Seeking advice about protecting my ideas/IP

[paladin55]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? South Carolina


Edit: As the thread title states, I'm looking for actual, detailed advice, not yes/no lists. If you're going to answer my questions, please do elaborate and leave some detailed answers that both answer my questions as well as give me some advice about how I should proceed.


Hello! I'm basically a poor artist/writer who's been working for several years on developing a very detailed fictional setting to be used both in novels and video games. As most artists and writers would be, I'm very protective of the IP I've created and I'm very concerned with it being stolen when I start releasing stories and games online.

Profit is not a priority for me in this, in fact, the main reason I want to protect my work is from those who would only care to use my IP for profit. I definitely plan on having a lot of free releases.

I realize good ideas are pretty easy to come by and there's 7 billion other people out there that may (and probably are) better at world building, writing and game design than me... and that I probably don't have too much to worry about realistically. However, this doesn't ease my fears in the slightest. I'm just a writer that wants to tell my stories and share my world with others while using some mediums I highly respect... without some larger company or random scam artists coming along and stealing it all away from me.

I currently live in the U.S. but my game and story releases would probably be done mostly online.

My Questions:

1. I don't have any finished "stories" or video games yet that I can copyright. However, I do have a lot of notes, I tend to write everything down as it comes to me in as much detail as possible. So, according to a lot of copyright articles and explanations I've read online, my understanding of copyright law is... while I can't copyright "ideas"... I can copyright my "original expression" of those ideas in a "fixed" form. So my first question is... does this mean I can basically pull all my notes together in one huge file and send it/upload it to the copyright office for a copyright? I would argue that my notes are an original creative expression in a fixed form of my IP. If this is possible, what happens if I need to update those notes after I get them copyrighted?

2. What should I do in the short term to protect my IP before I start releasing games or stories that use my IP as a setting? Do I need to start my own company first?

3. Is my IP always legally separate from any art, music or programming I hire someone else to do for video games or stories? Is there any way that an artist, musician or programmer can legally argue that they hold some legal rights to my IP itself because they supplied art, music or programming skills to it? If so, is there any way to avoid this trap?

4. Since I would be releasing video games and stories online... is it possible that someone from some other country could try to steal the rights to my IP and get away with it because of different laws or because I don't have a copyright in their country? If so, is there any way to prevent this?

5. Is there anything else I should really know about when it comes to protecting an IP? Are there any good online forums dedicated to this sort of discussion and advice? How should I go about finding an affordable legal consultant for something like this?

Thank you so much for the help! I really appreciate it!

 

[FlyingRon]

Copyright is NOT a verb.

Your creative work is protected by copyright as soon as it is expressed in some tangible form (written down counts, so does recording or typing into a computer).
Your work does not need to be registered with the copyright office to protect it, though it gives you some presumptive rights (and is a precursor to filing in federal court). Dumping a bunch of UNRELATED junk together in registration is not permitted. You need a work to stand alone (or be a collection of such, registered).

The presence or absence of a company has no bearing on any of this.

Ideas, as you know, are NOT protected by copyright even if your expression is. If you want to protect your ideas (and presuming you don't qualify for a patent), keep them to yourself until you commercially market them.

IP is a nebulous term. Your copyright does not get diminished because it's mixed with other's copyrighted works. However the resultant work is subject to all the copyrights. If you are marketing this mixture, it would behoove you to get explicit rights (either permission to use the other person's works, or a specific agreement that this is work done for hire for you). Note absent explicit agreements, the law presumes the rights remain with the creator.

There's a pretty extensive FAQ/tutorial on copyrights on the Copyright Office (Library of Congress) website.

There are many sites for game developers (indie or otherwise) that delve into more directly applicable information. Google found them for me in 3 seconds when I wrote "copyright" and "games developer" in the same search.

 

[quincy]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? South Carolina


Edit: As the thread title states, I'm looking for actual, detailed advice, not yes/no lists. If you're going to answer my questions, please do elaborate and leave some detailed answers that both answer my questions as well as give me some advice about how I should proceed.

That is not a very good way to start a thread, paladin. You are coming here for answers. You do not get to dictate how those answers are provided. So, my first piece of advice for you is that you should proceed with caution.

Hello! I'm basically a poor artist/writer who's been working for several years on developing a very detailed fictional setting to be used both in novels and video games. As most artists and writers would be, I'm very protective of the IP I've created and I'm very concerned with it being stolen when I start releasing stories and games online.

If you are concerned that your work will be infringed, I recommend you register your work with the U.S. Copyright Office prior to publication online. There is no way to prevent a published work from being stolen by copyright thieves, but by registering your work you are eligible for statutory damages if your work is infringed and you decide to take the infringer to court.

Profit is not a priority for me in this, in fact, the main reason I want to protect my work is from those who would only care to use my IP for profit. I definitely plan on having a lot of free releases.

If you give your work away, you cannot protect it easily from those who wish to profit off it. You will need to have conditions placed on your free releases. Consult with an attorney in your area (a free legal clinic, if necessary) to help you draft an appropriate agreement.

I realize good ideas are pretty easy to come by and there's 7 billion other people out there that may (and probably are) better at world building, writing and game design than me... and that I probably don't have too much to worry about realistically. However, this doesn't ease my fears in the slightest. I'm just a writer that wants to tell my stories and share my world with others while using some mediums I highly respect... without some larger company or random scam artists coming along and stealing it all away from me.

I currently live in the U.S. but my game and story releases would probably be done mostly online.

When you publish online, you risk having your work appropriated by others. It is a risk faced by all copyright holders. Again, register your work with the U.S. Copyright Office so that you have legal recourse worth pursuing - without statutory damages to rely on (from $750 to $150,000 per infringed work possible), you are limited to collecting on your provable losses (if any) or your infringer's profits (if any).

My Questions:

1. I don't have any finished "stories" or video games yet that I can copyright. However, I do have a lot of notes, I tend to write everything down as it comes to me in as much detail as possible. So, according to a lot of copyright articles and explanations I've read online, my understanding of copyright law is... while I can't copyright "ideas"... I can copyright my "original expression" of those ideas in a "fixed" form. So my first question is... does this mean I can basically pull all my notes together in one huge file and send it/upload it to the copyright office for a copyright? I would argue that my notes are an original creative expression in a fixed form of my IP. If this is possible, what happens if I need to update those notes after I get them copyrighted?

You can register any creative and original material once it is fixed in tangible form. Most people use notes while they are creating a copyrightable work and they keep these notes private. A locked drawer works.

2. What should I do in the short term to protect my IP before I start releasing games or stories that use my IP as a setting? Do I need to start my own company first?

You don't need a company. Whether you form one or not is up to you. In the short term, the best way to protect your work is to keep it private.

3. Is my IP always legally separate from any art, music or programming I hire someone else to do for video games or stories? Is there any way that an artist, musician or programmer can legally argue that they hold some legal rights to my IP itself because they supplied art, music or programming skills to it? If so, is there any way to avoid this trap?

The only way to avoid the "trap" of sharing copyrights in a completed work is to do the work yourself - or have your collaborator transfer all his/her rights to you in exchange for compensation of some sort. Get any transfer of rights in writing and register the transfer with the Copyright Office.

4. Since I would be releasing video games and stories online... is it possible that someone from some other country could try to steal the rights to my IP and get away with it because of different laws or because I don't have a copyright in their country? If so, is there any way to prevent this?

Yes, it is possible for someone from another country to steal your work. There is no way to prevent copyright theft. You can only take action against a copyright infringer after they have infringed and, if the infringer lives in another country, you would have to take action against them in their own country under that country's laws. There are similarities in the copyright laws of many countries, but the statutory damages you are eligible for against an infringer in the U.S. are not available to you in other countries. You would have to look to the laws of the country involved to determine if a lawsuit would be worth the high cost of pursuing.

5. Is there anything else I should really know about when it comes to protecting an IP? Are there any good online forums dedicated to this sort of discussion and advice? How should I go about finding an affordable legal consultant for something like this?

There are a few "intellectual property forums." I am sure you can find one or two if you enter those words into your search bar. It can be hard to find "affordable" IP attorneys. Your best bet may be to head to a law school and seek assistance there.

For more on the copyright laws in the U.S., you can go to the U.S. Copyright Office's website: http://www.copyright.gov

Thank you so much for the help! I really appreciate it!

You're welcome.

 

[paladin55]

That is not a very good way to start a thread, paladin. You are coming here for answers. You do not get to dictate how those answers are provided. So, my first piece of advice for you is that you should proceed with caution.
.

I don't understand why some people insist on taking offense at this. I'm only trying to be helpful by explaining what type of answers will be useful to me. Vague yes's and no's won't help me understand anything and thus won't answer my questions, forcing me to ask the same questions again, only wasting everyone's time. So if someone doesn't have the time or desire to reply in detail, I'm asking (not dictating) them to please save their time and skip the thread then, that's all, since their answers won't help me.

I do want to thank you again for your detailed answers though, they are helpful and I appreciate it.

If anyone else would like to add their own answers and/or comments related to my questions, please do so. Thanks!

 

[quincy]

I don't understand why some people insist on taking offense at this. I'm only trying to be helpful by explaining what type of answers will be useful to me. Vague yes's and no's won't help me understand anything and thus won't answer my questions, forcing me to ask the same questions again, only wasting everyone's time. So if someone doesn't have the time or desire to reply in detail, I'm asking (not dictating) them to please save their time and skip the thread then, that's all, since their answers won't help me.

I do want to thank you again for your detailed answers though, they are helpful and I appreciate it.

If anyone else would like to add their own answers and/or comments related to my questions, please do so. Thanks!

People on this forum take offense to posters who come here expecting answers to be provided them in a certain way because posters are asking knowledgeable volunteers for FREE help. You should be appreciative of even yes or no answers, or that anyone at all is taking their time to address your legal concerns and share their knowledge.

On a free advice forum, in other words, you take what you get. And I have to say you "got it" pretty good. The questions you asked were answered by both FlyingRon and me about as thoroughly as they can be answered in a forum setting, especially when you are reluctant to divulge too much about your stories and games due to privacy and piracy concerns.

If you want advice tailored specifically to your wants and needs, you will need to pay an attorney in your area for that (and the attorney will preserve the confidentiality of your project).

For additional information, you can make use the Copyright Office link.

I wish you luck with your stories and your video games, paladin55.

Thanks for the thanks.