The gaming industry is growing and thriving. However, it is often not the game developers and publishers themselves who earn large sums of money from the success of their own works. Streaming platforms like Twitch and YouTube in particular have ensured that there are now profitable ways to earn money with video games – without even being involved in their development. To ensure that the developers and companies behind the game titles also get a piece of the pie, a new exploitation company has now been created by the game association. Here, the heads behind video games will be able to claim appropriate remuneration for private copies. This is reminiscent of concepts of well-known collecting societies such as VG Wort or GEMA.
Gaming industry raises claims
Publishers and developers are no longer the only ones earning money from video games. Secondary exploitation now plays a more important role. Here, well-known and less well-known Internet personalities stream their latest Let’s Plays day after day. This million-dollar business has been a major thorn in the gaming industry’s side for years. So it’s no surprise that lately there have been ever louder calls for a collecting society along the lines of GEMA or VG-Wort. The former idea has now become a certainty. The Game Association has now founded the Verwertungsgesellschaft für die Hersteller von Games (VHG). Similar to its counterparts in the music and text industries, the focus here is on a copyright levy. With the help of the VHG, developers and publishers should be able to claim this.
What should gamers be prepared for?
Now, of course, the question arises whether the new VHG will bring changes for die-hard gaming fans. However, they can breathe a sigh of relief. One would have to fear now no additional fees. The managing director of VHG is Christian-Henner Hentsch. He is considered a legal expert when it comes to exploitation rights in the gaming sector. After all, Hentsch was previously head of law and regulation at the Game Association. However, he hopes that the new collecting society will not only enable developers and companies to claim a deserved exploitation fee. On top of that, the new society should also make the gaming industry a step more professional again.
The market is in dire need of this, especially in Germany. Although it is growing enormously year after year, it still leads a shadowy existence when compared directly to the music or film industry. How exactly distributions are to take place, the VHG has answered in a FAQ. These and other questions will also have to be asked by the German Patent and Trademark Office. After all, the latter must now deal with the legality of VHG. The collecting society informs the public that it may take up to two years before the final decision is made by the authority.
