In Short
- Check trade marks early: Search IP Australia’s database to ensure your game’s name, logo, and branding don’t infringe existing trade marks, avoiding costly rebranding.
- Protect creative and technical assets: Copyright automatically protects game code, artwork, and music, while patents may safeguard innovative gameplay mechanics.
- Use NDAs for confidentiality: Secure your game’s design documents, algorithms, and development processes with enforceable Non-Disclosure Agreements.
Tips for Businesses
Before launching a game, conduct thorough IP due diligence to avoid legal issues. Register trade marks, confirm copyright ownership, and consider patents for unique inventions. Use NDAs to protect confidential information. Strong IP protection enhances investor confidence, secures partnerships, and helps establish a competitive market position for your game.
Table of Contents
Launching a successful game product in today’s competitive digital landscape requires more than innovative gameplay and captivating graphics. A thorough understanding of intellectual property (IP) rights is crucial. Conducting comprehensive IP due diligence before launching your game is not merely a precautionary measure. Instead, it is an essential step in safeguarding your creative work. IP due diligence can assist in preventing costly legal battles and ensure the long-term success of your game product. This article explores the importance of IP due diligence, including trade marks, patents, and copyright when launching your game product.
This guide explains the essentials of trade marks and the steps required to register a trade mark.
Understanding Intellectual Property in Australia
Designed to protect the creations of individuals and businesses, Australia’s IP laws aim to foster innovation and economic growth. These laws grant exclusive rights to creators, allowing them to control how their work is used. They also prevent others from unauthorised use. In the gaming industry, these rights are particularly relevant. They cover various aspects of a game, including its:
- name;
- logo;
- code; and
- artistic design.
Trade Marks: Protecting Your Brand
A trade mark may be a recognisable word, logo, slogan or picture that distinguishes the goods or services of one provider from another. It acts as a badge of origin in the marketplace. In the gaming world, trade marks are essential for protecting your game’s:
- title;
- logo;
- icons;
- character names; and
- perhaps even a distinctive phrase used by one of your characters.
Registering your trade marks with IP Australia provides exclusive rights to use that mark about the specified goods and services.
Before launching your game, conducting a thorough trade mark search is essential to ensure that your chosen name and logo do not infringe on existing trade marks. This involves searching IP Australia’s trade mark database for similar marks that could confuse consumers. If a conflict is found, you may need to rebrand your game, incurring significant costs. Additionally, lack of registration makes legal action against copycat games more challenging and often more expensive.
Continue reading this article below the formPatents: Protecting Your Inventions
Patents protect new and inventive devices, substances, methods, and processes. These are less common in the gaming industry than trade mark and copyright protection. However, patents can be relevant for protecting innovative gameplay mechanics, unique hardware interfaces, or specialised software algorithms.
To be patentable in Australia, an invention must be novel, inventive (not obvious to someone skilled in the relevant field), and useful. Obtaining a patent grants you exclusive rights to exploit your invention for a period of up to 20 years. However, the patent application process can be complex and expensive, requiring detailed descriptions of the invention and rigorous examination by IP Australia.
Copyright: Protecting Your Creative Expression
Copyright protects original literary, artistic, musical and dramatic works. This includes software game code, game design documents, artwork, music and sound effects. In Australia, copyright protection is automatic upon creation of the work. Therefore, registration is not required. However, maintaining clear records of authorship and creation dates is crucial for enforcing your rights.
Copyright protects the expression of an idea, not the idea itself. This means that while you cannot copyright a game genre or basic gameplay, you can protect the specific code, artwork and music that make up your game.
Trade Secrets: Protecting Your Confidential Information
Trade secrets and enforceable Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDAs) protect confidential information during game development. Trade secrets, such as:
- game design documents;
- proprietary algorithms; or
- unique development processes
- are confidential information that provides a competitive edge.
Unlike patents, trade secrets are protected by keeping them confidential, not by public disclosure.
A well-drafted NDA is an essential component of IP due diligence. NDAs are legally binding agreements establishing a confidential relationship between parties. They prevent the disclosure of sensitive information shared during:
- collaborations;
- partnerships; or
- even employee relationships.
The Importance of Due Diligence
Conducting thorough IP due diligence before launching your game product offers several key benefits:
- Avoids costly legal disputes: by identifying potential IP conflicts early, you may avoid expensive and time-consuming legal battles that could derail your game product.
- Protects your brand and creative work: due diligence ensures that your trade marks, patents, and copyrights are protected, preventing others from copying or exploiting your work without permission.
- Enhances investor confidence: producing a proactive IP protection approach can increase investor confidence and attract funding.
- Facilitates licensing and partnerships: clear IP ownership makes it easier to negotiate licensing agreements and partnerships with investors.
Key Takeaways
Before launching any game product, comprehensive due diligence on trade marks, patents, copyrights, and well-drafted NDAs is essential to avoid legal conflicts and protect creative assets. By prioritising IP protections, game developers can mitigate risks, attract investment, and establish a strong market position for their products.
If you have questions about intellectual property, our experienced intellectual property lawyers can assist as part of our LegalVision membership. For a low monthly fee, you will have unlimited access to lawyers to answer your questions and draft and review your documents. Call us today on 1300 544 755 or visit our membership page.
Frequently Asked Questions
The name of your game and any branding used, such as a logo, icon, slogan or picture is protected by registering your trade mark with IP Australia. Once registered, your trade mark is protected for a 10-year renewable period.
No, you receive automatic copyright protection in Australia upon creating a work. This includes original literary, artistic, musical, and dramatic works, software game code, game design documents, artwork, music, and sound effects.
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