Thomas H. Buscaglia, Esquire
Tom Buscaglia: The Game Attorney
Tom Buscaglia, The Game Attorney, is a principal in the law firm Thomas H. Buscaglia, P.A. and is the President of Dev-Biz, Inc., with offices in the Seattle, Washington, area and Miami, Florida. Tom is admitted to practice in Washington State, Florida and the District of Columbia, as well as in Federal Trial and Appellate Courts, including the United States Supreme Court. In addition to obtaining his Law degree, with honors, from Georgetown University in 1985, Tom holds a B.A. in Philosophy from S.U.N.Y., Buffalo, with honors.
Since 1991, Tom has assisted game developers in all aspects of business and legal matters. He frequently speaks on the game industry business and legal matters and the things that developers should and should not do in order to have a solid business foundation for their studios. He is a perennial presenter at the Game Developers Conference and the Indie Games Con and also speaks regularly to the Simulation and Modeling industry on the value of Game technologies for beneficial interactive multimedia applications outside of the entertainment sector. Tom is listed in the prestigious Legal 500 as one of a select group of attorneys dedicated to representing companies that create video games.
Tom is a Director of the International Game Developers Association, Chairs the IGDA charitable Foundation and heads the IGDA Employment Contract Quality of Life Certification task force. Tom authors a series of articles on Game Law for Gamasutra.com and Game Developer Magazine. He also wrote the chapter entitled “Effective Developer Agreements” for the book, The Secrets of the Game Business. Committed to helping independent game developers get the right start in business, He recently released the Game Dev Kit, a start up developer’s business and legal kit with information and contracts that every start up developer needs.
As FaTe[F8S] Tom is a founder and Supreme Warlord of FaTe’s Minions, an online gaming "clan" that has been competing in various online competitions since January, 1998. As a "hard-core" gamer, Tom plays online on a regular basis and has a gamer's appreciation and understanding of the game industry.
Presentations, Publications and Associations
Speaking Engagements
11/08 Montreal International Games Summit (Montreal, Quebec)
"How to Date a Publisher" (Panel)
"Law and Contract" (Roundtable)
11/08 IGDA Leadership Forum (San Francisco, California)
"Charitable Efforts: Giving Back is Good" (Panel Moderator)
08/08 Penny Arcade Expo (Seattle, Washington)
“Legal Issues in Contemporary Gaming”
02/08 Game Developers Conference (San Francisco, California)
Independent Games Summit “The Game Attorney: Indie Edition”
01/08 GameOnFinance (Toronto, Ontario, Canada)
Moderator, “Next NextGen – The Future of Game Platforms, Markets and Financing”
10/07 Indie Games Conference (Eugene, Oregon)
“Publisher Contracts Roundtable”
06/07 Digital Game Xpo (Raleigh, North Carolina)
“Developer Contracts … the Devil in the Details”
03/07 Game Developers Conference (San Francisco, California)
“The Game Attorney's Developer Deal Roundtable” and
“Employment Contract Certification: Validating Quality of Life”
03/06
Game Developers Conference ( San Jose, California)
Game Not Over:
Expanding the Market through Accessible Games
11/05
Third Annual International Conference in Computer Game Design and
Technology (Liverpool, UK)
Keynote - “Ins & Outs of the
Developer Publisher Relationship”
10/05
Indie Games Conference (Eugene, Oregon)
“Starting Your Own
Game Development Studio”
07/05
Microsoft Meltdown (Seattle, Washington)
Moderator - “Doing
“The Deal”
06/05
Digital Game Xpo (Raleigh, North Carolina)
“Starting Your
Own Game Development Studio”
03/05
Game Developers Conference ( San Francisco, California)
Quality of
Life Summit: An IGDA Think-Tank - “Overtime in the Game
Industry”
Effective Developer Deals: the Devil in the
Details
“The Negotiation”
10/04
Indie Games Conference (Eugene, Oregon)
“Startup Game Studio
Business & Legal Matters”
03/04
Game Developers Conference (San Jose, California)
“The
Negotiation”
“Publishers ‘Rules of Acquisition’”
12/03
The Interservice/Industry Training, Simulation and Education
Conference (I/ITSEC) (Orlando, Florida)
Game and Simulation
Industry Convergence panel
08/03
Florida Faculty Institute (Miami, Florida and Orlando,
Florida)
“Computer and Video Games: Monster or Mentor?”
07/03
Summer Simulation Multiconference (Montreal, Canada)
Keynote “The
Game and Simulation Industries: Convergence or Collision?”
03/02
Game Developers Conference (San Jose, California)
"The
Phenomenology of Game Design"
02/02
Full Sail (Orlando, Florida)
“What to look for, and look out
for, in your first employment agreement”
02/02
Digital Media Alliance of Florida Panel (Orlando, Florida)
“The
Future of the Game Industry in Florida”
10/97
Miami - Airport West Chamber of Commerce
“Legal Issues
Concerning Marketing over the Internet”
12/96
National Business Institute, Continuing Legal Education
“Marketing
Technology and Business Development”
Articles and Publications
10/08 Gamasutra.com - Monthly Column: Game Law
“So, What's the Dealio?”
06/08 Gamasutra.com - Monthly Column: Game Law
“Get Your Pigs in a Row!”
03/08 Gamasutra.com - Monthly Column: Game Law
“Man’s Best Friend Sometimes Bites”
01/08 Gamasutra.com - Monthly Column: Game Law
“50/50 Deals on Ancillary Revenues and Sublicenses”
10/07 Gamasutra.com - Monthly Column: Game Law
“Discipline and the Up Sell”
08/07 Gamasutra.com - Monthly Column: Game Law
“SCRUM Deals - Good, Bad or Ugly?”
06/07 Gamasutra.com - Monthly Column: Game Law
“Competent Counsel”
01/07 Gamasutra.com – Special Feature
“Call of Duty: Finest Hour – The Contract”
10/06 Game Developer Magazine – Business Level
“That’s Not the Deal”7/06
Gamasutra.com - Monthly Column: Game Law
“Contracts 101”
4/06
Gamasutra.com - Monthly Column: Game Law
“Everybody
Conga…Well Maybe Not Everybody ”
3/06
Gamasutra.com - Monthly Column: Game Law
“The Good News
About Digital Distribution ”
2/06
IGDA Contract Walk-Through White Paper, v3
“Acceptance of
Deliverables ”
1/06
Gamasutra.com - Monthly Column: Game Law
“Prior Restraint of
Speech in Games: A Rant ”
12/05
Gamasutra.com - Monthly Column: Game Law
“To Sue or Not to
Sue...That is the Question ”
10/05
Gamasutra.com - Monthly Column: Game Law
“Audit Rights - Use
Em or Lose Em!”
04/05
Secrets of the Game Business, Second Edition, Chrarles River
Media
Chapter - “Effective Development Contracts”
01/05
GameDev.net
Game Attorney Q&A - “Protecting Your Ideas”
10/04
GameDev.net
Game Attorney Q&A - “Trademarked Names for
Indie Games”
04/04
IGDA Quality of Life in the Game Industry: Challenges and Best
Practices Whitepaper
Fair Labor Standards Act in the Game Industry
09/03
IGDA Contract Walk-Through Whitepaper, v2
Termination Clauses
Chapter
05/03
IGDA Game Submission Guide Whitepaper
Pre-Submission Legal
Considerations
04/03
IGDA Contract Walk-Through Whitepaper, v1
Game Documentation and
Trade Show Demos
02/03
Secrets of the Game Business, Charles River Media
Chapter -
“Effective Development Contracts”
02/03
GIGNews.com Article
Getting Published Part 4: Completing Your
Contract Arsenal - NDA’S, Employment & Contributor
Agreements
11/02
GIGNews.com Article
Getting Published Part 3: Just what are these
games made up of...Legally Speaking?
09/02
GIGNews.com Article
Getting Published Part 2: Initial Legal Issues
09/97
Florida Direct Marketing Association Newsletter
“Internet
Commerce...Fact or Fiction?”
04/97
Florida Direct Marketing Association Newsletter
“Whose
Website is it Anyway? - Content and Copyright”
02/97
Florida Direct Marketing Association Newsletter
“What’s
in a Name: Internet Domain Names vs. Trademarks”
12/96
Florida Direct Marketing Association Newsletter
“Direct
Marketing on the Internet”
Positions and Associations
• Principal,
T.H. Buscaglia and Associates
• President, Dev-Biz, Inc.
• Director, International Game Developers Association
• Chair, IGDA CHaritable Foundation
• President, BallroomGames
• Executive Director, Games-Florida
• Advisory Board, Digital Media Alliance of Florida
• Advisory Board, Game Curriculum, Yorkville University
• Member, Washington State Bar, District of Columbia Bar and Florida Bar, Federal Bar Assiciation, American Bar
Association
• Admitted, Washington State, District of Columbia, Florida and various
U.S. District Courts, the 11th and 3rd Cir. Courts of Appeal, and the U.S. Supreme Court
• Supreme Warlord, FaTe’s Minions