How to copyright your video game [Definitive Guide]

Last updated : Aug 3, 2022

How do I copyright my own game?

1. Go to the Copyright Office registration webpage.
2. Complete your application online or on paper.
3. Pay the non-refundable filing fee of $35, $55, or $85 (depending on your application)
4. Give the Copyright Office copies of the board game you want to register for them to keep.

How much does it cost to copyright a video game?

There is a fee for registering your work. It's usually a one-time charge in the $50+, which is a pretty reasonable price for extra peace of mind.

Can video games get copyrighted?

Copyright does not protect the idea for game, its name or title, or the method or methods for playing it. Nor does copyright protect any idea, system, method, device, or trademark material involved in developing, merchandising, or playing a game.

Do I need to copyright my game name?

No, trademarking a game name is not mandatory. But, if you don't trademark your game name, you won't have exclusive rights to it. Other game developers would be free to use your name for their games.

How do I sell my game to a company?

1. Sell via platforms for gamers. Some of the most popular distribution platforms include Steam, Desura, and GOG.
2. Sell to business. As opposed to gamer's distribution platforms, developers can also sell their games to wholesale and retail businesses.
3. Sell via your own website.

How long do video game copyrights last?

If it was created on or after 1978 by an individual, then the copyright is valid for the lifetime of the individual plus 70 years, otherwise for a period of 95 years from publication or 120 years from creation, whichever comes first. But here's where it gets tricky.

How long does copyright last?

The term of copyright for a particular work depends on several factors, including whether it has been published, and, if so, the date of first publication. As a general rule, for works created after January 1, 1978, copyright protection lasts for the life of the author plus an additional 70 years.

How much is a copyright license?

The initial filing of a copyright application will cost between $50 and $65 depending on the type of form, unless you file online which will then only cost you $35. There are special fees for registering a copyright application claim in a group or obtaining additional certificates of registration as well.

How do you get a copyright?

How do I register my copyright? To register a work, submit a completed application form, and a nonreturnable copy or copies of the work to be registered. See Circular 1, Copyright Basics, section “Registration Procedures., and Circular 4, Copyright Office Fees”.

Is copying a game illegal?

It's not illegal, and although it might violate some licensing issue, I wouldn't worry about it. Just copy the files over to the same location on the destination computer then try to install the game as normal via the Steam library. Steam will detect the files you just copied over and setup the game correctly.

What parts of a game are copyrighted?

Instead, video games are considered protected by copyright in their parts. The computer code or other fixed medium is considered copyrightable, and the game's presentation can be copyrighted as a literary work or dramatic work, while elements like character design, art and sound and music can also be copyrighted.

How can I promote my game without money?

1. Start with focusing on ASO.
2. Focus 100% on your soft launch.
3. Get your game reviewed.
4. Leverage the power of word of mouth.
5. Get yourself some paparazzi.
6. Tap into the power of social media.
7. Become active on forums and communities.
8. Leverage cross-promotion.

How do I pitch my game?

1. The past experience of your leadership team, even if that's just you.
2. A one-sentence description of your game that includes the “hook” or unique selling proposition (USP).
3. A brief synopsis of the game story.
4. A clear description of the gameplay loop.
5. A short list of key features.

Where I can publish my game?

• ITCH.IO. Itch.io is hands down the best platform available for indie game publishing.
• INDIEGAMESTAND. IndieGameStand is a robust platform to market your game, and is great for strong short term sales if you choose their pay-what-you-want deal.
• DESURA.
• KONGREGATE.
• ROAST MY GAME.

Who protects copyright?

Copyright, a form of intellectual property law, protects original works of authorship including literary, dramatic, musical, and artistic works, such as poetry, novels, movies, songs, computer software, and architecture.

What year is copyright free?

As of 2019, copyright has expired for all works published in the United States before 1924. In other words, if the work was published in the U.S. before January 1, 1924, you are free to use it in the U.S. without permission.

What is not protected by copyright?

Not Protected by Copyright: Titles, names, short phrases and slogans; familiar symbols or designs; mere variations of typographic ornamentation, lettering or coloring; mere listings of ingredients or contents.

Do you pay for copyright?

No. In general, registration is voluntary. Copyright exists from the moment the work is created. You will have to register, however, if you wish to bring a lawsuit for infringement of a U.S. work.

Is it free to copyright something?

Registering a Copyright You can register your copyright with the United States Copyright Office online for the standard fee of $55. But if you are registering only one item, you are the only creator it is credited to, and you did not create it as part of your employment for another party, the fee is only $35.

How long does it take to get a copyright?

Copyright registration is effective on the date the U.S. Copyright Office receives the completed application and appropriate fees. When you file for copyright, you will receive an email confirming your application has been received. On average, it takes about 3 months for a copyright to be registered.

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so welcome everyone to this quarter's games and interactive media seminar series this is sort quarter that we do it and we again have a great lineup of speakers as you will see all these speakers come from very diverse areas some academics some are from industry some are talk about music some are talking about education and today's speakers is actually talking about law so what he was notice is that we can really use games as a lens to look at all aspects of society and the other way around all aspects of society actually focused on two games and so today's speaker is Todd Smith line he is actually running his own law firm Smith line PC he's the principal and this company represents a number of clients generally in technology transfer and among those internet mobile devices and so forth and of course games are part of his portfolio as well and one thing he told me he's actually most proud of and that's also how I found him for the last six years and a seven year he is teaching a class at Berkeley to law students about video game law and so give it warm applause to Todd thank you anymore for having me I'm thrilled to be here how many of you are involved in one way or another in making video games and how many of you play video games okay great so this is gonna be perfect for all of you how many in the room any our law students lawyers law faculty anything like that okay and for the rest of you do you have any familiarity whatsoever with the notion of copyright okay great so today we're going to be talking about how the doctrine of copyright law is evolving based on cases that are moving through the system relating to mobile game clones and in particular I'm going to be making the argument today that these cases dealing with multiple game clones are changing how copyright law works and ultimately change for the worse I figured if I was going to come talk to you today I'd sort of make an argument about something instead of just trying to explain how copyright law and video games work so that's what we'll be talking about today I will tell you as I mean Ingmar says I teach video game law at Berkeley and we typically have 13 sessions of an hour and 50 minutes each to get through this material we're going to get through today in 40 minutes since you're a Stanford audience I'm assuming that's going to be okay but I will ask that we hold the questions until the end unless you have very important objections and then raise your hands and we'll address that otherwise questions objections thoughts comments at the end really quickly I am the principal of a law firm where six attorneys up in San Francisco we do technology transactions and IP licensing but today I'm here by myself not on behalf of my law firm certainly not Berkeley or anything like that so these are my views some of the decisions we'll be talking about today happen to add a preliminary phase in the litigation and I will point that out as we go but just so you know that's the case and finally I have a list of sources here they'll be at the end of the presentation and certainly if you're interested in the topic and you want to learn more I've got endless books articles and and and other thoughts I can refer you to so just let me know at the end okay so let's do it what are the rules of a video game again today I'm suggesting that copyright law is changing in terms of how the courts deal with the rules of the game traditionally courts have not protected the rules of the game under copyright and I'm suggesting that that is changing but before we take a look at the cases and before we look at the games we need to start with the question of what are the rules of a video game well let's start with board games first and I have two up here which we'll get to a little later in the presentation for a board or a card game the rules are the set of instructions that explain how to play the game and they may also include the method of playing as expressed through things like scoring charts the game board and the pieces so the rules of the game are what you get when you open the box and pull out the rules these are the rules of the game bang and these are the rules of the game legends of the Three Kingdoms and you fold out the rules and you learn how to play but as I'm also suggesting the rules can be expressed through the tokens and the pieces in the game board itself I think it's fairly easy to understand what the rules of a board game are so then what are the rules of the video game well for a video game the rules were often also expressed through the mechanics of the game or the gameplay these are functional rules which dictate how you can move a character how points are scored and when you win and lose Bruce Borden who's at marquette talks about the limits and affordances of the game and another way to think about the rules of a video game are to think of video games as systems and and again Bruce Boden's words you systems into which the users pour meaning when they play the game but in any event the rules of a video game are not a list of instructions per se although they can include instructions but are also that what you do while you're playing the game and what you're allowed to do so when you're playing Donkey Kong and you're Mario the rules of the game include the fact that if you get hit by a barrel you're going to lose a life and they include the fact that you can only get from one level to the next when you climb a ladder and they include the fact that you're going to clear a level if you get to the damsel in distress at the top these are all the mechanics of the game or what we'll be referring to today also as the rules of the game the rules of the game can also involve things like the fact that armor is very heavy and if you fall into water wearing a lot of armor you will sink to the bottom of the sea okay so we're talking about mobile game clones today so what's a clone well this is easy a video game clone is a game which follows another game to market and which copies as much of it as they can possibly get away with and we see this happen quite a bit in the mobile game space and you're all probably familiar with clones that you've seen in the Android Marketplace or in the Apple Store but essentially a clone is just a copy of a game sometimes comes very close that's trying to capitalize on the success of the game that came before here we have tetra on the left and a game called Meno on the right and we'll revisit these in a minute but these this this is a clone of a video game for purposes that we're using today clone is not a word and the copyright code but I think you all understand what it means so that's what a clone is alright so historically game rules were not protected by copyright so why do I say that well first we have case law to tell us that our F foster published a series of books about the rules of bridge and in one of the books he included the rules for a type of auctioned bridge called whist and after he publishes the book he hears from the whist game society which claims that he has copied their rules and infringed their copyright and the rules and the court look

Thanks for your comment Britt Isome, have a nice day.
- Shaun Richters, Staff Member

if you do anything creative like make youtube videos paint portraits or compose your own music you may want to learn how to copyright your original content but before you start filling out paperwork let us show you the basics this video focuses on how to copyright your content in the United States and it should not be taken as legal advice when you create an original work you automatically own the copyright at the moment you write it down or record it it may surprise you how quick and easy this can be but even if you simply draw something on a napkin you are not required to do anything else to legally possess the copyright however registering your work with the US Copyright Office will help you if you ever need to defend it in court to register content with the US Copyright Office go to www.deewr.gov.au/rjcp - email or their website once your work is registered it will be added to the Library of Congress keep in mind that certain types of content cannot be copyrighted such as facts procedures names titles and recipes that only lists ingredients you also can't copyright things like choreography or speeches unless they're saved somehow like in a video or audio recording regardless of what you create understanding how to copyright your work can help give you peace of mind GCF global creating opportunities for a better life

Thanks Kristyn your participation is very much appreciated
- Shaun Richters

About the author

Shaun Richters

I've studied applied physics at National Louis University in Chicago and I am an expert in sociology of peace, war, and social conflict. I usually feel happy. My previous job was adult literacy and remedial education teachers I held this position for 6 years, I love talking about satellite watching and cheese making. Huge fan of Sammy Sosa I practice skeleton and collect antique.