Copyright

Copyright is the economic framework for the production and distribution of digital goods such as computer and video games. game is committed to ensuring that creative work is fairly remunerated and that overly complicated copyright law does not become a locational disadvantage for German developers and publishers.

The biggest copyright reform of the past 20 years came into force in the summer of 2021. The games industry and its Let’s Players and creators are significantly less affected by the changes than other creative industries. Most games providers have long allowed memes, Let’s Plays, walkthroughs and many other creative forms of use through their guidelines, which game has compiled in a central directory. Under the new rules, these permissions are extended to the platforms, so that no separate licensing by social media platforms is required. If unauthorised uses nevertheless occur on a social media platform, such as a pre-release leak of a game, the platform can still be requested to remove the content under the “notice and takedown” procedure. Upload filters, as used for music, films or live sports broadcasts, are not in use in the games industry.

Another important topic is the use of artificial intelligence in games development. The games industry has long been using AI applications in many different ways – from the initial creation of game worlds and believable game characters to localisation. This raises copyright questions, for example regarding the protectability of AI-generated content. The game as a whole remains protected by the producers’ related rights, even if individual components are AI-generated. For the training of AI models, the existing text and data mining exception provides a sufficient legal framework from the perspective of the games industry. An in-depth look at the use of AI in games and the associated legal questions is provided in the supplement: MMR 08-2024 – AI and Games

For further information on the copyright fundamentals for the games industry, game has also published a supplement in the legal journal MMR: MMR 08-2023 – Copyright and Games