My contributor's agreement - feedback? And feel free to reuse!

Jakub K. · 2013-03-05T16:31:38

Looking at various contributor agreements out there, from Valve's Team Fortress 2 to Apache Foundation, I drafted a plain-language one for my game. I'd appreciate it if you guys could have a quick look and let me know if there's anything I blatantly missed / erred on. And feel free to re-use!In a nutshell: it's a non-commercial game (which will hopefully have commercialized sequels) and I have no problem with artists reusing the art they create as a portfolio or in other projects, *provided* they do not end up giving an exclusive license to someone else that would retroactively affect the game and force us to pull it down in the future.Concern / Question: is it wise to leave profits completely out for now? Should I provisionally provide some basic split (i.e. Company keeps x%, rest is distributed equally among all contributors) JUST in case? Contribution AgreementThank you for your interested in contributing to the game! The purpose of this agreement is to establish and clarify the relationship and intellectual property licensing rights between XXX ("Company") and a person or entity ("Contributor") when submitting a contribution ("Contribution") for the XXX video game ("Game"). Please read it carefully and submit a signed and scanned copy to XXX@XXX.com.Description and LicenseThe Game, currently a non-commercial, non-profit venture, is accepting voluntary Contributions in multiple areas such as graphics, writing or art. There is no compensation for submitting a Contribution and Company may or may not choose to use it in the final Game as it sees fit. If the Company chooses to distribute the Game including the Contribution for a fee, it may set the price for such distribution in its sole discretion, and a separate agreement explaining the Contributor’s share of the profits and payments would be drafted.By submitting a Contribution, the Contributor grants the Company a worldwide, non-exclusive, perpetual, irrevocable, no-charge, royalty-free, assignable right and license to a) use, copy, reproduce, distribute, sell, lease, rent, publicly display, publicly perform, modify, and create derivative works from the Contribution in any media, b) identify the Contributor as the source of the Contribution, and c) sublicense these rights, to the maximum extent permitted by applicable law.Once submitted, Contributor may request that his Contribution be removed from the Game or any related media, but Company is not obligated to do so and may choose to keep using the Contribution with the terms outlined above.However, the Contributor retains the right to use the Contributions as they wish, even in the context of another game. This Agreement does not grant the Contributo any rights to any other Company materials or the finished Game.Types of ContributionsContributions include but are not limited to any product, design, document, text, writings, artwork, image, drawing, photograph, animation, texture, video, musical composition, audio, sound effect, audiovisual work, files created by 3rd party tools (such as graphml created with yEd Graph Editor), proprietary files used by the Game and its engine, or any other files and assets used in creation of the Game or being distributed with the Game to the end users.Confidentiality and Non-disclosureThe Company may choose to share "confidential materials" regarding the Game with the Contributor, such as design documents, development binaries of the Game and its tools, files and assets used by the Game, other Contributions, development and marketing plans, timelines, policies, strategies etc.By accepting this agreement, the Contributor also agrees not to copy, share, lease, rent or distribute any such "confidential materials," take any screenshots, or disclose any information regarding the game, its assets, story, characters, gameplay, mechanics etc. to any 3rd parties besides themselves, unless given explicit written permission by the Company.Changes to the AgreementThis Agreement is subject to change. Company will do its best to notify all Contributors every time changes are made to this Agreement. Company will not knowingly change the terms of the Contribution without attempting to notify the Contributors. All Contributors are subject to the most current agreement.IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties have caused this Agreement to be duly executed. You CompanyName: _______________________ _______________________Date: _______________________ _______________________Signature: _______________________ _______________________Any thoughts/feedback?

Games Business and Law Business

Started by Koobazaur February 22, 2013 06:17 PM

22 comments, last by Koobazaur 11 years, 1 month ago

tboxx

159

February 27, 2013 05:21 PM

Koobazaur,

Give two attorneys a task to draft and contract/agreement and they don't look a like. A lot of the common causes in a contract can be written in a summarized general format or could be very specific. A confidentiality clause/NDA could be very basic or very expansive in terms of what it lays out. It all really depends on comfort level between the parties and what issues maybe particularly concerning for each party. If you think improper disclosure is a big concern than a more through NDA would be a good idea.

1) If you want to use the 2nd NDA you need to edit it further. Its original purpose was as an NDA inconnection with something like a situation in which a developer needs to tell a publisher about the project in order to see whether they are interested in funding said project but don't want the publisher to tell anyone about the project.

2) First agreement refers to the game. Better off calling it a project or something else. I am not sure what the industry term for this would be.

3) Company should not be just defined as a company, I would consider another name one that includes a company or an individual.

Koobazaur

1,264

Author

March 01, 2013 08:26 PM

Thanks for the additional links and further clarifications, really appreciate your help

Also, Hi Tom! I remember meeting you briefly back when I was at NakedSky Entertainment when you were helping the studio with a few things. Glad to see you're still keeping busy with gaming stuff! Definitely got lots of good info from your site as well.

Comrade, Listen! The Glorious Commonwealth's first Airship has been compromised! Who is the saboteur? Who can be saved? Uncover what the passengers are hiding and write the grisly conclusion of its final hours in an open-ended, player-driven adventure. Dziekujemy! -- Karaski: What Goes Up...

Tom Sloper

17,201

March 01, 2013 10:25 PM

Also, Hi Tom! I remember meeting you briefly back when I was at NakedSky Entertainment

Oh, right! [slaps forehead] How could I forget a name like Koobazaur. I still have your business card. Yep... Koobazaur.

:puzzled:

-- Tom Sloper -- sloperama.com

Koobazaur

1,264

Author

March 05, 2013 04:31 PM

Haha, well my real name is Jakub Kasztalski if that clears the confusion

But we only spoke briefly and I know you deal with maaaany people so I don't really expect you to remember. Just wanted to say Hi (and Thank You!) that's all!

My contributor's agreement - feedback? And feel free to reuse!

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