Game Studios Distribution Platform Agreements: What Indie Developers Need to Know About Steam, Epic, and Console Store Terms Steam's Steamworks agreement, Epic's developer terms, and console store contracts impose real legal obligations on indie developers — not just revenue splits. Here's what each platform actually claims, what it can do to your game and account, and what you can push back on.
Hardware Founders Invention Assignment Clauses — What They Actually Claim (And What They Don't) Your employer's invention assignment clause probably claims more than you assume. Here's what the four standard categories actually cover, where state law protects you (and where it doesn't), how the prior inventions schedule works, and what engineers should do before starting any personal project.
Hardware Founders Moonlighting from Arm, NXP, or Samsung Austin — What Your IP Assignment Clause Actually Claims Austin chip engineers sign IP assignment clauses that reach off-hours work. Here's what "related to company business" actually sweeps in, why Texas has no statutory floor like California's Labor Code § 2870, and the hygiene steps to take before starting any side project.
Musicians Label Deal Red Flags: What to Negotiate Before You Sign Taylor Swift's masters, Madonna's 90% touring share, California's broken 7-year rule for musicians: what every artist should fight for before signing a recording contract.
Hardware Founders Hardware Startup Fundraising: What's Different from SaaS Hardware startups need more capital, structured differently, across more rounds than SaaS. This guide covers the fundraising mechanics, investment instruments, non-dilutive capital access, and IP structures that define the hardware financing landscape.
Visual Artists Copyright vs. Trademark for Artists: Which Protection Do You Actually Need? Most artists know copyright protects their work — but not what trademark does differently, or when they need it. Here's the practical breakdown: copyright protects the art, trademark protects the brand, and some marks need both.
Visual Artists Gallery Representation Deals: What Artists Need to Know About Exclusivity, Splits, and Termination Gallery contracts cover more than just commission. Here is what visual artists need to know about exclusivity scope, payment timing, and protecting your work if the relationship ends.
Visual Artists The Visual Artist's AI Opt-Out Guide: What Actually Works in 2026 Three layers of defense — dataset, technical, legal — and which actually work for visual artists in 2026. Concrete steps for Spawning HIBT registration, Glaze cloaking, current AI-crawler robots.txt entries, EU TDMRep, and where DMCA still bites against AI outputs that copy your work.
Hardware Founders Hardware Patent Strategy for Early-Stage Founders: What to File, When, and Why It Matters Before Your Raise Hardware founders face a patent landscape categorically different from software — tighter deadlines, higher stakes at each development stage, and no automatic copyright fallback. What to file, when to file it, and how to build an IP stack that holds up in due diligence.
Visual Artists Commission Contracts for Artists: Protecting Your IP, Preventing Scope Creep, and Getting Paid When Projects Die A commissioned painting, illustration, or photograph cannot be work-for-hire — no matter what the contract says. Here is what your commission contract needs to cover: copyright ownership, scope creep prevention, kill fees, and the payment structure that protects you when projects die.
Hardware Founders Your Day Job Might Own Your Startup's IP: The Clean Separation Playbook for Deep-Tech Founders Most hardware engineers sign invention assignment agreements without reading them — and those agreements reach further than you think. What California and six other states protect, and the operational playbook for building your startup's IP without contaminating it with your employer's.
Streamers Talent Agreements with Managers and Agencies: Leverage Points for Streamers Signing with a manager or agency could double your earnings — or lock you into a deal you can't get out of. Here's what every streamer should negotiate before they sign.
Musicians Your Music Is Being Used to Train AI. Here's What You Can Actually Do About It. AI companies trained on tens of millions of recordings — including yours — without consent. Here's what the lawsuits mean, what opt-outs exist, and the steps you can take to protect your catalog now.
Musicians DIY Release Agreements: What Independent Musicians Need to Lock Down Before Distributing Most independent releases have at least one contract problem — you just never signed anything. This guide covers the collaboration agreements, split sheets, producer deals, and distribution terms every indie musician needs before uploading a single track.
Startup Central Startup Domain Strategy: Trademark Protection, UDRP Disputes, and Defensive Registration Many startups treat a domain as a quick technical purchase — secure the .com , ship the landing page, move on.
Intellectual Property & Branding Trademark Lifespan and Renewals: A Complete Guide for Startups and Growing Companies For startups and growing companies, a trademark is more than a name or logo — it's a core brand asset that can drive demand, partnerships, and valuation.
Startup Central Startup Brand Protection: Domains, Trademarks, and Enforcement Strategy For most startups, your public brand begins with a name and a domain . That makes early branding decisions unusually visible — and unusually expensive…
Streamers The Brand Deal Contract Checklist: What Every Streamer Needs to Read Before Signing Brand deals come with contracts that most streamers sign without understanding what they're giving away. IP grants, exclusivity restrictions, and performance penalties can all limit your freedom and income long after the campaign ends.
Visual Artists How to Register a Series of Images: Single vs. Group Copyright Registration for Visual Artists Registering 750 photos individually costs up to $48,750 at standard Copyright Office rates. Group registration programs cut that to $55 — but there are eligibility rules, work caps, and a 3-month window that determine whether you keep your right to statutory damages.
Musicians Copyright Registration for Music: The Two-Work Trap and How to Actually Register a Song Most independent musicians register only the recording, leaving the composition unprotected. A practical guide to PA versus SR, combined claims, GRAM and GRUW, the three-month statutory damages window, and how to avoid the traps that void registrations.
Musicians PRO Disputes: How ASCAP, BMI, and SESAC Actually Enforce — and What Musicians Should Know ASCAP and BMI operate under federal antitrust consent decrees; SESAC and GMR don't. A practical guide to how each PRO actually enforces, what songwriters and venue operators should do when a demand letter arrives, and three traps that turn small disputes into expensive ones.
Musicians Sync Licensing Basics: What the TV-and-Film Deal Actually Says Every sync placement is two licenses (composition + master) and a stack of clauses that decide what the production can do, where, and for how long. A practical guide to deal terms, traps, performance royalties, and what to negotiate before you sign.
Visual Artists Copyright Registration for Image Series: When to File Single, Group, or Unpublished Photo Registrations Visual artists with series work face a registration choice that decides fees, statutory damages, and what evidence holds up at trial. A practical map of single, group, and unpublished registration paths — with the gating questions that pick your filing form.
Streamers DMCA Counter-Notice Playbook: How Streamers Fight Copyright Strikes (And When Not To) A copyright strike on Twitch, YouTube, TikTok, or Kick can take down your video in hours and threaten your channel. The DMCA counter-notice is your statutory tool to fight back — but it's a sworn legal document, not a support ticket. Here's how the mechanics work and when to use them.
Game Studios AI-Generated Assets in Your Game: Who Owns Them, and What Do You Have to Disclose? Fully AI-generated game assets have no copyright protection under current U.S. law. Your contractor's IP assignment clause may transfer nothing when they use AI tools. Steam requires disclosure before you can ship. Here's what to do about all three.
