A video game includes many components - this is the source code of the program, graphics, music, script, characters, etc. All these objects can be protected by intellectual property rights. We will understand what rights game developers have and how to protect them.
What can be protected
In the legislation of the Russian Federation there is no indication of a computer game as a separate object of intellectual rights. In practice, computer games are referred to computer programs and / or to composite works (which include several objects of intellectual rights). And in fact, and in another case, it is about copyright. Parts of the game can be patented as industrial designs or registered as trademarks.
In order:
1. CopyrightCopyright may be protected by:
- Source and object code of the program;
- Graphic elements;
- Texts inside the game (rules, instructions to heroes, dialogues);
- Soundtracks;
- Video screensavers;
- Fonts;
- and another (the list is not exhaustive).
We should also say about the protection of the plot of the game. In the law directly about the plot, too, there is no word. Plots are usually equated with ideas. Ideas are not subject to protection. If it were otherwise, this greatly limited the possibility of creating new games, since the number of scenes of course. For example, the plot (some old game like “Super Brothers of Mario”) and (modern game, where, for example, the plot is to save the lady of the heart from the villain’s castle) have similar plots.
Copyright is good because rights do not require registration with state bodies (they have been in effect since their creation in an objective form).
However, this does not mean that no documents are required for creating rights. It is important to properly execute the documents on the creation of the game (more details below).
Caution!
The above also means that you can not just use other people's objects in your game. Any of the above objects is protected by copyright by default and its use without the permission of the copyright holder is prohibited.
In other words, to be calm when you use “pictures from the Internet”, you should not use pictures from the Internet. With free sites where you can download any content you need to be careful - very often this is a pirate warehouse with conditional “disclaimers”, which, by the way, do not work in Russia.
The surest way is to buy licenses for the necessary objects on trusted large sites, order the development of the necessary objects or create them yourself.2. TrademarksThe following may be registered as trademarks:
- The name of the game, the names of the characters, the names of the game worlds, etc .;
- Images of characters, original game elements, etc.
GTA, The Sims, Need for speed, World of Warcraft, Half Life. All heroes of Angry birds are registered as trademarks separately. The green flamebob (a crystal over the Sims character's head) is also registered as a trademark.
Registered trademark number 395564, copyright Electronic Arts Inc.In court it is easier to prove that the use of a separate element from the game is a violation of exclusive rights, if such an element is registered as a trademark. In addition, with trademarks, it is easier to earn money on recognizable attributes of a game — selling licenses to manufacturers of clothes, toys, office supplies, etc.
In order to register a trademark, you need to make sure that the designation (picture, name, etc.) complies with the requirements of the law, and no one has registered it yet.
Briefly, these requirements are reduced to the fact that the trademark does not mislead consumers and has distinctiveness. A full list of reasons for refusal of registration is contained in Art. 1483 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation.
Trademarks must be registered with Rospatent. Registration lasts an average of 8-12 months. The term of protection - 10 years, you can extend an unlimited number of times.
3. PatentsThe game interface or its parts can be patented as industrial designs (the appearance is protected).
World of tanks tank registered by Wargaming.net Limited as an industrial designIndustrial designs as well as trademarks are registered in Rospatent. The term of protection is 5 years, it can be extended several times for another 5 years, but not more than 25 years.
Designing Relationships with Employees - Game Developers
A little about the design of relationships with employees. Since intellectual property is not material, in order for the rights to the results of intellectual activity created by developers to be transferred to companies, it is important to “document” everything correctly.
There are two options for formalizing the relationship - under an employment contract or under a civil contract (GPC). The law establishes that, as a general rule, if an employee has developed any object of intellectual rights, the rights to it belong to the employer.
But not everything is so simple. Model contracts are not enough for this. It is important that the documents show the following:
- Creation of intellectual property is the responsibility of the employee;
- The employee was given the task to create a specific object;
- The employee received an award (and this is not the same as the salary);
- The employee transferred the rights to the object to the employer (drawn up by the act of transfer and acceptance).
In the case of the GPC contract, it is also important that it is clear what project you ordered and what you received as a result. The terms of reference should be detailed, the act should be signed with the results of the work.
Responsibility for violation of intellectual rights to the game
The right holder has the right to prohibit the use of its objects without permission (this right can be used as a coercion to enter into licensing agreements with regular payments of royalties), as well as to recover compensation or loss.
When collecting compensation does not need to prove the amount of damages. The court determines whether the right belongs to the claimant and whether the defendant violated it. The amount of compensation is influenced by the method of use, the term, whether such a violation is first performed, etc. There are several ways to calculate compensation, the simplest one is to recover from 10,000 rubles. up to 5,000,000 rubles. for one violation.
Another method of calculation is used when there is confirmed data on the number of pirated copies. For example, there is information about the manufacture of a batch of unlicensed discs. To calculate the compensation, the batch value of such a number of licensed discs is taken and multiplied by two. There are a lot of such disputes. Some copyright holders arrange “raids” on violators in all regions of the country.
In addition to civil liability, it is possible to bring to administrative and even criminal. And if there are not so many criminal cases, then administrative fines are often collected - in case of copyright infringement, fines can reach 40,000 rubles. for violation, for trademarks - up to 200,000 rubles. With confiscation of counterfeit and funds for its production.
In conclusion, I note that the past few years, the protection of intellectual property in Russia has become a trend. Now it's not worth thinking about creating a product using pirated content, and professional developers of computer games first of all, before starting work, prefer to attend to the future protection of intellectual property.