Ah didn't know you knew this stuff too :-)

So would it then still be possible to agree to profit shares and basically allow no one to make important decisions without consent through contracts? Are there disadvantages?
We can discuss by mail or PM too if you prefer.

The disadvantage to joint and several ownership is that if one person does twice the work of everyone else, they don't get twice the return, or twice the control... it depends what you want.

The control should be on mutual consent and the return should be divided according to workload.
Does that mean we need a different solution?

actually the President just decreed that to clear up the complex complications of shared ownership of PC games, all rights are owned by to me.

You should consult a business/intellectual property lawyer in your country instead of relying on the opinions and suggestions of random anonymous people on the internet who are not familiar with your country's laws.

or consult someone who has deep working knowledge of a variety of fields such as politics, law, video games, and entrepreneurship.

A broad expert, per se.

But yes, it soundslike it is entirely possible to arrange. Legal differences based on local country will apply. I know in ireland i could look up citizen's information, but there should be something similar for your country, so you can go informed to any expert knowing specific questions to ask.

@Tolstoy: I'm orienting, plus Jamie is a bit more than a random anonymous person to me, he has been very helpful so far.

@Valis: I didn't study laws, but I rarely need a legal advisor, plus I have one on a shortlist. I don't claim to know everything, but if my own expertise lacks in a field such as laws, I claim to be able to get you a guy who knows that field very well.

@ora: Thanks for the addition.

In the US, there are a lot of potential corporate structures. Now things may differ from country to country, but I'm guessing you'll find similarities as well.

1. Sole proprietorship (one person has all the power and responsibility, not good for your situation)
2. Partnership (multiple people share in profit and risks of a business. often has joint several liability though, which is problematic in the event of a lawsuit or something. personal assets are not distinct from corporate assets, and debts owed by any partner are the responsibility of the other partners if there's a failure to pay).
3. Corporation or LLC - a distinct legal entity. Can own property and there's a clear distinction between corporate assets and personal assets so what you own can't be taken to pay for corporate debts. S-Corporations are a special type with corporate profits being reported and taxed on individual owners' tax returns. Other companies pay a corporate tax and thus are subject to double taxation. But shares can be divided however.

Probably the easiest way for the software to be shared among multiple creators is to make it the property of an organization owned by them.

Brankl's advice is sound.

Steephie: Do you envisage any commercial *risk* in your venture? Is anyone investing any money, as well as their ideas?

We plan to raise funding with kickstarter so probably no investments.

I'm thinking now that one owner works best, with subcontracts and/or royalties. It seems the best option fiscally and the least expensive one juridically, including registration etc.?

Although I don't know if that flies with the other people in the group so I'd love to hear what you're thinking of right now, Jamie. Unless that's the same?

Put it all in writing. The obligations, rights, responsibilities, etc. Write out who does what and gets what. Keep personal and business finances 100% separate. Come to terms with the fact that if the business fails you will almost probably lose your friendships and if it succeeds you will almost certainly lose your friendships. Educate yourself on the business side of it because it is important, even if it isn't the fun stuff.

Lol at "one owner works best". I suspect the one saying that is the "one owner".

Also consider if the game is good enough some one could try to buy shares to gain control. So you need to decide how many need to agree and what to do if a few want to block any decision.

Yeah I'm the one owner maybe (one guy can set up a company in USA so that might be better though. Like a sister company to mine) but I'm looking at it from their perspective too.
Is there any disadvantage for the non-owners as long as all divisions and stuff are agreed to by contract?

They are not interested in publicity and I'm willing to accept the formal accountability (since I have to be the one handling that stuff anyway (read: they want me to handle it, I would definitely prefer if they did).

And yes, I briefly mentioned shares-stuff, but we're all in it for the long run so it's unlikely we're selling unless anyone offers us way more than its worth.
Then we would sell and start afresh probably.

But yeah, we agreed that we're going to make it so everyone has to agree to any change of ownership.

What we're trying to figure out now is how we pay the least taxes, especially since one of us has American citizenship and we're dealing with American Steam and avoiding doubke taxation would be nice..

How much did minecraft sell for?

If you get to the point where you are vaguely successful, make sure you have a watertight legal position. Maybe once you hit one thousand users you can start to worry about it.

Watertight legal position in what sense? Being sure no trouble can arise from within or making sure no one can sue us? I'm not sure what a computer game built from scrap could be sued for.

Taxes aren't double when you are in different countries since you can deduct foreign taxes. The problem is paying them for the company's profits and then personal income taxes on the profits paid to the owners from the company.

You really need a tax lawyer to tell you how to minimize taxes since every country is different and where you incorporate and live decides your taxes. That's why large companies use foreign subsidiaries to lower their taxes and keep profits overseas.