Why am I suitable as a games lawyer?

I have been a gamer myself since about 1980 when I received my first Atari as a gift from my parents. Later I turned my hobby into a profession. In 1998 I joined the games industry and learned a lot and established countless contacts.

I first worked for portals like Krawall.de and then set up my own computer game magazine with Looki.de (formerly JustGamers). After i left Looki.de by selling my shares to the investors, I helped build Ad2Games and later ran the largest advertising network for computer games for over 8 years. In addition, I founded OnLegends, a licensed trading company for computer game licensing, and was very active in Asia and South America as well as at all major conferences worldwide.

My entire CV can be viewed on the LinkedIn portal.

Publishing Contracts

As a lawyer, I have always had a great focus on looking after computer game developers.

As a developer of computer games, especially as an indie developer, it is currently increasingly difficult to actually make money with his creation. This is also true given the availability of some indie platforms such as Itch.io or the attempt by the Epic Store to attract indie developers. If you choose to market a game through a publisher, caution is often required. In publishing contracts, many stumbling blocks can lurk, which relate to subsequent remuneration, financing, the distribution of obligations and other things. With more than 10 years of experience in the games sector, I can effectively offer the creation or verification of such contracts and, of course, also review contracts in English.

Through my work as a company for OnLegends GmbH, which specialized in the mediation of gaming licenses from Asia to Europe and from Europe to South America, I have a wealth of experience with publishing and licensing agreements all over the world. This is why I can not only offer pure legal advice, but also help to optimize negotiation results for developers.

Licensing agreements

Licensing agreements should be the tools of most media companies, and thus also of game developers and game publishers.

They are required to publish editorial content, to use graphics, but also, of course, to offer works by third parties, for example as publishers, publishers or software distributors. As a rule, license agreements are also required to produce own works, for example when code components or other works are to be manufactured by third parties and used in their own factory. With more than 10 years of experience as a lawyer, I can make written contracts for the IT and media industry legally secure. Through my entrepreneurial activity as a licensing agent with OnLegends GmbH, I have also gained experience of what fair conditions for licensing agreements look like, as well as extensive contacts and experience in Asian and South American Market.

My extensive legal experience in German and international copyright law enable me to legally correct review of all kinds of licensing agreements as well as to draw up new contracts. In doing so, I will always keep an eye on the budget and interest of the client and, of course, incorporate my many years of experience as an entrepreneur.

Terms and Conditions and Privacy Statements

If you publish your game yourself, you usually need general terms and conditions. Due to the very extensive, diverse and complicated case law, the need to educate consumers and the constant risk of warning, a professional preparation should be considered. Unlike standard online shops, the use of generators is usually not possible with game publishers or browser games, because the legal questions are too specific. In the past, I have gained extensive experience in combining gtC creation and consulting in order not to have to produce artificial legal texts, nor to make it difficult for clients to do their day-to-day business.

The same applies to the preparation of data protection declarations. While there are already good standard texts for this, they should be flown over – at least briefly. In special cases or when there is a need as a company/freelancer to apply data protection in everyday business, I can effectively combine the creation of legal texts, with information of employees and optimization of operations.

Start-up of a company

I specialize in supporting companies in the start-up phase. This is especially true for game developers, many of whom I have already supported in matters of company form, promotion, investment or publishing contracts.

One’s own independence usually starts with the planning of the company, in which I discuss with the clients the various possibilities, evaluate advantages and disadvantages and discuss the necessary steps. In the actual start-up phase, I help with communication with authorities, the preparation of shareholder contracts and other documents such as employment contracts or other standard works. Even consulting in the field of investment or unusual things like Slicing Pie agreements are not special to me. I accompany clients through all steps, and it is a matter of course for me to always address costs and alternatives fairly and openly.

There are many aspects to consider when setting up a company. Due to my many years of experience as an entrepreneur, I can not only provide legal advice and assistance to clients, but can also help with a wide range of business development issues. In doing so, I will always be fully active for a client, weighing up the advantages and disadvantages in conversations and thereby delivering unmatched added value. This is possible for me, as I not only have almost 20 years of experience in the media industry and am very well networked internationally, but also because I have a great personal interest in the IT and media sector. Extensive experience with publishing platforms such as Steam, the PlayStore, GoG or the Epic Store also helps me to enable game developers and publishers to be legally secure and successful.

So my advantages are that I can’t just create contracts and documents without having to explain many technical terms to me. Rather, I can proactively point to risks and problems and share my experience in the games industry, which is why I work more effectively than other law firms in this area.