ReportAEVI
Guías AEVI: Propiedad intelectual e industrial
1 Jan 202515 pages~21 min full read
Spanish law does not recognize the 'work-for-hire' doctrine, meaning developers must secure explicit written assignments of exploitation rights in all employment and service contracts to ensure legal ownership of creative assets.
Copyright protection for video game elements arises automatically upon creation and lasts for 70 years after the author's death, or 70 years from disclosure in the case of collective works.
Trademark protection requires formal registration and provides 10-year terms that are renewable indefinitely, while industrial design protection for GUIs lasts for five-year periods, renewable up to a maximum of 25 years.
Trade secrets are protected through internal confidentiality agreements and technical safeguards rather than formal registration, making NDAs essential during the development phase.
The EU legal framework does not recognize the 'fair use' doctrine, limiting the use of third-party materials to public domain works, specific statutory exceptions, and narrow descriptive trademark uses.
Related rights for creative contributions endure for 50 years, providing a secondary layer of protection alongside standard copyright for specific game assets.
The guide aims to equip video‑game developers and publishers with a practical framework for safeguarding the creative and technical assets that constitute a game’s intellectual and industrial property. It clarifies the dual nature of IP under Spanish law—copyright and related rights on the one hand, and industrial property (patents, trademarks, designs, trade secrets) on the other—explaining which categories protect specific game elements such as scripts, music, graphics, code, user‑interface designs, character names and logos.
Key conclusions stress that copyright arises automatically upon creation, lasting 70 years after the author’s death (or 70 years from disclosure for collective works), while related rights endure 50 years. Trademark protection requires registration and lasts ten years per filing, renewable indefinitely; design protection covers the external appearance of a GUI for five‑year periods, renewable up to 25 years. Trade‑secret measures rely on confidentiality agreements and technical safeguards rather than formal registration. The guide also outlines the legal regimes governing ownership of works created by employees, freelancers or collaborators, noting that Spanish law lacks a “work‑for‑hire” concept and therefore mandates explicit written assignments of exploitation rights, typically detailed in employment or service contracts.
Practical recommendations include a step‑by‑step checklist for identifying each asset, determining the appropriate protection mechanism, confirming that all contributors have assigned their rights, and implementing NDAs to preserve secrecy during development. The guide further outlines limited exceptions for using third‑party material—public‑domain works, specific statutory limits, and narrowly defined descriptive uses of trademarks—while warning that doctrines such as “fair use” are not recognized in the EU. Overall, the document provides a comprehensive, Spain‑focused roadmap for building a robust IP portfolio that enhances a game’s market value and minimizes infringement risk.
