Paul Gardner

With over 25 years’ experience in the computer games industry, Paul advises on a range of industry-specific commercial and regulatory issues.

“I was an early adopter of the Atari 2600 and fell in love with the games industry. As a junior lawyer I spent over a year working on disputes relating to the licensing arrangements concerning the game Tetris, and then another year working as a virtual in-house lawyer at a games publisher, just as the industry was moving from 8 bit to 16 bit games.

I’ve worked on commercial and technology transactions relating to the development and commercialisation of games and game services ever since and have been fortunate enough to work with some of the most interesting and creative companies in the industry, ranging from indie studios to global companies. I helped write the original proposal to the UK government which ultimately led to the introduction of Video Game Tax Relief.

As the industry has grown in size and complexity, I’ve become increasingly involved with the regulatory issues relating to the industry, such as age ratings, consumer law, and betting and gaming regulations.

I’m the author of Practical Commercial Law’s guide to the computer games industry and a member of the Editorial Board of the Interactive Entertainment Law Review. I was one of the original trustees of GamesAid, the charity set up by the UK interactive entertainment industry and am a member of the advisory board of the BGI, a charity established to champion British games culture.”