Presentation held at The Swedish Association for Game Developers

1. Kontroll – Verktyg för att
synliggöra och skydda värden
i spelbolag
Johan Örneblad @johanorneblad
2016-12-15
Bergenstråhle & Partners is a leading Swedish consultancy firm in innovation management. We are a niched IP
firm with our core competence in intellectual property, law and business development. Our clients are
innovation driven business that through their technology, design, brands or business models want to achieve
and maintain a unique market position.
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2. What is a game?
• Creative expression or a business?
• More money = better games (mostly)
• Focus on the business from the start of the development –
what is important for success
• Controlling your assets (your commercial differentiation) is
about ensuring that you don’t give away the business to
someone else.
– Reoccurring business should be to you and not to your
competitors.
• Controlling the assets should be part of the business
strategy!
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3. A brand is not what You say it is…
- It is what They say it is!
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4. Brand - example
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5. Games are brands
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6. Games are brands
• Pokémon
• Mario
• Call of Duty
• Grand Theft Auto
• Minecraft
• Angry Birds
• Goat Simulator
• Tetris
• Zelda
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7. Why is this important
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• The business strategy decides WHY controlling
your assets and your brand is important.
• What the key assets of a brand are – how can or
can´t they be used to still stay ”true to the
brand”
• Without control over your brand you are letting
go of value (and money to make more and
better games)

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Zelda – game Brand Assets

9. Identify and communicate Brand Assets

10. Building blocks to control your brand assets
Trademark Trademark Design Copyright
Also:
Agreements, policies, secrecy, business models

11. What steps to take
Early in development
- Ensure that you own/control the
game and the assets of the game
- Make sure the chosen name can
be used and registered on all
relevant markets (trademark
clearance).
- Consider registering the name as
a trademark (or at least use it as
a TM)
- Make sure you don’t “borrow”
(too much) from other games
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Just before launch
- Consider registering the name
and logo if it is not already done
- Identify key brand assets - Decide
if/how to protect (design rights,
TM, usage policies) and how they
can be used by you and others
- Register the copyright in the US
and possibly China
After launch
- Monitor the usage of your game
assets
- Be clear on how the brand and its
assets can be used by partners,
fans and in collaborations
- Identify possible clones – enforce
your rights if appropriate
- Review protection scope and
accuracy (up to date and
relevant?)
Identify – Control – Manage

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Johan Örneblad
Innovation Lawyer
Johan.orneblad@bergenstrahle.se
+46 73 975 63 81
Follow me on Twitter @johanorneblad
Add me on Linkedin
https://se.linkedin.com/in/johanorneblad