1. Legal
Intellectual Property
(IP) is a term referring to a number of distinct types of creations of the
mind for which a set of exclusive rights are recognized and the
corresponding fields of law. Intellectual property law grants owners a set
of specific rights over their creations be they musical, literary, and artistic
works; discoveries and inventions; and words, phrases, symbols and
designs for instances if an artist designs a unique character then offers to
sell it to a company to use in a new game and the company refuses but
proceeds to use the character anyway as long as the artist who originally
designed the character can prove he was the author he has the right to
sue the offending company and claim the rights to the character in court.
IP laws are intended to protect both companies and their employees from
being exploited yet they are also exploited by certain individuals who take
advantage of those who can’t prove they own the rights to a product
because they have not registered a dated copy of their design or creation
with the proper authorities.

2. Copy Right
Copy Right is a term referring to the ownership of a piece of literary or artistic
example (for example a book or painting) Copy Right is an automatic right
which makes it different from other forms of IP there are no forms to fill or
fees to pay but a record of the product to prove the copy right belongs to the
creator.
Trade Mark
Trademark is a term referring to the ownership a logo, slogan, or phrase
representing a brand or product (for example the large yellow M and
phrase “im lovin’ it” used by Mc Donalds the main purpose of a
Trademark is the distinguish the goods or services between two
companies.

3. Patent
A patent is given by the government to the inventor of a new and innovative
product. A patent has a limited duration but for the time it is valid the
patent anyone who makes, sells, or uses the invention must have the
permission of the inventor to do so legally.
Registered Designs
A Registered Design is the visual appeal of a product and everything from food
packaging to cars come under the jurisdiction of Registered Design Laws

4. Ethical Violence
Since their rise in cultural dominance video games have faced a lot of
controversy with adult aspects believed to have negative effects on players
the most prominent of these is violence with so many games involving violent
acts such as killing and fighting many are concerned that games are making
influential gamers more violent. A good example is a court case that took
place several years ago in which teenager stabbed a nurse and when
questioned afterwards simply stated that he had seen it in a game and
wanted to try it. Yet blame cannot solely be placed on the games it is up to
the gamer to understand the difference between a violent act in a game and
the same thing in the real world.

5. PEGI Rating
With so much controversy in gaming the PEGI (Pan-European Game Information)
rating system was developed to give parents an idea of what a game contains
and make an informed decision on whether or not to purchase the game for
their children.
Education
Games have long been used to try and educate their users since many of them
are of a younger age there is a great possibility of buffing education with brain
teasing puzzles and challenges as well as historical games (such as age of
empires) who’s campaigns depict in detail, great historic events.

6. Stereotyping
Stereotyping occurs often in games often without realisation in military action
games it takes the form of Asians and Russians being terrorists and
warmongers this may not seem bad when you’re playing but it does give them
a very negative cultural image and could possibly induce discrimination and
racism game developers often take steps to ensure that no material to
sensitive is released and that antagonists in games that may fit a cultural
stereotype is emphasised as an individual.
Addiction development and
addiction has been a factor in games since their early
though it is only now being recognised as a real affliction there have long
been stories of gamers dying or becoming seriously ill from playing games for
extended periods of time.

7. Contractual
Employment contracts
An Employment Contract sets the terms for what the company expects from its
employees and what the company will do for its employees in return. Contracts
will include information such as the employees wage and other benefits,
confidentiality about inventions and will often (if not always) include terms where
the employee agrees not to compete against the company during and for a short
term after the employment contract has ended.

8. Development Agreements
When Publishers hire Developers to create games they come to a
Development Agreement, this will state the terms of the deal such as
what timeframe the developers have to create the game, how much the
publishers will pay for that game and if the developers will receive
royalties or not and what the royalty rate it. A good example of a when a
development agreement goes sour would be with the company blizzard
and the strategy games they originally developed for Warhammer,
Blizzard wanted more money for their game than Warhammer would pay
so Blizzard took their game and changed it so it didn’t break any Copy
Right laws and re-released it as Warcraft a strategy game which greatly
overshadowed most Warhammer games in sales and continued to do so
for each sequal, the spinoff “World of Warcraft” is today one of the most
played and most profitable games in the world.

9. License Agreements
When movie becomes popular it is not uncommon for gaming companies to
want to cash in on the success by making it into a game, in this case the
company approaches the movie IP owner and make a contract which give the
gaming company temporary rights to use assets from the movie in the
production of a game. The contract will include terms on what is to be licensed
(what assets from the movie can and cannot be used or changed) what platforms
the license can be used for (pc, xbox360, ps3, etc.) and how long the contract
will last.

10. NDA and Confidentiality Agreement
an NDA or Confidentiality Agreement (both are very similar so this explanation
should cover both) is an agreement in which one party discloses sensitive
information to a second party to ensure security in a business deal in event that
either party breaks the agreement (the first party breaking the business deal or
the second party disclosing the sensitive information to the public) the offending
party face serious charges in the court of law.
Collaboration Agreements
There are a lot of management problems with indie games with only small
teams and each individual constantly debating their worth with the strong
possibility of the game failing and no money being made at all it becomes
necessary for an agreement to be made deciding who will get what and what
happens if the project falls flat this is where Collaboration Agreements come
in they contain information on salary, compensation as well as how the IP for
individual assets is given and what happens if the project is terminated.

11. Professional Bodies
ELSPA the UK’s wider interactive
UKIE is the only trade body for
(UKIE)
entertainment industry the exist to serve the interests of the
interactive entertainment industry by providing a positive
image of the industry ensure that its members have right
economical, political and social backing needed to thrive.
They do this by building strong relations with members of
parliament and policymakers to ensure the needs of the
industry are supported by their local government.

12. IGDA
The IGDA (International Game Developers Association) is the largest
non profit membership organisationthat works to improve the lives
and enhance the careers of game developers. They do this by
connecting developers with their peers and advocating on issues
that affect the developer community. They promote several core
values in their organisation such as
• Community
• Professionalism
• Expression
• Innovation
• Impact
• Leadership
• Fun

13. Women In Games
Women In Games Jobs (WIGJ) is a company that works to recruit
more women into the games industry by promoting role models and
giving encouragement and information to those women seeking to
work in the gaming industry . It also works with both new entrants
and women already working in the gaming industry by retraining
them and providing support making it a more attractive industry in
which to work.

14. BAFTA
Bafta (The British Academy of Films and Television Arts) is a charity
supporting the “art forms of the moving image” (film, television
and video games) it does so my promoting them and identifying its
most skilled practitioners and rewarding them as well as
attempting to inspire and benefit the public.
MEF
The Mobile Entertainment Forum is a small project run by a team of 3
friends who work to produce reliable and honest information and
reviews on mobile gadgets, tools and apps for use by the general
public.