Video Game Law Review - July 5th 2006

Original image from: rebelgraphics.org)


Not much to report in this fine week of American independence as far as video game law is concerned.

I ran across this interesting bit of news: Game Developers Outsourcing Summit is a conference by the GDC that will focus on the intracacies of using off-shore partners to handle some of the complex coding and other areas of need for the next generation of video games. As the games get bigger the staff needed to produce them will also increase, and outsourcing may be one of the most effective ways to see to it that the industry continues to grow in a cost effective manner. Of note to people like us is the forum on the anatomy of the outsourcing deal, which starts off by exploring the IP that is present. I am not sure how in depth the conference speaker will go as to exploring the best ways to protect IP owners when using off shore vendors, especially considering the prevalence of piracy in many of the nations that make the best outsourcing partners, such as China or the Philippians. In any case, exploration of this issue by skilled attorneys will likely be a crucial task in the near future as disputes arise. Just a little heads up.

Until next week ...