   Is my design safe?
  I'm not 100% sure where this thread should goAnyway, I'm designing a game and want to put the Design Document on my website.Is this wise?I don't want anyone to steal it, but I want something game related to put on my website as I want to be a game developer and so far I only have digital art on it.   
  Hi,Your design is mostly safe for two reasons:1- most people could get inspired by, but none will duplicate your work (provided you add a disclaimer to your site). As a comparison, have a look at cartoonists blogs. They need to show their drawings to interest editors, and they do not want their drawings pillaged for other means. They add a disclaimer on their site saying that no posted drawings should be used without their permission.2- there are a lot of ideas and designs posted, proposed and submitted every day. Unless it is a brilliant design that will change game play for the next ten years, it will be lost in that magma. No risk here.In the unlikely event your design is stolen by somebody, you will be able to use your site to prove you had prior art and design to defend your rights.Ghostly yours,Red.   ;  Thanks a lot for your fast replyyou've really reassured meespecially the second pointand I don't take any offence to itI'll post the design doc when it's finishedand add a disclaimerthanks again   ;Quote:Original post by Red GhostIn the unlikely event your design is stolen by somebody, you will be able to use your site to prove you had prior art and design to defend your rights.You get a copyright automatically in whatever you write or draw, but you can also register your creation with the government copyright office. Sam, you should read up on copyright.Moved to Business/Law.   ;Quote:You get a copyright automatically in whatever you write or drawDoes this rule apply worldwide as Sam is in the UK?   ;Quote:Original post by NewBreedQuote:You get a copyright automatically in whatever you write or drawDoes this rule apply worldwide as Sam is in the UK?Pretty much. Look up the Berne Convention. ;  > I'm designing a game and want to put the Design Document on my website.Nothing protects game ideas. Documents? Fine. Artwork? Fine too. But anyone could come up with similar design documents and artwork and get away with it.Some pieces of your game design can be defended in a court of law, such as the Look & Feel, or game mechanics, provided either can be proven to be significantly different from what is out there or the duplication too close for comfort. Either way, it means you need a big money stash to pay for the legal fees for wading through the legal grey areas. In other words, how much are you willing to spend to defend your game design?> you will be able to use your site to prove you had> prior art and design to defend your rights.Unless we're talking about patents or blatant artwork/document duplication, prior art and design documents weight little.> Unless it is a brilliant design that will change game> play for the next ten years, it will be lost in that> magma. No risk here.QFT.-cb   