Securing the Rights to Freelance Assets
I'm a new game developer, and I was wondering what kind of legal obligations would I have to meet to securely own the rights to any assets such as 3D models and textures?
Quote:Original post by Vincent_M
I'm a new game developer, and I was wondering what kind of legal obligations would I have to meet to securely own the rights to any assets such as 3D models and textures?
You need to talk to a lawyer. Preferably one local to you and with a background in IP and contract law.
Laws vary from nation to nation, jurisdiction to jurisdiction, so be wary of taking advice blindly from random people on the internet.
At a general level, you'll need to draw up a solid contract and—in most territories—specify the job as a "work for hire" contract. Even so, some jurisdictions can overrule such contracts under certain conditions, so—and I cannot stress this enough—talk to a qualified lawyer. If you want quality information, there's no substitute. And no shortcuts.
You can legally secure assets in four ways:
1) a work for hire agreement;
2) an assignment;
3) an exclusive license;
4) a non-exclusive license.
1-3 must be in writing and signed by you and the freelance artist. 4 SHOULD be in writing, and permission can be withdrawn on a limited basis.
Work-for-hire agreements under federal law are kind of tricky; you need to make sure that the WFH says that the artist's contribution is part of a collective work. However, even that may not be sufficient, which is why almost every WFH will bootstrap an assignment provision just in case.
As you may have guessed, this is a fairly complicated area of law and you should be careful about your research techniques. Ideally you would want to contact a lawyer; however, if that route isn't available to you you'll at least want to check out books and legit publications/blogs that can steer you in the right direction.
1) a work for hire agreement;
2) an assignment;
3) an exclusive license;
4) a non-exclusive license.
1-3 must be in writing and signed by you and the freelance artist. 4 SHOULD be in writing, and permission can be withdrawn on a limited basis.
Work-for-hire agreements under federal law are kind of tricky; you need to make sure that the WFH says that the artist's contribution is part of a collective work. However, even that may not be sufficient, which is why almost every WFH will bootstrap an assignment provision just in case.
As you may have guessed, this is a fairly complicated area of law and you should be careful about your research techniques. Ideally you would want to contact a lawyer; however, if that route isn't available to you you'll at least want to check out books and legit publications/blogs that can steer you in the right direction.
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