Business License Question?

[Bunaei]

Hello, Me again.

I have a question about selling my game. I already read a boot-camp thread about this, but I was a bit confused so decided to just ask a question myself. I am a solo game maker. I don't have a team or a business, I'm simply making games on my own time when I'm at home after school. When I finish a game, I was maybe hoping to sell it. Since I'm not a business and this is my first time selling something, do I need to have a License to sell it? Or is that only for group workers or people with an actual business in game making?

I just want to make sure so I don't get in some sort of legal trouble. 

 

[Kes]

You don't indicate where you are based, and laws and regulations covering this sort of thing vary a lot from one country to another.  If you are in the US, I believe it can vary from state to state.

One thing i did notice from your post.  You refer to making your game when you're home from school.  "School" can cover a lot of things, but if you are under age for making contracts then this will be much more difficult for you.

You need to find out what the specific laws and regulations are of the place where you live.  The Town Hall (or equivalent) will almost certainly be able to direct you to the place where you can find this out.  You might very well have to pay to have specific advice.

 

[Bunaei]

You don't indicate where you are based, and laws and regulations covering this sort of thing vary a lot from one country to another.  If you are in the US, I believe it can vary from state to state.

One thing i did notice from your post.  You refer to making your game when you're home from school.  "School" can cover a lot of things, but if you are under age for making contracts then this will be much more difficult for you.

You need to find out what the specific laws and regulations are of the place where you live.  The Town Hall (or equivalent) will almost certainly be able to direct you to the place where you can find this out.  You might very well have to pay to have specific advice.

I'm in the USA in Chicago Illinois. And by 'school' I mean Collage. I'm currently nineteen years old, if that information is of any help.

If I do need a license, do you know how much it would be around that area?

 

[Kes]

Haven't a clue, I'm not based in the US.  Like I said, you need to get advice which takes into account any state legislation as well as any federal legislation.  

What you will also need to take into account are local tax regulations, again on top of any federal ones.

You really need to check this out with professionals, because getting this wrong could be a costly mistake.  People on this site will try and be helpful, but afaik there are no commercial lawyers here - or if there are, they keep their heads down and don't reply to questions like this.

 

[Bunaei]

Haven't a clue, I'm not based in the US.  Like I said, you need to get advice which takes into account any state legislation as well as any federal legislation.  

What you will also need to take into account are local tax regulations, again on top of any federal ones.

You really need to check this out with professionals, because getting this wrong could be a costly mistake.  People on this site will try and be helpful, but afaik there are no commercial lawyers here - or if there are, they keep their heads down and don't reply to questions like this.

Ah, alright. Got it. You've been a great help.

I thank you very much for your time!

 

[Ralpf]

This would probably be a place to start. But I have no specific advise for you either. I have yet to through the process myself.

If you can get a lawyer to give you some basic advice (you can usually find one who will give general advice free), that would be a better place to start.

 

[Stapleton]

Get an EIN and you are good to go.

You will have to educate yourself on the taxes however, but it is crucial your business needs recognition from the government so they can tax you out of business.

 

[Bunaei]

Thank you very much.

This is solved for me. 

 

[Omar]

For a small business an EIN may not be needed. Typically they are used if you have employees and a payroll other than yourself. Call your local city hall for what is needed. Then also ask if you are required to apply for a fictinious name. That is if you want your business to be named Awesome Games rather than <your name>. Depending on where you live there is a different fee for that. There also may be a fee for selling your game online (if you own the website) rather than finding someone which distributes the game for you.

 

[Wavelength]

My understanding is that you don't need a license or permit of any sort - just start selling your game.

You will need to files your income taxes as a business owner (most likely the sole proprietorship structure), which honestly is likely to be an advantage - for me TurboTax online was sufficient in guiding me through the process.  Also, if you want to sell your game as "X Studio" or whatever instead of "John Smith" (your real name), you should obtain a DBA name, which is cheap and relatively easy to register.

 

[Engr. Adiktuzmiko]

You will need to files your income taxes as a business owner

Which needs registration and licensing of that sole proprietor business (at least in our country that seems to be the case anyway, and seems like doing so would allow you to DBA your business name)

 

[Kes]

This varies so much from country to country that I think the only sensible advice is for the OP to check out the regulations where they are based.

The OP has, however, stated that the query has been resolved for them - see post #8

 

[Engr. Adiktuzmiko]

yeah, always better to just go and find your local legal personnel.