So is it true that a electronic filed copyright protection for a game, is only $65.00? How does this work?
I haven’t been trying to make any games because of fear of being summoned to the court room. With the court room on the other side of the country I will automatically lose the battle. Then, my work is claimed by someone else. And I could even be facing fines and court costs.
How Am I supposed to protect myself from these types of attacks, with the copyright protection in hand? I would not have any money to send any lawyer. What do I do?
I just learned they can no longer start court battles unless they have copyright office proof of it. Because they law changed right there, I think I can produce games without fear.
I have also heard about people taking artwork, getting a copyright on it, and then sueing the artist.
You can copyright anything by just writing Copyright, your name and the year on it. You can file with the US copyright office for $65, but that doesn’t protect you from someone in China stealing your idea and making their own version. Also, copyright is not the same as a registered trademark. If you want legal advice, you should be talking to a contract lawyer. No advice from people on the internet is going to be legally binding.
I will give you a bit of advice though. Often we worry about things in the future we can’t control as a way to distract ourselves from doing things. In this case, it sounds like you are worrying about someone stealing your game idea instead of working on your game.
Also, if you publish a game, and then someone tries to take out a copyright on it, they would lose that court battle because you can prove you had your idea online before the copyright was filed.
I also can’t think of anyone successfully suing an artist for their own work because the person claiming the copyright would have to be able to prove they actually made the work - not that they got to the copyright office first.
I will finish with: You should not be getting legal advice from people on the internet. If you’re really worried that your idea is worth enough money for someone to sue you, talk to a contract lawyer. While you’re at it, ask them how to setup a Limited Liability Corporation (LLC), which will prevent you from personally being sued. And . . . If you cannot afford the couple hundred bucks for a lawyer, you don’t have enough assets for anyone to be interested in suing you.
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You’re worrying too much. At least in the U.S., you can be sued for anything and everything without having to break any laws whatsoever. Everyone, from the one-man indie shop to the largest of corporations, can be sued at any moment for anything or for nothing at all. You can even be sued for posting a question on godotengine.org about how not to get sued for making games.
First: while such lawsuits may EVENTUALLY get thrown out of court as frivolous, they very act of having to defend yourself for ANY lawsuit could be a bankrupting event. However, such lawsuits are incredibly rare. That extremely unlikely event should not be enough to prevent you from making games.
Second: It’s a good idea to do all your development under an LLC. They are cheap to form (mine cost me about $50), have no maintenance costs, and generally protect your personal assets in the event you are sued. Your LLC may get sued into oblivion (and you may still lose the rights to your creations owned by the LLC as a consequence of losing such an extremely unlikely court case), but your personal assets are generally protected (read up on LLCs to get the pros and cons).
Third: you are overanalyzing the risks and worrying too much. Yes, I’m stating this twice to make a point. You are too small for anyone to care enough to sue you. Your games are not going to be spectacular enough for anyone to care enough to sue you. You will be lucky to make any significant money making games, so no one cares (provided you’re not ripping off another company’s IP).
Fourth: Make your own assets, or keep good records authenticating the free use rights for any assets you use that aren’t entirely yours, and you’ll probably be fine.
Fifth: You’re worrying too much.
Sixth: If you’re worried, consult with a copyright attorney.
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Ok I see and hear what this is going on. I can try make games without too much fear of being summoned into a court room 1k miles away.
I think I can give the indie game dev a try again.
I have made games in the past, just never released anything.
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