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Selling my first game, questions about potential protection.

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Hobbyist

Junior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Michigan

I have made a video game using assets & an engine I own with only my wife's occasional help, what steps would I have to take to legally sell said game? How can I protect my game and Alias (such as The Game by Alias or Alias of Group) and do I have to register an indie company? Can I just call myself Alias of Group and can I protect Group and/or Alias of Group? Could my wife call herself Alias2 of Group in the same fashion with any applicable protections? Could we be putting ourselves at risk?

I'm a hobbyist that would like to try and earn a little money on the side with my projects and I obviously don't know if I'll even make a profit on what I paid for the engine($60, RPG Maker VX Ace). The Game, and any potential future games, would be digital distribution only and cost somewhere between $1-$10 USD.
 


quincy

Senior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Michigan

I have made a video game using assets & an engine I own with only my wife's occasional help, what steps would I have to take to legally sell said game? How can I protect my game and Alias (such as The Game by Alias or Alias of Group) and do I have to register an indie company? Can I just call myself Alias of Group and can I protect Group and/or Alias of Group? Could my wife call herself Alias2 of Group in the same fashion with any applicable protections? Could we be putting ourselves at risk?

I'm a hobbyist that would like to try and earn a little money on the side with my projects and I obviously don't know if I'll even make a profit on what I paid for the engine($60, RPG Maker VX Ace). The Game, and any potential future games, would be digital distribution only and cost somewhere between $1-$10 USD.
Following is a link to Michigan's Small Business Development Center's Guide to "Starting and Operating a Small Business." You may be at Step 6 already, but you can probably benefit from reading through the whole guide.

http://www.michiganbusiness.org/cm/files/brochures/non-medc_produced/guide-to-starting-and-operating-a-small-business(1).pdf

I did a brief federal trademark search for you on the name "Alias." There are numerous "Alias" trademarks registered but none seem to be in the same classification of goods/services that your games would fall under. But you will want to do your own, more thorough search - of both federal and state trademark registries and for unregistered uses (google the term "Alias" to see what turns up) - to make sure your name does not infringe on anyone else's rights.

You would be smart to have your game(s) reviewed personally by an IP attorney in your area. You will want to ensure that your game content does not infringe on anyone else's copyrights.

What will be required of you tax-wise and license-wise and registration-wise is explained in the Guide. There are business resource numbers, and other resources, provided at the end of the guide.

Good luck. I wish you success with your games.
 

Zigner

Senior Member, Non-Attorney
Following is a link to Michigan's Small Business Development Center's Guide to "Starting and Operating a Small Business." You may be at Step 6 already, but you can probably benefit from reading through the whole guide.

http://www.michiganbusiness.org/cm/files/brochures/non-medc_produced/guide-to-starting-and-operating-a-small-business(1).pdf

I did a brief federal trademark search for you on the name "Alias." There are numerous "Alias" trademarks registered but none seem to be in the same classification of goods/services that your games would fall under. But you will want to do your own, more thorough search - of both federal and state trademark registries and for unregistered uses (google the term "Alias" to see what turns up) - to make sure your name does not infringe on anyone else's rights.

You would be smart to have your game(s) reviewed personally by an IP attorney in your area. You will want to ensure that your game content does not infringe on anyone else's copyrights.

What will be required of you tax-wise and license-wise and registration-wise is explained in the Guide. There are business resource numbers, and other resources, provided at the end of the guide.

Good luck. I wish you success with your games.

Psstt
I think the word "Alias" was used as a way to mask the actual name, for privacy reasons. I could be wrong ;)
 

Hobbyist

Junior Member
Sorry, I suppose I should have clarified my language.

Thank you for the help! It looks like I might want to go with Sole Proprietor DBA "Group", release games as "Group" and then simply go by "Alias of Group" in the credits.

It also looks like I might have to speak to an attorney to figure out how best to approach this, is there a ballpark quote for what that might cost? I really don't want to be out a very large amount just to sell a few small games.

On that, is there any legal way to sell as an individual and use "Group" as an informal recognition? Do I have to register a company to give a game I made to a portal (A company that sells games, such as Humble Bundle or Steam) and collect 60% of the profits from sales? I've read that many game developers do this without any form of registration or fees, aside from paying income taxes.
 

quincy

Senior Member
Sorry, I suppose I should have clarified my language.

Thank you for the help! It looks like I might want to go with Sole Proprietor DBA "Group", release games as "Group" and then simply go by "Alias of Group" in the credits.

It also looks like I might have to speak to an attorney to figure out how best to approach this, is there a ballpark quote for what that might cost? I really don't want to be out a very large amount just to sell a few small games.

On that, is there any legal way to sell as an individual and use "Group" as an informal recognition? Do I have to register a company to give a game I made to a portal (A company that sells games, such as Humble Bundle or Steam) and collect 60% of the profits from sales? I've read that many game developers do this without any form of registration or fees, aside from paying income taxes.
First, I cannot give you any ballpark quote for what an attorney will cost you. Attorney costs in Michigan vary depending on all sorts of factors, including what area of the state they practice in. The good news for you is that in most areas of Michigan, attorney pay is below the national average, so they can be considered a bit of a bargain. ;)

I suggest you call around and get initial quotes and then interview a few attorneys to judge their qualifications before settling on one. Initial consultations are generally free.

With that said, I guess I am not real clear what you want to do with your games, other than sell them. If you want to sell them online, you can check out sites like Shopify to see what they have to offer.

Once you start selling your games under whatever name you choose to identify your business and your products (your trademark), you gain rights in the trademark. You can register the name with the state (which you might want to do if you will be selling your games under a "doing business as" name rather than your own name) and you can register the name federally (for added trademark protection), but registration of your trademark is not a requirement. Registration, however, provides you with the presumption of ownership in the name and it can be easier to prevent infringement on your rights in the name.

Just as with trademarks, you do not need to register the copyrights in your games. The rights come with the creation of any original and creative work. Registering your copyrights, however, provide you with greater protection should your rights be infringed. With federal registration of your games, if your games are infringed, you are eligible to collect statutory damages.

However you decide to sell your games and whether or not you decide to register your copyrights and trademark, you will definitely need to keep good records of all of your sales, so you can report your earnings and pay any taxes due on these sales.

I know there are others on this forum with much more knowledge than I have when it comes to online selling of products and on taxes, so I hope they will jump in with advice that is more helpful to you than what I can offer.

Good luck with your game business, Hobbyist.
 
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Hobbyist

Junior Member
That was very helpful, thank you.

For clarification, all I want to do is be able to legally sell a digital game I made online and nothing more. This is a hobby that I would like to try and earn a little pocket change from, I don't expect to make much more than tens of dollars and don't intend to invest more than tens of dollars. I don't want to start an actual company just wondering if I can legally release games as a 'group' consisting of my wife and myself and have a name for said group, protecting it if possible.


For example, I would put the game on an eCommerce site for $5 USD.
Then I would make a page for said game on a site for our group, Group Name.host.com that would resemble the following:
Game Title by Group
Game Description and Images
eCommerce Link
Credits(Appear in game as well as on site)
Writing by Alias (Myself)
Graphics by Alias 2 (Wife)
Contributors~ (Purchased assets that require an entry in the credits)
Copyright information, EULA
What would I be required to do to legally do this? Can I just sell it without doing anything, track my sales to pay taxes and call it done?
Am I overlooking something that could get me in trouble?
 

Dave1952

Senior Member
If you have never run a business before, then you need to learn how to do that. It's quite possible that your local community college offers courses in this. Perhaps the local library will have a collection of books on this. You should definitely hire an attorney who can guide you through the legal necessities in your locale. You'll need to register, get permits, collect sales tax. Visit the web-site of your local Small Business Administration. They help start-ups.
 

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