Interactive Entertainment | Overview

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Harbottle & Lewis has advised the games industry since the early 1980s and we are widely recognised for our expertise in the area. We have a dedicated team of highly experienced games lawyers who advise on the full range of legal and commercial issues in relation to all forms of interactive entertainment, particularly computer and video games.

We act for clients across all areas of the games industry including publishers, developers, mobile games specialists, format owners, distributors, licensors, trade and consumer magazines, financiers and investors as well as leading industry figures.

Our games lawyers have a thorough understanding of matters affecting the industry which enables us to provide valuable strategic and commercial assistance, as well as legal advice. In addition, the wide-ranging nature of our practice means that our corporate, litigation and employment teams are highly experienced in matters affecting the games industry as applicable to their particular areas.

We provide advice in the following areas:

• Development, publishing, financing, licensing, distribution and console platform arrangements
• Copyright and other intellectual property rights, branding and licensing of technology, content and personality
• Cross-media projects - bridging various media - games, TV, iTV, internet, mobile, film and in-game music and in-game advertising
• Regulation - classification, censorship and advertising
• Corporate mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, investments, MBOs, corporate finance, shareholder arrangements and IPOs
• Advising leading industry figures, creatives and companies on new ventures, employment or consultancy arrangements, share options and incentive packages

Computer games "guru" Mark Phillips and rising star Paul Groves advise SCi/Eidos, Geomerics and Jagex, while "star player" Sebastian Belcher works closely with Take Two Interactive and Rockstar Games, publisher and developer of the Grand Theft Auto series. The Legal 500, 2008

"A fantastic games group" whose clients "are of a high calibre that reflects the practice's known ability to 'attract a lot of overseas players wanting to do business in the UK'". Chambers and Partners, 2008

"The firm continues to be at the forefront of its market" ... "Genuine specialists with deep, broad experience". Chambers and Partners, 2010

For further information please contact Paul Cairns or Mark Phillips.