Main "pitfalls" in publishing agreements

What the talk is about

Liubov Voitsekhovska explains why a publishing agreement should never be signed unread: the draft is written by the other side in its own interest, and anything not in the text does not exist. She walks through pitfalls: explicit and hidden exclusivity (a first-look right on all future games), payment clauses with long lists of deductions, missing audit rights, IP transfer and kinds of licenses (exclusive, sublicenses, irrevocable), automatic renewal with narrow termination windows, and formal notice rules. She advises spelling out what each side delivers, when and at what price, payment dates and bank details, allowing time to set up a foreign company and account, and on termination ending the license, retrieving materials and accounts, and settling payments. Useful for developers signing publisher deals without in-house counsel.