Unlocking the value of the Dominican Republic's videogame industry through IP

By Guzmán Ariza, Attorneys at Law

The Ministry of Industry and Commerce of the Dominican Republic and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) presented the results of the first mapping of the video game sector in the country, which evidences the great growth and influence that this industry is experiencing.

The study highlights opportunities framed in 42 strategic actions, which focus on legal protection, gender diversity, financial support, as well as collaboration and exchange of ideas.

"The data collected and the analysis carried out have allowed us to better understand the current panorama of the video game industry in our country, as well as identify the challenges and areas for improvement that we must address with the various actors in the short, medium and long term," stated Minister Víctor Bisonó.

According to the results from the report, the industry has an annual growth of 9.4% and an estimated value of USD 176 billion, being an economic and cultural boost on a global scale. But while the videogame industry in the Dominican Republic is experiencing significant growth and shows great potential and creativity from the developers, difficulties indicate the need to adopt strategic measures that boost the sector.

Among those measures is the legal protection for the creations, as video games present a number of challenges in terms of copyright. Although Article 2 of the Berne Convention provides a solid basis for eligibility for protection of video games by copyright, they are in fact complex works of authorship, potentially composed of multiple copyrighted works.

Against this background, on the basis of the interest expressed by governments and several stakeholders, the WIPO has decided to further research the topic and to undertake specific and much needed awareness-raising activities. 

According to the WIPO, considering that video games are mostly developed by medium-sized and large companies, a discussion on the legal regime of video games should address the role that these entities play and the rights they require to obtain in this process. Such companies usually take the initiative and the risk, and provide the necessary resources, both financial and human, to create the work; thus they should have, at least, all the exploitation rights in the resulting work. This can be achieved by establishing a presumption of transfer of rights in favor of the video game producers, unless agreed otherwise via contract.