IT is a constantly evolving field that requires proper protection of intellectual property rights. Special emphasis should be placed on video game rights protection when projects of leading IT companies around the world are directly faced with the problem of piracy and incur large and sometimes incredible losses that can even lead to the company’s bankruptcy.
What is piracy?
Piracy is the unauthorized use or reproduction of someone’s work, such as music, movies, software, and video games.
Piracy is the violation of property and personal non-property rights of authors, performers, rights/product owners, manufacturers’ rights, etc.
Piracy takes many forms, such as:
– creation of illegal copies of copyrighted objects;
– exchange of copyrighted objects;
– sale of copyrighted objects using the Internet for such actions;
Piracy in Ukraine
Piracy has always been a significant problem in Ukraine, especially in the digital sphere since the advent of the Internet. In the noughties, downloading or burning a video game, music, or movie from the Internet seemed like a common thing, and the vast majority of people did not think about the fact that they were violating copyright. The problem was not only that people were downloading the same video games over the Internet without any further responsibility for it, but also the indifference of government agencies and Ukrainian legislation that did not regulate the issue of piracy and, frankly, neglected this problem.
At the same time, Microsoft Ukraine has done some interesting research on unlicensed use. According to the company’s estimates: “The Economic Impact of Unlicensed Software in Ukraine” due to the distribution and use of unlicensed content in 2017 confirmed that more than $68 million in direct tax revenues to the state budget were lost, which caused significant losses to the economy and budget of Ukraine.
However, over time, Ukrainian legislation has been amended and supplemented, which has led to a gradual reduction in offenses related to the growth of intellectual property rights, BUT practice shows that there are still gaps in our legislation that are actively exploited by pirates. Such facts may be evidenced by the fact that there are no criminal cases on piracy, and the vast majority of offenders avoid responsibility for their actions.
Obtaining rights to your video game and ways to protect them.
Creating a video game always involves time, labor, and monetary contributions. Therefore, the importance of proper protection of a video game is a prerequisite for further realization.
Let’s note the options for protecting the rights to a video game:
Copyright registration. Copyright allows you to protect the intellectual property of your video game for the game code, characters, game script, music, the construction of the video game, etc.- Registration of the name, logo, key characters, slogans, etc. of a video game using a TM (trademark).
- Use of license agreements and rights transfer agreements. A license agreement is a document that allows other companies to use your game for a fee.
- Taking legal action if you believe that your rights have been violated. For example, filing a complaint (claim) with the violator, filing a lawsuit with the court or other authorized bodies for protection.
You can also seek legal assistance from our company, we will be happy to advise you and help you to reliably protect your rights or restore the rights that have already been violated.
