Development Theft | Contract?

Help and Feedback Building Support
#1

Hello, so I have recently started on a new project which will take up to at least 7 months to create, I was just wondering if there is any possible way to make it so that there is no way that the creation is stolen, abused or deleted.

I had thought about writing up a contract that if they do breach it that they would be punished (within reason) so that the place isn’t reused or sold off to make their pockets richer.

I’m not 100% sure if this is the right place to put this but it would be under Support of development somehow.

Thank you.

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#2

Writing a contract will not necessarily help you - legal action is incredibly expensive and the actual legal person may be hard to track down. It’s also hard to prove who stole your assets, who released them, how they were stolen and a lot of other things. It is definitely worth having a contract - but do not rely on the contract as a for sure way of preventing theft.

The most important part of preventing this is by:

  • Keeping the number of people who have access to the game/ assets to a minimum.
  • Ensuring that you trust and know the identity of every person who has access to your games.
  • Making sure that people who work on your projects are happy with their payment and situation and that they have a direct interest in the game doing well.
  • Making sure that the person you are hiring is 100% right for the position, they are dedicated, and they are qualified enough to do what is going to be asked of them. Part of this rests on you making sure that you adequately describe to them what their job will entail, and making sure that you pay them properly.

Aside from these, there’s not much else you can do. Remember all building and client side code can be taken by anyone anyway.

I am not a lawyer, and I do not have any legal qualifications, as always if you are unsure go to a legal professional for legal advice, this is NOT legal advice.

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#3

I’ll be straight with you chief, you can’t stop theft, a contract only holds as much as you do. The most you will be able to do is fire or threaten to fire them. Actual legal stuff is expensive and not worth it unless you’re a major business.

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#4

Alright thats grand, thanks guys for the advice. I will be taking this into heavy consideration.

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#5

Hiring reputable people is your safest bet.

I don’t think a good developer will leak your assets and ruin their reputation with it.

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#6

@SteadyOn’s reply is solid. If you manage to follow all of his outline then you’ll be pretty good to go.

5 Likes
#7

You should hire someone who you trust, like @SteadyOn said. Have someone do work on a different studio set so that people can not steal games/models from you. I usually do that if I’m going to build for someone.

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#8

While it’s the wisest choice it obviously isn’t the most realistic choice. Availability is essential when it comes to development which unfortunately most if not all developers are booked or simply uninterested in working with a unknown.

I’m not entirely sure how much protection this “contract” offers however @ofyderpman had recommended this to me in the past when I was paranoid about potential theft, rogue developers.

Services Provided:
• To program and develop the new Roblox game ‘RoStreams’ which is owned by the group ‘Ventrix’

• To stay on the team for the new Roblox game ‘RoStreams’ and be responsible for updates that require programming. If you choose to not be responsible for the updates, your percentage payment will decrease.

Compensation:
The Contractor, ofyderpman, will pay the Roblox user ‘Thernus’ for the services which are stated in the “Services Provided:” section of the agreement.

• A one time payment of 100,000 Robux once Thernus has completed the task of ‘To program and develop the new Roblox game ’ RoStreams’ which is owned by the group ‘Ventrix’ and 40 percent of the new Roblox game ‘RoStreams’ earnings of the project.

In the event that either Party wishes to terminate the contract, that Party will be required to provide 10 days’ written notice to the other Party.

• If the user, Thernus, wishes to terminate the contract, then the user, ofyderpman, shall still have the rights to use the user, Thernus’, work in the game.

• If the user, Thernus, wishes to terminate the contract, they are by no means allowed to tell the public any information about the project.

• If the user, Thernus, wishes to terminate the contract, they are by no means allowed to re-create the Roblox game ‘RoStreams’ in any way, shape or form.

If you agree with the contract, please reply with “I agree.” followed by your username.

Replace the username “ofyderpman” with your username… the owner
Also replace the username “Thernus” with the programmer or whatevers username… the worker *

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