ID:1294477
 

Poll: Lose rights when I sell my source?

Yes. 75% (22)
No, still retain rights. 24% (7)

Login to vote.

I need some more intel on a recent problem/situation.
If I were to develop a game and get an offer from someone who wants to buy it from me. Once I sell the source I pretty much have no control over how they use it correct? Or can I tell the person who purchased it what they can and can't do with it (after the purchase)

I'd like to hear about both versions (games that are fanbased and original)
You could attempt to make some sort of legal document, but I doubt you could (even afford to (in terms of it even been worth it)) force any action.
When you sell it there is no practical or reasonable way to maintain control over it so you can assume that you lose the rights unless you specifically make the person it is sold to, sign a legal document.
:I
I'd like to think you would lose all rights to the source in question.
Dariuc wrote:
I need some more intel on a recent problem/situation.
If I were to develop a game and get an offer from someone who wants to buy it from me. Once I sell the source I pretty much have no control over how they use it correct? Or can I tell the person who purchased it what they can and can't do with it (after the purchase)

I'd like to hear about both versions (games that are fanbased and original)

Aight boo, let's break this down.

Do I retain source rights if my game is...?

Fan Game
Nope! As easy as that. No one but the IP holder and those who rightfully license the series have no rights whatsoever over this source. If you attempt to sell your fan game source and news gets out, someone (like me) who cares enough to report you will do so and you fill face legal consequences if they care to press charges.

Even though you (or someone else) did the code and the art, it is based off of something that is really not your own. You have no right to sell it, you are making money off of essentially stolen IP.

Original IP
If your game is an original IP, this is all up to you. As stated in the comments, if you sell your source on an "as-is" one and done status, you own no rights to the source code. It exists only to be used towards the buyers will.

If you type up a contract however, and have the buyer agree and sign it, they are bound to the terms you set. Your contract could note that while the buyer is purchasing a copy of the source, they are only being given rights to that copy. With that, you can add on that you (the original owner) still retains rights to the game / source, and anyone else who purchases it. Alternatively you can say in your contract that you still hold the rights to suggest changes in their project if you don't want to sell many source copies.

As long as you make a reasonable contract for a buyer to sign that alludes to you retaining some form of owner ship, you're good to go. Also note in your contracts that while you did sell them the rights (we want to stress rights, not full ownership), they cannot in turn sell their rights off to someone else. If they breach this, you can actually threaten them with legal force.
A question I've had for a long time. If someone were to copy your idea, how would anyone even know it was your idea first if what you have wasn't really famous or well known?
^ Get a NDA.
What is that.
What does it do.
How do I obtain it?
No one would know it was your idea unless you could show logs / screenshots of your encounters with the idea copier. In these examples you have to find a way to prove you explained the idea to them, and then show some time lapses between when you discussed / showed the idea, and when they revealed the idea. Bonus points if they show mal-intent.

HOWEVER! If you can't really prove they meant to copy your idea, then it doesn't matter. Especially with how so many games that are released are already very similar in some way or another with features and looks.
An NDA is a non-disclosure agreement. It is a contract that you sign, typically during game betas, or even idea presentations. If someone signs it they agree to not copy anything shown of the product, and they cannot talk about until the NDA is lifted.

You obtain it by writing one... there are templates.
I did that before. With my development team for the early making of LoAW. I told them not to speak of the games purpose and storyline and how it functions. And they all signed. o.O
If you had an actual document that they put their legal name on (middle name optional), and it was labelled NDA, then yes, they are bound to it. If they cross, bring it up.
Wasn't labelled NDA.
Then it's a lot less official and I don't know if it could be held up as legitimately as a "real" one.
Agh. Alrighty. Thanks.
Some sites allow you to freely craft NDA's I've used one before a while back.

@ Enigmatic, I thought that was the case. I mostly posted this because someone else was having this issue, and I needed to know what to advise them of.
http://creativecommons.org/choose/

Choose a license and attach it to your source. Boom.
Just make sure you keep some form of intellectual rights on it because in the future if you ever release a game, lib, etc... the party that bought the source code form you could try to get you for copyright because they own the rights to the code, and if you reuse any of it in the future.