Re:Getting sweet patron money on the modern internet (2020)
by PragmaticPulp on Tuesday July 27, 2021 @11:07AM
(#27973344)
Definitely don’t use employer equipment to produce work that you intend to profit from.
As always, consult a lawyer and understand the implications of any IP assignment clauses in employment contracts. That said, IP assignment clauses are generally intended to cover works related to your employment. If your day job is writing SaaS backend code in Java, a reasonable employer has no interest in paying lawyers to seize your indie video game IP. However, if your day job is writing video games and your passion project is also a video game, your employer has a reasonable position to argue that your video game overlaps too much with your work for hire and could be at risk. This can be true even without an explicit IP assignment clause, so don’t assume the employment contract is the final word on the matter.
Ironically, this means it’s safer to work a non-gamedev day job if your goal is to make video games on the side.
The easiest path might be the one mentioned above: Work a standard day job that pays well, build up a comfortable amount of savings for a decade, and then use that cushion to do what you want. The failure rate for indie game devs is massive, so plan career paths and finances such that it won’t be the end of the world if it doesn’t work out.
As always, consult a lawyer and understand the implications of any IP assignment clauses in employment contracts. That said, IP assignment clauses are generally intended to cover works related to your employment. If your day job is writing SaaS backend code in Java, a reasonable employer has no interest in paying lawyers to seize your indie video game IP. However, if your day job is writing video games and your passion project is also a video game, your employer has a reasonable position to argue that your video game overlaps too much with your work for hire and could be at risk. This can be true even without an explicit IP assignment clause, so don’t assume the employment contract is the final word on the matter.
Ironically, this means it’s safer to work a non-gamedev day job if your goal is to make video games on the side.
The easiest path might be the one mentioned above: Work a standard day job that pays well, build up a comfortable amount of savings for a decade, and then use that cushion to do what you want. The failure rate for indie game devs is massive, so plan career paths and finances such that it won’t be the end of the world if it doesn’t work out.