About Session
Getting legal advice can be daunting but is critically important. This talk gives indie and emerging studios a practical legal playbook built from real-world mistakes and fixes, as well as an opportunity to ask games lawyers questions. Drawing on experience advising game companies across Canada and internationally, 3 lawyers from global firm DLA Piper break down the issues that most often trip teams up: contracts, IP ownership and assignments, cross-border hiring, record-keeping, marketing claims, tax exposure, and more.
Using concrete examples from studio life, we show how small early decisions (often made under time pressure) can quietly create major legal and financial risk down the road… or, done right, reduce it substantially. We also walk through how to work effectively with legal counsel: when to bring a lawyer in, how to prepare for that conversation, and what you can confidently handle in-house. Last, time permitting, we will give you a chance to ask any burning legal questions (hypothetically!) to set you on the right path.
Whether you’re forming your studio or about to engage in complex discussions with a publisher or platform (or anything in between), this session is designed to make it easy for you to identify key issues.
Takeaway
Attendees leave with a practical checklist of legal red flags tailored to indie and small studios, plus clear guidance on contracts, IP ownership, cross-border hiring (including Canadian considerations), taxes, and compliant marketing. You’ll also gain a better sense of when to engage counsel, and how to get the most out of those conversations.
Intended Audience
Indie and small studio founders, producers, and team leads responsible for deals, hiring, or IP decisions. No legal background required, but a basic understanding of game development and studio operations will help. Anyone looking to make legal issues more manageable and less intimidating will benefit.
XP Curated Expert Roundtables are available to Conference and VIP pass holders.
Limited capacity ensures focused discussion. Advance registration through MeetToMatch is required and seats will fill quickly.
