Hey Gamedev

Contract

For about half a year I have been working on a PC game. We are looking to get some funding this summer not a lot, but hopefully a decent amount.
I have been writing on a contract to try and insure everybody's interests have been covered. I am trying to avoid theft of assets, etc. meanwhile ensuring the people who work on the team won't feel like their work has been useless up till the point we get funding. (Working for free essentially - which I have been doing full-time)

As I have no money left in the production right now, but I would like to create a bullet proof contract, how would I go about doing so? I've looked into having lawyers looking at documents, but the cost is absolutely insane and would essentially cut our entire budget used for software.

Are there any template contracts for indie devs out there, which can be modified to fit your project and your team?

Does anyone have experiences writing, making or working underneath contracts and how was it like?

Any value advise would be highly appreciated!

I have my fingers crossed for a contract which doesn't screw anybody over, including myself, and one that allows the game to be secure.

Thanks.

                everyone happy
                      / \
                     /   \
                    /     \
                   /       \
bullet proof      /_________\   cheap

It is not likely that you will get all three things. A free, bullet proof contract which makes everyone happy.... noway. You need to ponder what is most important and where you can take risks and where you need to take compromises. Starting with a lawyer, getting one or two hours of consulation isn't budget killing and often worth the money.

                everyone happy
                      / \
                     /   \
                    /     \
                   /       \
bullet proof      /_________\   cheap

It is not likely that you will get all three things. A free, bullet proof contract which makes everyone happy.... noway. You need to ponder what is most important and where you can take risks and where you need to take compromises. Starting with a lawyer, getting one or two hours of consulation isn't budget killing and often worth the money.

I would probably settle for bullet proof. I don't see any point to a contract if it isn't bullet proof, and suddenly ½ the budget is missing because of hiring someone who may never return any work. Then no one would be happy :P

I have seen some of the law links on the sub-forum. Where is a good place to start when it comes to contacting a lawyer to look through a contract? I could write several pages, but I wonder if he/she would look through it, and say "this is all crap." I have, luckily never had to work with lawyers before - so I am a bit unsure how to go around doing this.

You contact a business lawyer familiar with the type of contract you want to make. You contact them, ask if you can arrange a free consult (usually 15-30 minutes) to see if they can do what you want and what it would cost. If you are satisfied with what you hear, you hire them.

There are many things you are likely to want to do before building this contract. Likely you would want to establish a business entity so it is the business and not you personally. Likely you would need to do various things for taxes to ensure the government gets their cut -- be very careful to get the taxes correct. If you haven't done either of those, research what it takes in your area, it may be a good idea to have the same business lawyer review any of those documents for a business incorporation as well. You will also want collaboration agreements or other documents that assign rights from individuals to the corporation, that indemnify against assets that were added from improper sources, and more that your lawyer can explain.

The cost of lawyers depends on your location on the globe and the name recognition of the firm. Around here most common business lawyers charge around $150/hr. Establishing a business if you do most of the leg-work yourself can be done with a single review of the documents, and they'll likely have a bunch of templates for documents you need. If the lawyer is already comfortable with the type of contract you need they may be able to customize it for your needs with one or two billable hours.

You wrote that establishing all the legal documents is expensive for you and you may not be able to lawyer up right now. If you think the cost of getting a lawyer up front is high, it is tiny compared to the cost of NOT getting a lawyer up front and needing to legally defend yourself later.

You could give do contract() a go -- it's a free service that allows you to generate a plain language (i.e. not legalese) contract by selecting options and filling blanks. I wouldn't call it "bullet proof", but it's a fairly well respected service created by a group of experienced developers with the help of industry lawyers.

There are also a couple of links to recommended lawyers for the industry in the faq towards the bottom if you'd rather hire someone -- which would likely still be advisable to check over your agreement even if you do decide to use contract().