Negotiating Indemnification Clauses in Game Development and Publishing Contracts

Indemnification sits near the end of most game development agreements and gets a fraction of the attention paid to payment terms or IP ownership. When a claim lands, that one paragraph decides who pays. Brandon J. Huffman of Odin Law and Media and general counsel to the International Game Developers Association, and Ryan Fairchild of Odin Law and Media, break down the three moving parts of every indemnification provision: the trigger, the scope, and control of the defense. They cover the patterns that signal a one-sided clause, including first-party claims used to sidestep a liability cap, uncapped obligations, and broader indemnity language buried in an exhibit or schedule. Attendees leave with a checklist for reviewing these provisions and practical language for making obligations mutual without stalling the deal.