(( To clarify, I've only seen this situation come up with MUDs [text-based MMOs] often run by hobbyists rather than corporate companies, usually under licenses that prohibit profitable gain, and staffed by volunteers who move from one game to another. Nevertheless, it may apply to graphical single-player and multi-player games as well. )) I have been working for a MUD for a number of years for free; as part of the "creator agreeement" that individuals indirectly agree to when they join the staff, any work they create or complete while on the game, be it theme or code, becomes the sole property of the game itself. Recently, a number of disgruntled staff members have split off from the game and taken a copy of the code (as part of an agreement between themselves and the owner of the game). One of the policy changes they are making in their version of the game (which is a skewed clone of the original) is that material created on the game belongs to their creators instead, and that if those individuals wanted to take their work somewhere else, they could. Their reasoning for this was that the MUD's ownership could not be legally enforced, dispite the agreement and publicly posted policy. This brought to light something I had not considered, but could see as a major problem with working on my own projects. I eventually plan to allow others to work on a game of mine, but I want to make it clear that material created on and for the game would STAY on the game and not appear on others -- I am kind of particular about protecting uniqueness and originality, and would not appreciate finding disgruntled ex-staffers porting their old work over to another game or work (be it written fiction, a website, or whatever else). This fear applies to both physical code and intellectual property like themes and established ideas. Is there a way to protect my game's originality and intellectual properties while still allowing volunteers to write/code for it? (( The project will be non-profit, but may be used to showcase programming that will be patentable, so this too is especially important. I also am a poor college student and can't afford a $400/hour lawyer to tell me these things. ))

First-- anything that you feel is important enough to enforce will require the assistance of a lawyer.

Agreements are only effective to the extent that they are enforced. As far as that goes, depending on the disposition of the original game itself, I'm curious about the grounds upon which they claim that the MUD's ownership of the game can't be enforced. So some elaboration on that would help.

Consideration, which is required for every valid contract, typically need not be monetary. It only needs to have some kind of value, and it must be bargained for. Getting a credit on a project or otherwise being listed as a contributor will typically be a sufficient bargained for performance in exchange for transfer/assignment of IP rights to ensure that the contract is valid. If it's something you're worried about, you may want to consider budgeting for some kind of fee to be paid to contributors.

The next issue is obviously the assignment of rights. Each contributor should be required to sign a work-for-hire or collaboration agreements that establishes the disposition of rights.

Finally, something needs to actually take ownership of the IP. If it's not an individual, it has to be a legal entity such as registered business/DBA. You can do this on your own, but you really need to do your homework. I recommend checking out the business planning section of my blog if you want to learn more about that process.

Best of luck!

[DISCLAIMER: I am not a lawyer. IF IN DOUBT, SEEK PROFESSIONAL LEGAL ADVICE.]

What you seem to desire is something known in professional circles as a "Work For Hire" agreement, whereby the employer retains all copyright in work produced. Seek legal advice if you expect to have to enforce your proposed restrictions and have the funds to do so. By this mean professional legal advice from an actual lawyer. This is what they're for.


If you have no funds to pay for full legal protection and enforcement of your proposed restrictions and don't expect to be able to do so, merely wanting to have some form of moral high ground if the proverbial hits the fan, forget it. It's not as if you're paying anyone.

I'm just cheap. :) When my project gets to the point where there it will need to go somewhere other than my hard-drive, you can bet I'll shell out some cash to protect what is important.

The topic interested me, though, because the previous owner of the MUD in question was NOT above waving lawyers at folks. He had spend some serious time on the game, but due to stress and more important issues, he had to retire (and during this transition, a lot of drama and trouble stirred up). I was concerned because some of my coharts were making IP protection out to be laughable and unenforceable, and it's a topic that gets battered around the MUD community.

Knowing that there ARE ways to protect the content of a game makes me feel a bit better. I'll probably have to find some lawyer-ish friends to nail out the HOW.

Quote:

Original post by Hound of God Knowing that there ARE ways to protect the content of a game makes me feel a bit better. I'll probably have to find some lawyer-ish friends to nail out the HOW.

See the indie game developers startup kit at GameAttorney.com.