IP Mistakes Too Many Indies Make (And How to Avoid Them)
Too many indie game devs learn the hard way why understanding IP matters. This session seeks to save you the headache, the heartache and the cost that comes from those mistakes. In this webinar, intellectual property experts from around the globe break down the most common errors early-stage games creators make when it comes to IP to help keep you from making them.
Speakers include:
Michał Pękała: Partner and the head of the Video Games & Entertainment practice of Rymarz Zdort Maruta (Poland)
Krista Hiner, Partner and lawyer at ESG Law (United States)
Petr Bratský, Managing Associate with Kinstellar (Czech Republic)
Expanded bios bios below.
This session is part of The Next Great IP Game Jam, with the Global Game Jam and World Intellectual Property Organization. Join the jam here: https://itch.io/jam/the-next-great-ip-gamejam
About the panelists:
Michał Pękała is an advocate, a partner and the head of the Video Games & Entertainment practice of Rymarz Zdort Maruta. He has extensive experience in advising entities from the video games industry such as developers, publishers, industry investors, porting houses, asset providers, freelancers, YouTubers, influencers and e-sports teams. He specialises in providing comprehensive full-cycle legal advice on the creation and commercialisation of video games. Among other things, he advises on financing transactions for gaming entities, as well as in regard to companies preparing to launch IPOs. Michał is a legal expert for WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organisation) in relation to video games. He also assists with the acquisition and protection of intellectual property rights for video games, trademark and brand protection, and the development of overall legal strategies for video game companies. He works closely with the Indie Games Poland Foundation, advising on the legal aspects of the video game market, as well as provides free legal advice to independent developers. In the past, he advised the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage on the legal aspects of the video game market.
Krista Hiner is a partner and lawyer at ESG Law where she regularly advises indie publishers and developers on intellectual property considerations. Virtually all aspects of any videogame is made up of IP: everything from the code to UI design, to artistic style, to the soundtrack and more. She helps her clients understand this, how to properly protect it (such as through copyright and trademark registration), how to safely monetize it (such as through licensing deals), and how to avoid accidentally misusing IP owned by someone else. Krista’s practice touches all corners of the videogame industry and on any given day you can find her working with studios, publishers, composers, content creators, esports teams, games merchandising companies, and UGC developers.
Petr Bratský is a Managing Associate with Kinstellar, an international law firm that provides legal services in Central and Eastern Europe, Southeast Europe and Central Asia, where he serves as the Head of the firm-wide Interactive Entertainment & Gaming sector. He is an expert in Technology, Data Protection, Intellectual Property and Entertainment Law, including Video Game Law. He focuses on providing comprehensive advice to both international and local clients on all legal aspects of video games. Petr also has significant experience in the field of media and film law, representing major production companies in all stages of film production and also in regulatory matters (mainly consumer protection, digital services and data protection).