Hi folks, I'm helping a small Chinese mobile game developer market their (very good) games to some U.S. publishers, with the hopes of getting them through to Verizon. They can't do it themselves because they don't speak English. My responsibilities cover making initial contact with the publishers, to creating sell-sheets, all the way through to negotiating the contract. While I currently get a (very low) monthly salary, we've made an oral agreement that I will be entitled to a percentage of their revenues, although we haven't settled on a number yet. As their business development guy, what percentage can someone in my position expect to get? I'd like to get a reasonable number nailed down soon so that I can get it into a contract between me and the company -before- we make a deal with somebody (we've already had several positive responses to our titles from publishers). Thanks! - Corbin corbin.niles AT gmail.com [Edited by - corbin niles on May 4, 2009 11:09:07 AM]

Ten to fifteen percent.

Oh. And the term is "bizdev" (short for "business development"). I've never heard anybody use the term "bizdeveloper," and I think the term could cause confusion if you use it again. "Business development manager" or "business development agent" or "business development rep" (representative) are more normal terms for your job.

Thanks for the clarification.

Is that 10 to 15 percent of the developer's revenue share or of total revenue?

Also, what kind of contract should I use for this type of arrangement?

1. 10 to 15 percent of what the developer gets because you got it for them.

2. If you're an employee: an "employment agreement."

and if you are not an employee then an agents agreement.

Thanks, your answers have been very helpful.

Regarding the agents agreement: since my client wants me to sell these games to American companies, and say the client fails to pay me and I decide to pursue litigation, would I do this in American courts? Would it be easier not just to obtain but also to enforce a judgement there? It seems so as the revenue stream would be coming from stateside and I could have my portion awarded to me before the Chinese company got their share.

In that case I imagine I would want to use an agents agreement in English and not Chinese?

If the parties are in different countries then this is a jurisdiction question which you should discuss with your attorney when drafting the agreement. In general if you are both in China, the fact the money subject to dispute is coming from American companies may not be sufficient to establish minimum contacts for US courts to assert jurisdiction over the matter between you and your Chinese clients.