Lets not forget that you should have something in place from this point forward. All of the current members should sign a document signing over their work to the corporate entity that you have established. If you haven't done that, then you should. Do not have the work signed over to a team member in place of a corporate entity. You're begging for a law suit.

The rule of thumb here is that documents should be in place from the beginning explaining duties, expectations and exits parameters. Profit distribution should be described as well. It should bind disclosure of the game elements and limit the author's ability to take those elements with him/her upon departure. Lastly it should assign court jurisdiction and payment of court fees during a suit. All this needs to be in a document signed by everyone involved.

Consider the following scenarios.
Your game is wildly successful. You have no real contract among the owners, two of which left in a nasty power struggle during the development of the game(when does not matter). Joe has moved to California, the team is in Florida, and Nancy has left the US for Canada. Each one of them could force you (or your $200/hour lawyers) to appear in their home courts inflicting large travel and legal expenses on you just to see you fail. They can effectively get a judgement on you without ever going to court. (ie spending all your profits in travel/legal) Trust me, these numbers can become 5 figures fast.

or

Your game bombs, the company fails, it goes to bankruptcy court and the trustee begins to tally who is responsible for this bankruptcy mess. If you didn't sign over your rights to the content, you're possibly liable for the current company situation regardless of your affiliation. Afterall it is your work by copyright and your work contributed to the failure of the game. Less scrupulous current owners could use that to their advantage to limit their losses and drag you back into the situation to suffer with them.

While we would like to think that all of our friends would never do such a thing, the game changes when 5 and 6 figures of debt and/or income are involved. At both ends of the spectrum, people reveal who they truly are and unfortunately you can never tell until you get to that point, which is too late. If your friends are unwilling to sign, you shouldn't do business with them. Bottom line, protect yourself and the company from its owners. Life, projects, teams and individuals are not always what they seem to be as it seems you are becoming aware. You can avoid these ethical quandries with up front agreements.


Kressilac
ps These are my experiences and opinions. Please don't misconstrue them for actual legal advice, which can only come from a qualified lawyer. Get one, they come in handy when you least expect it.

[edited by - kressilac on December 2, 2002 2:01:09 PM]

I''d try talking it over with my friends first. They may feel they didn''t do enough to earn any cash. Of course it could go the other way and get everyone into a flame war.

dont give them mofos shkit. they aint worth it if they didnt stick it to the end, through thick and thin. screw them
{^}(0_0){^}. Sell your game and make mad monies they''ll be sorry they ever left your team.

Well, we have another stupid troll AP!

For your information, AP, if he does that then they may be able to sue him. That''s not good. Of course, if your thirteen-year-old mind can''t get that...