Content Protecting games – IP issues your business. contractors or design agencies IPRs are the subject of country-by- (which is very common in the game country protection. Applying for industry), a signed written contract is registrations, such as trade marks, needed to transfer ownership of designs and patents, should be any IPRs to the business. considered in countries of interest, Likewise, when IPRs are developed though it is important to have a clear before a business is set up, or by a understanding of the process and third party studio, that developer costs in each country, because they may own them. It is best practice vary. The new Unitary Patent also to enter into signed contracts with enables pan-European protection for employees, consultants and any Unified Patent Court countries. necessary third parties at an early Once registered, keep a secure stage (and preferably before any record of any certificates (as well as creatives are commissioned). any other records of the game’s IPR, Those contracts should expressly such as executed IP agreements). set out who owns any IPRs already These should all be kept in a secure in existence and state that any IPRs place and protected by passwords created in future are automatically (where possible). This will allow the transferred or assigned to the business to quickly identify and business. Crucially, external access key IP documents when developers will own the IPRs in any needed. works they create for games, unless they assign them formally in writing Who owns IPRs? to publishers. In the UK, in most (but not all) cases, Although the game industry is used IPRs developed by employees in to seeing new forms of funding the course of their employment will arrangements which may mean that be automatically owned by the IPRs typically owned by developers employer. However, when IPRs are are now shared with a publisher or developed by outside consultants, owner by an investor or investment 125