[arg_discuss] Intellectual property and freelance work

[Jay Bushman]

I have a question that relates to this whole issue, and I'd love to  
get some feedback:


A few years ago, I was asked to be the lead writer on an ARG from a  
startup company.  The founders had come up with a basic story concept  
and some of the world and characters.  I was asked to flesh it out and  
develop it into a full-fledged ARG.  I was originally told there would  
be someone else handling puzzle development, but that person never  
materialized.  I spent the next few months writing the story,  
including designing all the puzzles and player interactions, adding  
many situations and a completely new lead character.  But after  
several months of frustrating development, during which I learned that  
these producers were not very reliable or forthright, the project was  
shelved.

My question is, can I use the material - the characters and world  
elements that I added - for another project of my own devising?  Where  
is the line at which I have to get the other party's sign off?

Here's the wrinkle to this situation - I was never paid for my work,  
or given any other form of compensation.  So while this wouldn't be so  
grey if I had actually been a paid employee, since I never signed  
anything, and I never received any payment for my work, do they have  
any claim to any o the material I wrote?

Thoughts?

===========================
The Loose-Fish Project:  <www.loose-fish.com>
The Good Captain:  <www.goodcaptain.com>





On Apr 11, 2008, at 8:43 AM, Andrea Phillips wrote:
Wow, Wendy, that metaphor works really, really well. I hope you don't
mind if I repeat it widely, as needed.

On Fri, Apr 11, 2008 at 1:21 AM,  <despain at quantumcontent.com> wrote:

> I'm a freelance writer in several contexts ranging from ARGs to  

> science

> journalism. In my experience, there are two ways to think about who

> keeps control of creative rights.

>

> 1) *Follow the money.* Did you pay for the creation of this work or  

> did

> someone else? Did you write these materials in your attic after you  

> got

> home from work? Or did someone call you up and offer you a paycheck

> to create something for a specific purpose they had already envisioned

> on their own dime?

>

> Sure, all of us who have written a novel in those sleepless wee  

> hours of

> the morning hope that someday we can "sell it" - but what you're  

> really

> doing in that case is selling "First North American Rights" to publish

> the work. You're not (if you're smart) giving up the ownership of the

> material itself. You bankrolled this baby after all. Other people are

> just paying you for the privilege of using it to sell their dead  

> trees.

>

> 2) *Who's baby is it?* If the money viewpoint is too cold for you,

> consider who's baby is it anyway? Is this work your baby? Have you

> poured all your soul into this creative work? Does it contain the

> essence of that nugget your muse gave you?

>

> Or have you had to make changes based on someone else's timeline?

> Someone else's product they want to promote? Someone else's Big Idea?

> Sure, in every creative work you get input from other people. Feedback

> helps mold an uncut gem into a piece of jewelry. That's not what I'm

> talking about. When you're getting a paycheck to build a world...

> this isn't your world. Someone else has a certain degree of control  

> and

> can make you add those purple people eaters if they really, really  

> want

> to. You're just an expert helping them create their vision. Their  

> baby.

>

> The moral of the story is - if someone calls you up and wants you to

> come up with an idea for this ARG they want, don't go pull out the

> world you built in those wee hours of the morning for your novel and

> turn it into an ARG for them. If you do, you're letting them adopt

> your baby as their own.

>

> Instead, become their surrogate. You can birth this baby they can't.

> But it's still their baby. If you know that from the start, it's not  

> as

> hard to hand it over in the end and let them raise it. (Or ruin it.)

>

> Ok, I'm done waxing poetic about intellectual property law. Please

> keep in mind I'm not a lawyer. I just drive a few of them crazy with

> extended metaphors.

>

> Wendy Despain

> quantumcontent.com


-- 
Andrea Phillips
andrhia at gmail.com
http://www.deusexmachinatio.com
Words * Culture * Interaction
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