Your game is a stack of code, art, music, character names and tournament IP. Each layer needs a different filing.
Indian gaming crossed ₹16,000 crore in 2025. The IP architecture of a game studio is unusually layered — software code, character art, music score, story script, character names, in-game items, tournament name, streamer associations. Each is a different right under a different statute.
For game studios, esports orgs and tournament operators, the right filings unlock streaming-platform protection, prevent clone games on app stores, and create enforceable contracts with streamers and tournament partners.
Three filings cover most of the IP risk on day one. Each is a standalone service and each links to a deeper walkthrough.
Most studios file in 9 + 41. Tournament organisers and esports orgs add 41 as primary. Studios with physical merch (figurines, board adaptations) add 28.
Each separable creative element of a game is independently copyright-protected: the source code (literary work), character art (artistic work), background music (musical work + sound recording), story script (literary/dramatic), in-game cinematics (cinematograph film). Registration of the key assets makes takedowns of clone games on the Play Store and App Store much faster.
Distinctive in-game character names, item names and faction names can be trademarked separately from the game brand. This becomes important when the game has merchandising potential or when third parties try to clone individual characters into competing games.
Streamer contracts decide who owns clip rights, who can monetise highlights, what happens at termination. Tournament contracts decide the rights of the organiser over the gameplay footage, the broadcast rights, the prize-money IP overlays. Custom drafting for these is one of our growing brief categories.
Launching a game or tournament? File the brand and the key character names before the trailer drops.
WhatsApp our team →Class 9 covers downloadable video games and game software. Class 28 covers toys and physical games. Class 41 covers entertainment, tournaments and streaming. Most game studios file in 9 + 41.
Game mechanics and rules are generally not copyrightable in India — they are ideas, not expression. The expression (code, art, music, story) is protected; the mechanics themselves are not. Patenting genuinely novel mechanics is sometimes possible but rare.
Both Google Play and Apple App Store accept IP takedown notices backed by trademark and copyright registrations. The registrations need to be in place before the takedown is filed — without them, the platforms typically dismiss the complaint.
Depends on the player, organiser and platform contracts. The default under copyright law gives the producer of the broadcast (typically the organiser) primary rights, but specific scopes vary by contract. Get the chain of rights in writing before the tournament starts.