Non-Compete Clauses, Which Ones Aren't Going Away, & the Game Industry (Patreon)

While it's far from universal, it's very common from tabletop game companies to have clauses in their employment contracts forbidding employees from doing any for-profit work on their own or for other companies while working for the game company. It is also common to have clauses forbidding such employees for working for themselves or other game producers for a period of time after they are no longer in that first job.

(I very much appreciate game companies that DON'T have such rules, which is how I was able to run Rogue Genius while working full-time for Paizo and being under contract at Green Ronin and helping out at Rite publishing all at the same time for many years.)

Only one of those two kinds of noncompetes is scheduled to end, and I have already had people come to me who misunderstood the change, so I wanted to go over it and give my primary sources. (Since it could impact my business opportunities I have also spoken to a couple of lawyers, but in case it's not clear, I am not a lawyers, and this article is not legal advice.)

The upcoming "ban on 'all' noncompetes" from the US Federal Trade Commission does NOT stop companies from insisting you not not work for anyone else while working for the company with the noncompete. It ONLY applies to noncompetes that forbid you working for others after you leave the first company.

From the ftc paper on the new rule: "The final rule defines “non-compete clause” as “a term or condition of employment that prohibits a worker from, penalizes a worker for, or functions to prevent a worker from seeking or accepting work in the United States with a different person where such work would begin after the conclusion of the employment that includes the term or condition;"

(It also doesn't apply to some executives setting policy and making 6-figure salaries).

Do people working for Wizards of the Coast, for example, are still subject to WotC's rules while employed there.

Primary source (which to be fair to folks, is 540 pages long)

https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/ftc_gov/pdf/noncompete-rule.pdf

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