This post has not been edited by the GamesBeat staff. Opinions by GamesBeat community writers do not necessarily reflect those of the staff.
I have been planning on writing an article for a long time in which I wrote to game developers and asked them, as well as this community, what should be in a Bill of Rights for video game developers. Luckily, I had a few minutes this morning to begin research and I stumbled upon a link to the International Game Developers Association's website on a Bill of Rights which has already been created by Eric Zimmerman, of gameLab- the makers of Diner Dash.
His Bill looks like this-
A Bill of Rights for Game Developers
1. The right to full ownership of what we fully create.
2. The right to be billed as the game creator in marketing and on game packaging at least as prominently as any mention of the game publisher.
3. The right for every individual involved in creating the project to be given accurate and prominent credit within the game.
4. The right to move freely between publishers on new game projects.
5. The right to a fair and equitable share of profits derived from a game.
6. The right to full and accurate accounting of any and all income and disbursements relative to our work.
7. The right to promote and the right of approval over any and all promotion of our games and ourselves.
8. The right of approval over means for distribution, as well as for licensing, merchandizing, and other derivative versions of our games.
9. The right to a publishing arrangement that reflects the iterative nature of game development; one that recognizes that changing a game as it is developed is part of creating a game.
10. The right to a publishing arrangement that results in a process that conforms to accepted standards regarding work hours, compensation, and labor practices.
11. The right to acquire publishing rights to a game if the publisher has stopped distributing the game.
12. The right to employ legal representation in any and all business transactions.
13. The right to final say in creative disputes regarding the game.
http://archives.igda.org/articles/ezimmerman_bill.php
Are these points all valid and reasonable? What do you think a Publishers Bill of Rights would look like? Do you think publishers, as the money holders, have the right to treat developers any way they choose, or do they have a responsibility to operate in fairness? What do you think a Gamers Bill of Rights would look like?