Mastering the Game: Business and Legal Issues for Video Game Developers

Citation
David Greenspan, Mastering the Game: Business and Legal Issues for Video Game Developers (WIPO Pub. No. 959E)

Overview
This publication is primarily a guide for developers and legal professionals, to help them understand the many business and legal issues they may encounter in the development and eventual distribution of a video game across numerous platforms: ranging from intellectual property (IP) and regulatory issues associated with game development to forming relationships with publishers, platform manufacturers, distributors, and content owners. In each of these relationships, the developer will need to be familiar with the specific business issues and contractual terms so that they can negotiate effectively and identify risks in order to avoid potentially costly mistakes.

While the publication cannot replace the expertise of lawyers and other key personnel in the video game industry in negotiating deals, it hopefully can offer some guidance and explanations as to why certain decisions are made by various parties during negotiations. Not all topics are covered because of limitations in space; much of the legal commentary primarily reflects practice in the United States, although many of the business and legal principles discussed are applicable in other parts of the world. In addition, the United States is a large market for video games, and with the ease in distributing a game worldwide it is important for developers to have a basic understanding of some of the issues they may come across when dealing with various publishers, distributors, platform manufacturers, and licensors.