作者：Dan Rogers

最近一次游戏开发者大会的调查发现，不出意料地，有53%的与会者把自己定位为独立开发者，这个比例与说自己在公司与10个或以下的员工合作的开发者非常接近。

随着手机游戏和休闲游戏市场的爆发，开发者迎来了令人振奋的时期。但现实是，大多数独立游戏开发者缺少适应这个新时期必须的法律知识。

许多人侥幸渡过难关，也有一些人就没有那么走运了。

在本文的第一部分，我已经介绍了了独立开发者常陷入的3种法律误区，即无意侵犯他人的IP权、自己的版权和商标被别人盗用，以及与合作方签订不合理的合同。

在第二部分，我们将继续了解另外三个常见的法律错误。

startup mistakes(from roxannemadams)

错误4：并购和经营不当

大多数独立开发者都知道，公司是能给他们提供一定债务保护的法律实体，但鲜有人意识到无视公司正规形式会导致这个实体脆弱到不堪一击。

法律上有一个词叫作“刺破公司面纱原则”（游戏邦注：指当公司经营者或股东滥用公司独立人格，导致公司债权人利益及社会公共利益受损时，法律要求其对公司的违法行为负责），指的就是这样一种情况：法律的死亡射线必然会穿过企业的力场，使处于企业内部的个人对他们以为能保护他们的公司的侵权和违法行为负责。

公司面纱如何被刺破？不同的州法有不同的规定，但存在共通之处：

1、缺少公司运作流程。通常来说，只要公司存在一日，它的运作就受法律的监督。例如，举行定期会议、有足够的资本、如实地记录业务和交易情况，等等。

如果一家公司没有达到上述要求，就被视为该公司的股东滥用公司独立人格。当这种情况发生时，这些人就要对公司的行为和债务负责。

2、混淆个人财产和公司财产。与上一条类似，当公司被证明只是一个“空壳”，即缺少独立和分离的资本时，公司的防护甲就会被刺穿。

3、欺诈。当法庭发现公司经营者借以公司的名义从事违法活动，那么经营者就要为该公司的行为负责。

另一个问题与公司形式本身有关。什么时候以及如何组织公司——责任有限公司还是股份有限公司或其他形式，决定了你必须遵循的规程。忽视这些细节可能让你面临灾难性的后果：那些把你的公司告上法庭的人会紧紧抓住这一点。

最后，考虑到虽然责任有限公司和小型公司在一定程度上更容易管理，风投和天使基金通常倾向于投资那些可以发行股票和税收问题最小的实体。

错误5：合作协议不严密

Mike Kerns出身于南加州的一个中产家庭。受Band of Brothers的自立、聪明和忠诚的信条的影响，他从来不惧表达自己的观点。那就是Peter Morris欣赏他的地方。Peter认为Mike会为他的小型游戏咨询公司做出巨大贡献。

所以Peter让Mike进入董事会，并希望Mike最终成为全面合作者。两年以后，他们却成为死对头，Peter认为如果不是因为他坚持要Mike签合作协议，情况一定会更糟糕。

但令人惊讶的是，极少人会花时间制定一份考虑周全的合作协议，尽管根据哈佛商学院的研究表明，90%-95%的小工作室因此倒闭。

合作协议就好比婚前协议，你应试有非常明确的考虑：

1、先确定技术所有权归谁，然后再确定合作关系。

2、谁当老大以及如何决策。

3、当合作者死亡或伤残时，配偶是否可以介入其商业。

4、如何以及何时分配收益。

5、公司支付的费用有哪些。

6、合作者是否可以享受医疗保险以及什么类医疗保险。

7、如何处理合作者的自动离职

8、什么情况下可以撤销合作者。

9、如何处理公司的解体。

10、什么情况下可以加入新的合作者。

如果没有提前达成共识，以上每一条都可能成为合作失败的导火线。另一方面，对于那些花时间制定可靠的合作协议的人，合作失败虽然令人痛心，但至少原则还在。

错误6：不理解第三方投资

资金是王道，特别是对于刚起步的小公司。但从哪里拉投资和如何对待投资方可能成为严重的法律隐患，特别是违反安全交易委员会的规定（SEC）。

这方面的法律是很复杂的，必须有资深律师帮助你对付它。但简单地说，当你考虑以下情况时，警钟就敲响了：

1、出售、许诺出售或交易公司股票，因为这些活动要求遵守复杂的SEC规定。虽然也有例外——包括私募、销售给受信投资者、种子基金和众筹，你必须有非常可靠的法律建议，知道你是否合格、要承担什么义务以及填定什么文件。

1、广告或出售债券。什么是债券？公司中的任何类型的投资或收益，也就是占公司资产或收益的某个百分比的股票。

2、出售债券或向投资者承诺未来收益，每年收益不超过20万美元或净值少于100万美元。

3、发行早期股本，因为这可能严重影响公司以后的收购或兼并。

众筹已经成为游戏开发者为项目寻求资助的流行方式。请注意，虽然这种活动在美国是受认可的，但局势总是变化得又快又大。

作为游戏开发者，在发布你的众筹项目以前，你必须考虑到两点：

1、越来越多赞助者挑起诉讼案。你应该意识到，这种众人捐助的活动会产生契约责任，过分许诺或达不到预期都可能构成违约。所以在发起众筹活动以前，你要确保你的公司组织形式是合适的。

2、基于众筹的股本是非常复杂的，相关法规还在无定案。虽然所有人都迫不及待地等着SEC法规落实到这个领域，但目前可能最好对这个领域保持谨慎态度。

谁会想得到5年以前，当所有分配渠道都掌控在EA、动视和育碧的手中时，一些只能在车库里搞开发、营销和发行的年轻程序员和美工会做出不仅能与他们抗衡，而且甚至打败他们的游戏呢？

与此同时，应用开发方面的法律问题也越来越多。我们讨论的6个问题是普遍存在的。现在，精明的独立开发者要保证他们的法律知识与他们编写代码的能力一样扎实。

本文旨在唤起独立开发者的意识，不是专业的法律建议，也不企图读者与作者达到律师-客户关系。（本文为游戏邦/gamerboom.com编译，拒绝任何不保留版权的转载，如需转载请联系：游戏邦）

Six legal mistakes app developers make – Part 2

by Dan Rogers

A recent Game Developer’s Conference study found, unsurprisingly, that 53 per cent of the attendees they polled identified themselves as indie developers, with nearly the same percentage saying that they work in companies with ten or fewer people.

With the explosion of mobile and casual gaming, this has created exciting times for entrepreneurs, but the reality is that most independent game developers lack the legal expertise necessary to navigate this new publishing world.

Many will make it through unscathed. Others, unfortunately, won’t be as lucky.

In the first half of this series, we discussed three legal mistakes that indies make more often than they often realise: unintentionally infringing another’s IP rights, failing to secure copyrights and trademarks before an infringement is discovered, and failing to use properly drafted contracts with contractors.

We continue now with three more common indie legal mistakes.

MISTAKE #4 – FAILING TO PROPERLY INCORPORATE AND OPERATE

C Corp. S Corp. LLC. No Corp. Most indies understand that a corporation is a legal entity that provides them a certain level of liability protection, but few realise that ignoring corporate formalities can render this shield vulnerable to attack.

The legal term for breaking through a corporation’s structure and reaching the principals and officers inside is called ‘Piercing the Veil’, and it’s fairly descriptive of what happens: a legal death ray essentially cuts through the corporate force field, leaving the individuals inside liable for the torts and infringements of the company they thought was protecting them.

How the corporate veil is pierced is generally determined on a state-by-state basis, but here are some common ways it can happen:

-     Ignoring corporate formalities. Generally, corporations exist in the eyes of the court so long as they operate as such. Corporations, for example, are required to hold regular meetings, have adequate funding, and faithfully keep maintain their business records and transactions.

C Corporations that fail to do so risk being deemed an alter ego of the principals and stockholders running the organisation. When this happens, these same people can be liable for the corporation’s acts and debts.

-     Co-mingling personal and corporate money. Similar to the above, when a party can show that the corporation is nothing more than fa?ade, proven by a lack of distinct and separate corporate funding and monies, the corporation’s protective armor can be penetrated.

-     Fraud. Where the court finds a corporation is a sham to hide illegal activities, the parties inside can be liable for acts of the organisation.

Another issue raised is in the corporate form itself. When and how you chose to incorporate – whether as an LLC, C Corp, or otherwise – will mandate what procedures you are required to follow.

Failing to pay attention to these details can be fatal. And one thing you can count on: those who bring suit against your corporation will look at this very closely.

Finally, consider that while LLCs and S Corps may, in some ways, be easier to manage, venture and angel funds generally prefer to invest in entities where stock and options of various flavors can be issued and tax issues minimised

MISTAKE #5 – FAILING TO CREATE BULLETPROOF PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENTS

Mike Kerns (fictitious name) was raised in a middle-class neighborhood in Southern California. Self-reliant, street-smart, with a loyalty tenet cast from Band of Brothers clay, he was never shy about expressing his opinion. That’s what Peter Morris (name also fictitious) liked about him. Peter believed that Mike would make a great addition to his small but profitable video game
consulting firm.

So Peter brought Mike on board with the idea that Mike would eventually become a full partner. Two years later they were bitter enemies, and Peter acknowledges that if not for the partnership agreement he insisted Mike sign, things would have ended much worse.

Surprisingly, few take the time to create clearly thought-through partnership agreements, despite the fact that, according to Harvard Business School, 90 per cent-to-95 per cent of all start-ups fail.

Think of a partnership agreement like a marital prenuptial, and then consider what it clarifies:

-     Ownership of technologies created prior to the partnership and use thereafter.

-     Who’s in charge and how decisions are made.

-     Whether a spouse can become involved in the business at the death or disability of a partner.

-     How profits are divided and when.

-     What expenses the company will pay.

-     Whether and what type of health plan the partners can participate in.

-     What happens when a partner leaves voluntarily.

-     How partners can be removed.

-     What happens when the corporation dissolves.

-     How new partners will be brought into the company.

Each of these issues can turn into a powder keg where partners have failed to agree in advance. On the other hand, for those who take the time to create solid partnership agreements, a break-up may be painful, but at least the rules of the road are defined.

MISTAKE #6 – FAILING TO UNDERSTAND THE IMPLICATIONS OF THIRD-PARTY INVESTMENTS

Cash is king, especially when a business is in start-up mode. But where you get your investments and how you treat them afterward can have significant legal implications, especially with regard to Security and Exchange Commission regulations.

The laws in this area are complex, and it takes an experienced lawyer to help you through them. For simplicity sake, however, alarms should ring when you are thinking about:

-     Selling, offering to sell, or exchanging your company stock, since these activities require compliance with complex SEC regulations. While there are exemptions – including private placements, sales to accredited investors, seed capital, and crowd-funding (discussed briefly below) – you’ll need competent legal advice to know if you qualify and what obligations and filings are necessary.

-     Advertising or making general solicitations to market securities. What’s a security? Any sort of investment or interest in a company, which can mean anything from stock to a percentage of a corporation’s assets or profits.

-     Selling securities or promising future profits to investors who make less than $200,000 annually or with a net worth of less than $1 million.

-     Issuing early stage equity, since this can greatly impact mergers or acquisitions later.

Crowdfunding has also become a popular way for game developers to finance their projects. Be aware that while this activity is recognised in the United States, things have been moving forward rather quickly and loosely.

As a game developer, two concerns should be on your mind before you launch your next crowdfunded project:

-     Lawsuits initiated by disappointed backers are becoming more common. Recognise that your donation-based campaign creates a contractual obligation, and over promising or under delivering can be grounds for a breach of contract claim. So before launching your next campaign, make sure you’re properly incorporated.

-     Equity based crowdfunding, meaning you offer an interest in your company or profits, is complex and the rules are still being finalized. While everyone is anxiously awaiting for SEC rules in
this area, for now it’s probably best to hold off.

Who would have thought five years ago – when EA, Activision, and Ubisoft were dominating all the distribution channels – that a handful of young programmers and artists working from their garage could develop, market, and launch a game that not only competed with them, but could beat them soundly.

At the same time, the legal risks involved in app development are growing. The six issues we’ve discussed are common but by no means comprehensive. These days a prudent indie needs to make sure their legal ducks are as orderly as the code that’s driving their next hit game.

This information is not legal advice. This article is provided for commentary purposes only, and is not legal advice nor does it create an attorney-client relationship between the author and any reader.(source:develop-online)