Hello,
I have a revolutionary idea (yes, everyone says this).
Before contracting a team, I would like to understand more the business aspects of this so that someone I bring on will not hear the idea and run away with it.
Please advise.
You just have people sign an NDA, but note you’re going to struggle with getting people interested if they can’t even hear what the project is about without filling out an NDA
Is there a link to a standard NDA that is used in this industry?
I am aiming for utilizing my own contacts at the moment, just need to make sure that after the idea is heard, they would not take it and create themselves.
That’s nearly impossible, you can’t defend an ‘idea’ since an ‘idea’ is worth nothing. And you can’t sue anyone for stealing an idea if substantial amount of production work hasn’t been done on it already and even after that you will need lots of cash to follow up with a lawsuit that could span years and may lead nowhere. Sorry its just the case of the industry.
So do you will give a job to us ?
You have copyright on anything you come up with, the issue is whether you can prove that you had the idea before someone else and that they got the idea from you. It can be a pain but an NDA is a way to have a defense against someone who actively uses an idea they got from you.
For something like patents it’s different, in those cases you’d have to basically show that you have or can do the thing you’re trying to patent.
Check out the Video Game Attorney on Reddit, he’s often popping up with useful advice. Here is an example thread: Reddit - Dive into anything
Everyone has Idea’s. Someone once said. “Bad execution can pay more than a good idea 99% of the time.” Something like that.
Write your idea on a piece of paper seal it in an envelope. Pass the letter with your idea through the mail. Once you have a the letter postmarked with a date file it away. If you ever have to prove you were the first person to come up with the idea bring that envelope to court and present it. This is the poor man’s copyright method and it does work. I once knew a guy who recorded all his music on disc then did this with it. Someone tried to steal his work and he brought that disc into court sealed and he had no problem proving who really held the rights to it.
Do this with all of your idea before discussing them with people and you won’t have to worry. An NDA can come later on once you actually negotiate a working contract of some type with others. The NDA should be a standard part of the normal contract for work on any projects you have going on with others.
It doesn’t hurt to consult a lawyer once things get serious. They can help you navigate the legal side of this in a way that you can’t do on your own.
Guys you cannot copyright an idea not by law, you must have a substantial amount of body of work backing this idea and it has to be a truly unique one with patched loopholes this is already extremely hard to do or have in an engineering field where people have blueprints and prototypes, you can forget it in the entertainment industry…
If you detail your idea and document it properly then yes it is covered. A blueprint is an invention and needs a patent not a copyright. A detailed game concept is certainly covered if you provide enough substance when detailing it.
yes that substance is as i mentioned substantial body of work to back it. which in itself requires great investment. And even with this it is very hard as there may be bits of ideas here and there that may have come from other places its a very complicated process which is why in this industry rarely anyone does it.