Does anyone have a sample contract to share that I could use for an artist? Or, if not, an attorney who would sell me one fairly cheaply?

Nolo Press: Consultant & Independent Contractor Agreements by Attorney Stephen Fishman chapter 11 has two contracts on that. The book explains contract work generally, how contracts work, and detailed notes about what each part of the contract means.

And for attorneys, go to Gamasutra.com, click the Companies tab.
And I also recommend you "discover" the IGDA.org Business & Legal forum.

Quote: Original post by tsloper
And for attorneys, go to Gamasutra.com, click the Companies tab.
And I also recommend you "discover" the IGDA.org Business & Legal forum.

I've been there. I was looking for something that fits the expected revenue of my game, which is close to zero for the forseeable future. But the GameDevKit seems like a fairly inexpensive (for legal advice) option at $295.

>I was looking for something that fits the expected revenue of my game, which is close to zero for the forseeable future. But the GameDevKit seems like a fairly inexpensive (for legal advice) option at $295.

Why didn't you say so before? Sorry I wasted your time.

P.S. The book probably costs money too.

Quote: Original post by tsloper
>I was looking for something that fits the expected revenue of my game, which is close to zero for the forseeable future. But the GameDevKit seems like a fairly inexpensive (for legal advice) option at $295.

Why didn't you say so before? Sorry I wasted your time.

P.S. The book probably costs money too.

I didn't say your advice wasn't helpful. The book didn't look like it would address IP at all, so that would be more useful for other types of contracting. The GameDevKit (found through IGDA) is probably the best option. $295 isn't out of reach, though I was hoping for something free.

The book does in fact cover assignment of IP rights in the first few chapters, and more extensively in chapters 10 and 11 and programing and art contracts. Perhaps you shouldn't be so quick to judge a book by it's cover.

And if you really don't feel comfortable investing a mere $25 to help you with a contract, perhaps you should re-evaluate your desire to be in business.

That book looks pretty good. However, it seems to be based on the U.S. system. Does anyone here know of a similar publication that could be used for an Aussie (Australian) company?

Sorry if this is OT!

Quote: Original post by frob
The book does in fact cover assignment of IP rights in the first few chapters, and more extensively in chapters 10 and 11 and programing and art contracts. Perhaps you shouldn't be so quick to judge a book by it's cover.

And if you really don't feel comfortable investing a mere $25 to help you with a contract, perhaps you should re-evaluate your desire to be in business.

The table of contents didn't look like it applied. At $20, it would be a steal. I'll order it and see what I can get from it.