Video game lawyer implores devs to understand ownership and swerve generative AI
Video game lawyer, Nick Allan, has some advice for studios navigating the world without a publisher: take the time to understand the legality surrounding intellectual property (IP) ownership. Oh, and it's probably best to avoid generative AI like the plague.
Taking to the stage during London Game Festival, Allan—a partner at London-based law firm Mishcon de Reya—said it's vital that studios learn how to secure and protect their IP.
"I speak to so many indie devs who get this wrong, and it's hard to fix later," he explained. "IP created by anybody who isn't an employee is probably not going to be owned by your studio. It's going to be owned by them. So I'm talking about contractors, freelancers, and external developers. If one of those people leaves and you don't have something in writing and signed, they're going to keep hold of the legal title to the IP."
Allan underlined the importance of registering intellectual property around the world—or at the very least in those regions where it makes sense. "If you're UK-based, get a UK trademark. If you've got the budget, [do the same in the] EU and maybe U.S. as well given they're such major markets," he added.
"You can also do things like register your copyright in places like the U.S., which can make sense nearer launch. If you have some cool character designs or graphic user inference things, you can maybe look at registered designs. It's not actually that expensive to do this—at least in the core way."
Allan also told attendees to avoid using generative AI to produce key assets, because it will be difficult to take ownership of those outputs. "Most jurisdictions will just say there's no IP ownership in that. It's AI generated," he explained.
Where code is concerned, Allan said that while using a tool like Claude to 'vibe code' a video game might not create an ownership issue—it will make preventing copycats or clones tremendously difficult.
"If someone did get access to your source code and copied it, you probably wouldn't be able to sue them in the way that you would if it had been written by human beings," continued Allan.
To prevent being sued almost immediately, it's also crucial to understand how to deal with third-party rights. That might mean carrying out trademark searches to make sure nobody else has already registered the name of your dream project. Understanding copyright is equally essential.
"The key thing to remember is that copyright does not protect ideas. It protects the expression of an idea," he explained. "There is no copyright in the idea of an open-world action adventure game, crafting system, skill tree, or a post-apocalyptic setting. [...] But the particular way a character is designed or drawn. Plot. Story incidents. That sort of thing is much more able to be copyrighted."
On that note, he tells developers to avoid using what he describes as "high-risk real world assets." It's a complex area, but examples include real-world logos, car designs, and potentially even buildings.
There are varying degrees of transgression here. For instance, slapping a Ferrari in your video game is going to be more dangerous than adding more functional items like furniture or household goods. Even so, being aware of the risk is half the battle.
