A fast, easy to use, free, and community supported 2D game engine
serveace6
Member
Hello all,
I'm not sure where to place this inquiry, but I'm hoping someone can direct me. Seeing how there are a lot of first timers on releasing games to the app store, is it prudent to submit it under some sort of LLC instead of yourself? What is the best and minimum way to protect yourself and your game? Any feedback would be appreciated.
gaminghorror
Member
What do you want protection from?
Pirates? Forget it.
Theft of cool ideas? Forget it.
Copyright infringement? It doesn't matter if the game is published under your or your company's name, legally it's the same law-breaking activity.
Lawsuits because your game supposedly broke someone's iPhone? There might be a difference but a "lawsuit insurance" (not sure what it's called) does a similar job than a limited liability company.
Personally i was more concerned about the right type of legal entity simply because of tax issues and running costs, and if you work with others then it's important to have a work contract or in case of Co-Founders a founder's agreement. In germany we have something like a "single-person business", in other words freelancing. That's what i am and do. I could have registered one of the many available business entities but what for? In most cases you end up having to join certain regulatory or governmental institutions and they take fees or parts of your income. What they offer in return is irrelevant to me.
Of course, if the LLC doesn't cost you anything or not much and offers more protection i'd go for it. But be wary, in germany we have a so called "1€ LLC" ... you only have to put 1€ in the bank but some people go bankcrupt the day after because they bought stamps for 2€ in the companies name. A company must never be in debt. There are also issue of seperating the company's assets vs your private assets and also accounting can get a hell of a lot more complicated if you assume certain legal forms for your company which may make full accounting mandatory.
The gist of it: talk to someone who does startup counseling. A lot of tax consultants do this and if you have an institution similar to the IHK (Industrie & Handelskammer) then they might provide services and training for free or little money.
In the US you can call yourself a Sole Proprietor (you have to file something like a "Doing Business As" or DBA with the state if you don't just do business under your personal name. Which is probably ~= gaminghorror's single-person business.
In my state, it costs $125 to file the paperwork for an LLC. It does offer you some protection from lawsuits (well, it trys to protect your personal assets separate from your business assets). And it _can_ separate your taxes into another entity than yourself as well (but for a one man show, there really is no need for that). Once you are an LLC you can then file with the IRS for an EIN, which you need most of the time for setting up a business bank account and definitely need if your company is successful and you want to hire people.
For 125, I think the liability protection is worth it. I am not sure anyone would sue you over an iPhone game (stranger things have happened), but if you are taking on contract work like me, then it's a bit more apropos. But in either case, if you get sued, it's going to be a bad day :)
standard IANAL disclaimer applies!
serveace6
Member
Thanks for the responses! I'm in the US and it looks like and LLC might be the way to go but I will look into the DBA method. My main deal is that I would like to not have to use my name on the App Store but if it's happening to aerostat than it makes it a moot point anyway. I will do some research to see what's involved in each path to see what's going on in my state. Again, that's for the feedback, it's very enlightening.
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