We talk a lot about intellectual property in business of game development. But how, exactly, do you define and protect your intellectual property within the U.S. legal system?

This is the problem faced by countless devs and publishers, a problem that often comes to light in public disputes involving companies like ZeniMax and King. At GDC Next 2014, video game attorney Mona Ibrahim took the stage to give game developers a brief hour-long overview of what intellectual property is, legally speaking, how you develop it and how you protect it over the course of your career.

It was a great talk because Ibrahim deflty explained IP law, broke down how local, state, federal and international governing bodies regulate and enforce IP laws, and shared some best practices for safeguarding your own IP.

If you missed her talk in person (or if you want to go back and get a refresher) you can now watch the entire talk for free over on the official GDC YouTube channel!

About the GDC Vault

In addition to this presentation, the GDC Vault and its new YouTube channel offers numerous other free videos, audio recordings, and slides from many of the recent Game Developers Conference events, and the service offers even more members-only content for GDC Vault subscribers.

Those who purchased All Access passes to recent events like GDC, GDC Europe, and GDC Next already have full access to GDC Vault, and interested parties can apply for the individual subscription via a GDC Vault subscription page. Group subscriptions are also available: game-related schools and development studios who sign up for GDC Vault Studio Subscriptions can receive access for their entire office or company by contacting staff via the GDC Vault group subscription page. Finally, current subscribers with access issues can contact GDC Vault technical support.

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