to the development of video games is complex and extensive, and consists of various steps. For every project it must exist comprehensive legal regulations through the drafting of the above acts, and through harmonization and implementation of laws which proscribed this area. Through arranging relationships with people who appear through the process of developing a video game, it is necessary to know the legal aspect of this specific area in order to anticipate any situation that could potentially pose a potential risk to the owner – the client.