Video Game Licensing

The video game industry is constantly expending with not only multi-national corporation but also small publishers who develop games worldwide making it a multi-billion-dollar global market. From developers to publishers and distributors, all parties involved in this industry have to navigate complex legal issues. These include, amongst other things, licensing.

Video game licensing encompasses areas such as intellectual property law, contract law and competition law.

1. Copyright

Video game licensing is partly governed by copyright law as video games are considered to be literary and artistic works, which are protected under copyright law.

Under copyright law, the inventor of the game will be the owner of it and will therefore get exclusive rights to reproduce or distribute the game. With licensing, this allows the owner to grant specific rights to third parties (i.e. distributors, publishers etc) for a consideration.

2. Trademark

When creating a video game, developers will often include distinctive names or logos. Under trademark law, these would be protected against unlawful use by third parties. However, licensing would play a significant role in the development and distribution of the game worldwide. As for copyright, the owner of the trademark would license the right to use the trademark, therefore allowing third parties to use the names, logos or character.

This would be the case when merchandise is developed, such as clothes, figurines or goods in general.

Notwithstanding the above, there are a wide range of elements to take into consideration when preparing a licence agreement and specific provisions would have to be included within such a document, such as:

• grant of rights which would set out the specific rights being granted to the licensee;
• consideration;
• term and termination which would provide for the duration of the licence and the circumstances under which it can be terminated;
• territory which would specify the areas in which the game can be distributed;
• distribution of the product;
• intellectual property rights; and
• dispute resolution.

Video games licensing is a complex field of law and our commercial team would be happy to assist companies with the process.

For further advice and assistance please contact our Commercial Solicitors on 01604 828282 / 01908 660966 or email info@franklins-sols.co.uk