Royalties...
by Duey Oxburger · in General Discussion · 04/20/2009 (7:59 am) · 4 replies
Hey All,
Let's say you wanted to make a car racing game, and you wanted to use Ferrari's in your game. Upon speaking with Ferrari they asked you for a proposal regarding a license fee or royalties. Without wanting to come across as a noob, or piss them off, what would be considered realistic numbers to offer them... (i.e. - 3% of sales contingent upon first commercial sale).
Are there any industry standards here, or should I just try to get the best deal possible?... or should I just say 'screw-it' and let them come after me if they even want to bother...? If anyone can point me to 'real-world' data I'd be much obliged.
Thx,
D
About the author
#2
You'd probably want a bit more of a mis-spelling than Deepscatch suggests to abate bloody thirsty lawyers, though I do remember SuperCars2 on the Amiga had all the 1980s F1 drivers misspelt (Nijel Mainsail = Nigel Mansell, Ayrton Sendup = Ayrton Senna).
Ferrari or any other "big name" aren't going to want to associate with "the little guy". You'd need huge backing from a 3A publisher and shed loads of bucks before they'd even enterain the idea.
Make up an Italian racing team, paint the cars red.
You need to give these megacorps a wide berth.
04/20/2009 (9:00 am)
Quote:or should I just say 'screw-it' and let them come after me if they even want to bother...?Baaaad. I really don't think that you want hordes of Nosferatu - I mean lawyers - criss-crossing the globe with the sole intention of destroying you.
You'd probably want a bit more of a mis-spelling than Deepscatch suggests to abate bloody thirsty lawyers, though I do remember SuperCars2 on the Amiga had all the 1980s F1 drivers misspelt (Nijel Mainsail = Nigel Mansell, Ayrton Sendup = Ayrton Senna).
Ferrari or any other "big name" aren't going to want to associate with "the little guy". You'd need huge backing from a 3A publisher and shed loads of bucks before they'd even enterain the idea.
Make up an Italian racing team, paint the cars red.
You need to give these megacorps a wide berth.
#3
04/20/2009 (9:36 am)
@Steve - Sounds like you've got a bit of experience in this area Steve. What kind of real-world experience have you had negotiating royalties with large corps?...
#4
But these large corporation - were their trademark carries as much importance as their products - would only wish to be associated with "the best". It's kind of a "money attracts money" thing. Being elite(ist) they can afford to picky and license out their IP/trademark to people who pay up front (the F1 team franchise, Codemasters I believe).
There have been various articles I've read about it on news sites (gaming and none gaming), though I can't link any off hand.
One of the Torque users - I forget his name (sorry not too useful) - tried to license the (I think it was) Robotech IP (I think that's japanese giant robots to the leyman) and mentioned in a forum about the trouble he had. It was on a thread which basically asked what you're asking. Maybe do a search for "trademark" or "copywrite".
Apologies for not being terribly helpful. edit: and the bad grammar
04/20/2009 (11:26 am)
Absolutely none!But these large corporation - were their trademark carries as much importance as their products - would only wish to be associated with "the best". It's kind of a "money attracts money" thing. Being elite(ist) they can afford to picky and license out their IP/trademark to people who pay up front (the F1 team franchise, Codemasters I believe).
There have been various articles I've read about it on news sites (gaming and none gaming), though I can't link any off hand.
One of the Torque users - I forget his name (sorry not too useful) - tried to license the (I think it was) Robotech IP (I think that's japanese giant robots to the leyman) and mentioned in a forum about the trouble he had. It was on a thread which basically asked what you're asking. Maybe do a search for "trademark" or "copywrite".
Apologies for not being terribly helpful. edit: and the bad grammar
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