Delivering a game to market isn’t easy. As with any industry, you have to pay attention to what the law says you can and cannot do with your game. You also have to understand the practical realities of developing, distributing, promoting and protecting your game. They may not all apply to your specific circumstances, but those that do can have a heavy and lasting impact on the future of your business. Finding out which of these you should focus on is half the battle. We can help you with a practical legal framework that describes the most important legal considerations that apply to the video game industry in South Africa.
What laws apply to video games?
Video games are a mix of various parts of law. In many instances, they can be an IT service, a consumer product, an age-classifiable work, and a potential gambling law infringement, all rolled into one. Some of the most important laws or legal considerations are:
- Consumer law – including the Consumer Protection Act and Electronic Communications and Transactions Act
- Data protection law – including POPIA or the GDPR, especially if your video game has an online subscription
- Intellectual property law – including the Copyright Act and licencing agreements
- Film law – including the Film and Publications Act
How does a legal framework help?
Our practical legal framework on video game law is more than a list of IT laws, which describes the various laws that apply to information technology. Instead, it is a flavour of IT legal framework, and highlights:
- the laws and practical considerations that apply to the video game industry,
- what practical effects they may have on your business, and
- what the possible next steps could be to help you to protect your business and your game, and ensure that you comply with the law.
The video game legal framework is designed as a high-level overview of the relevant laws. This helps you to identify which areas of law are most likely to impact you, and where you need to focus your attention.
What else can you do?
If you want more detailed help, you can ask us to help you:
- understand what your specific roadmap to achieving your goal should look like, by conducting a requirements assessment,
- answer a specific legal question, by asking us for a legal opinion,
- gauge your level of compliance with the law and what gaps you need to fill, by doing a gap analysis.
Interested?
If you are interested, please complete the form on the right or enquire now. We will contact you to find out more about your requirements and give you a quote.
