{"id":66446,"date":"2026-05-11T22:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-05-11T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/?p=66446"},"modified":"2026-05-11T17:44:24","modified_gmt":"2026-05-11T08:44:24","slug":"indie-developer-who-got-blocked-on-steam-for-potential-infringement-of-his-own-work-finally-gets-green-light-after-issuing-license-declaration-to-himsel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/indie-games\/indie-developer-who-got-blocked-on-steam-for-potential-infringement-of-his-own-work-finally-gets-green-light-after-issuing-license-declaration-to-himsel\/","title":{"rendered":"Indie developer who got blocked on Steam for \u201cpotential infringement\u201d of\u00a0his\u00a0own work\u00a0finally gets green\u00a0light\u00a0after issuing license declaration to\u00a0himself\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

When we last\u00a0caught up with Japanese indie developer\u00a0Daikichi_EMP\u00a0one week ago, his demo for the upcoming anime-style 3D climbing game\u00a0WIRED TOKYO 2007<\/strong>\u00a0was\u00a0stuck in Steam review limbo<\/a>\u00a0over suspected infringement of third-party intellectual property, but thankfully, Valve and Daikichi reached a solution\u00a0on the 9th, and\u00a0the demo is cleared for release.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To give some background, WIRED TOKYO 2007\u2019s in-game environments and store page assets feature references to the board games Second Best and DinoStone, which led to Daikichi_EMP\u2019s demo being flagged by Valve\u2019s reviewers as a potential unauthorized IP violation. The catch is, these games were created and belong to the developer himself, but he had no way of proving it. His explanation to Valve was met with a rejection, with the reviewers requesting more substantial proof, such as license agreements to the IPs, or a \u201clegal opinion from their attorney analyzing the intellectual property issues and explaining why they don\u2019t need licenses.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Being an indie developer with a limited budget, Daikichi could not afford to hire an attorney just to get his demo approved, which left him in a pickle. However, it seems his attempt to make a homebrew document was successful. \u201cI\u2019ve passed Steam review!,\u201d he reported on May 9. \u201cLicensing negotiations with myself have been quite challenging, but we\u2019ve finally settled the matter, with me granting myself a license. After a heartfelt handshake between me and myself, I\u2019ve finally released the demo.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Daikichi

This is a document of a historical example in which I myself granted a license to myself.\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/ew0TQVAy2d<\/a><\/p>— WIRED TOKYO 2007 (@Wired_Tokyo) May 9, 2026<\/a><\/blockquote>