Jim Charne

Jim Charne provides representation for clients in all aspects of computer and video game entertainment, e-commerce, licensing, and music-related fields.

Jim entered the games industry in 1983 as a producer for Activision, and later served as VP Legal & Business Affairs and CFO of Absolute Entertainment, a large console game developer.

Since relocating from the east coast to California in 1995, he has maintained a solo law practice representing technology companies, software developers, composers and music entrepreneurs, and games industry clients located around the world.

Jim has been faculty chair of the all-day Legal and Business tutorial at Game Developers Conference (gdconf.com) 15 times since 1998, has chaired games industry programs in both San Francisco and New York since 2005 for Practicing Law Institute, led and oversaw the lawyers committee that authored the IGDA Business and Quality of Life Committees' Contract Walk-Through, and served as President of the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences from 1998 to 2001.

He is the author of "Famous Last Words," a column on legal and contracting issues for game developers found on the web at igda.org/columns/famous-last-words.

Jim's articles on games industry contracting issues have been published in The Licensing Journal, The Computer and Internet Lawyer, and the magazine of the Los Angeles County Bar Association.