Game development is all about being creative and having fun.

Boring stuff like contracts and legal documentation only get in the way, right?

At Pocket Gamer Connects Helsinki 2014, Hannu Partanen, from Nordic legal specialist Fondia, said that while he didn't want to get in the way of creativity, he did want to point out some basic legal issues that all developers should understand.

Know your rights

In a talk entitled 'Stuff that matters for gaming companies', Partanen said that when start-ups come together, the ideas and assets that the founders bring should be detailed as belonging to the company as part of the shareholders' agreement.

Similarly, when you're working with external contractors, especially if you're friends, a hand shake isn't enough.

The details of say, created music etc, need to be formally detailed so everyone knows what the situation is and there's no opportunity for arguments in later months or years.

You can see all the presentations from Pocket Gamer Connects Helsinki 2014 here. 

Pocket Gamer Connects is the biggest mobile games show in Europe, which brings together the best speakers and delegates from across the industry and from all over the world.

To-date, Pocket Gamer Connects has been held in London and Helsinki, and the show will be heading back to the UK in January 2015.

To find out more about the latest show, head on over to www.pgconnects.com.