SigninG a Publishing Contract

6C. Termination for LACK OF PAYMENT OR OTHER breach of Contract

Failure to pay you your royalties or carry out other responsibilities included in the agreement is a breach of contract. If the publisher does not hold up their end of the deal, you should be entitled to take back the rights to your game. Many contracts include language allowing the publisher a chance to fix the problem before you can terminate the contract.

DESIGNER is entitled to terminate this Agreement if PUBLISHER commits a material breach of this agreement that is not remedied within 30 days after written notice by DESIGNER to PUBLISHER.

6d. Bankruptcy or liquidation of the publisher

Some contracts include a clause that says that the rights will revert to the designer if the publisher goes into bankruptcy. You don’t necessarily need to strike this clause, but you should know that it may not be as helpful as you would expect.

If PUBLISHER ceases to carry on business or goes into voluntary liquidation or receivership or becomes bankrupt, this agreement terminates immediately.

If a company enters bankruptcy, their assets (including the license to publish your game) are under control of a bankruptcy court. Some bankruptcy courts do not consider clauses like this one to be valid. Your game could be tied up for months or years while the bankruptcy is sorted out. 


This underscores the importance of including the right to terminate when your game goes out of print or when your publisher fails to pay royalties. The most effective way to ensure that your game is not tied up in bankruptcy court is to act on your ability to ask for the rights back before the publisher declares bankruptcy.

New Paragraph

Share by: