| HeadlessHessian | 17 Aug 2007 12:57 p.m. PST |
Hello all and thanks for any advice. Only request that you keep it serious. If you know the legalities and twists and turns I'd love to hear them. If you don't then please just read the comments other folks that know have made.
If you have any contacts, then by all means please comment.
Again thanks a million. Headless |
| Griefbringer | 17 Aug 2007 1:35 p.m. PST |
For things on the legal front, basic things to consider should include: * Copyright: all artwork and written material is automatically protected by copyright. If you are in the US, you might want to also register them for added protection. If you are contracting artwork from third party artists, make sure that the copyrights issues are clearly specified in the contract. And make sure that you are not using any third party artwork/photography protected by copyright without permission. Notice that game mechanisms (as concepts) are not protectable by copyright, though their specific written form is protected. * Trademarks: make sure that the name of the game (or various other terms or logoes used) do not infringe relevant third party trademarks. You might also want to make the name of the game into a registered trademark. * Contracts with distributors (unless you are going to be the only seller). Not familiar with practice on this, especially for games, but major distributors are likely to have standard terms of contract. Griefbringer |
| nycjadie | 17 Aug 2007 1:50 p.m. PST |
Game mechanisms can be covered by patent law, but that may be cost prohibitive given it's a self-published game. |
| nycjadie | 17 Aug 2007 1:51 p.m. PST |
Due also think about what corporate entity you want to use. There can be tax benefits for hobby businesses as well. As a colleague of mine always says, everyone should always have a hobby business. |
| Griefbringer | 17 Aug 2007 2:17 p.m. PST |
nycjadie: "Game mechanisms can be covered by patent law, but that may be cost prohibitive given it's a self-published game." True for the US, but not for Europe – no idea about the rest of the world. Griefbringer |
| quidveritas | 17 Aug 2007 3:13 p.m. PST |
If you live in Washington you may want to leave the state before you publish. Nasty Business and Occupations taxes assessed against authors. Thats why all of our authors live in Idaho. mjc |
| No Name02 | 17 Aug 2007 4:37 p.m. PST |
Do it and sell it on the net. Easy. |
| HeadlessHessian | 19 Aug 2007 2:07 p.m. PST |
GriefBringer…Many thanks.
'Jusitn Taylor of VVV' I'm so enlighten by your answer… :-( sigh! Headless |
DemosLaserCutDesigns  | 20 Aug 2007 4:06 a.m. PST |
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| No Name02 | 20 Aug 2007 12:08 p.m. PST |
'Jusitn Taylor of VVV' I'm so enlighten by your answer… :-( sigh! And so you should be. Great to know about copyright, trade marks and patents. But if someone crosses you, what are you going to do about it? Hope you have a fighting fund to pay the lawyers fees (although you might persuade a lawyer to do it 'no win no fee'). What you need to know is not to offend someone who can afford the court fees and is already in the business, so don't step on their toes. A bit of sensible thinking will get you where you want to go. |
| Griefbringer | 24 Aug 2007 2:22 a.m. PST |
One general advice to add to what Justin said: just because something is not prohibited by law does not mean it is a good idea to do. Griefbringer |
