On Tuesday 5th May 2026, Stobbs hosted its inaugural IAMGAMER event, titled From Game to Brand: The Lifecycle of Protection.
The event was chaired by Alex Hill, Grace Tsai, and Tosshan Ramgolam, we were delighted to be joined by our guest speakers:
- Rene Mitchell-Lambert (Senior Hard Surface Artist at Unknown Worlds Entertainment);
- Mo Ali (Chief of Brand & Content Protection at The Obviously Group); and
- Jonathan Moss KC (Barrister at Hogarth Chambers).
The event explored the real-world considerations the sector faces - focussed on the practical steps and strategic considerations that video and tabletop gaming businesses should have in mind during all stages of the development process, from idea to post-launch.
Overall, it was an insightful event with many points of discussion raised – each of them worthy of having a panel on their own. For those who were unable to make it to the event or those who attended and need a recap of the points discussed, we have prepared the following breakdown of the event.
Alex Hill kicked off the event, introducing the Stobbs Chairs and their (embarrassing?) number of hours logged in their favourite games – feel free to ask them for the disclosed numbers.
The mic was then passed to Tosshan Ramgolam who interviewed Rene Mitchell-Lambert. Rene introduced himself visually, showing the range of games he’s worked on previously via his showreel. Following Rene’s introduction, he walked the audience through his typical design process, explaining how he uses example mood boards for inspiration and how that then translates from concept art to production in the final stages of the game creation process.
Teeing up the later speakers, Rene highlighted instances that he had seen of works being plagiarised in the community and spoke to instances where his work has been stolen. The analogy he gave was “someone stealing your sketch before you finish the painting”.
Alex then took the stage again alongside Mo Ali, who spoke on typical trends that he has seen in his years protecting game studios. Mo highlighted how, as games have evolved, the types of pirated works have evolved alongside with it (are the days of copying a game to a blank CD now behind us?).
This in turn has changed the manner of enforcement. Whilst copyright has historically been a strong component in any games studios’ enforcement strategy, trade mark driven enforcement is becoming more valuable. Though individual platforms now pose difficulties where the platforms themselves derive benefit or profit from the online content, creating a dynamic set of factors which games studios need to contend with whilst defining their enforcement strategies.
Grace Tsai then picked up the conversation with Jonathan Moss KC, discussing trends where counterfeiters utilised a popular online platform for pricing and market research before releasing their copycat products. Linking back to the evolution of infringement, counterfeiters and other infringers are becoming more nuanced in their approaches, in respect of which studios need to react.
When picking up what preventative measures could be employed in the sector, for example, through registering specific IP rights, the success of those measures can be difficult to quantify. An infringer that is dissuaded from their infringement by a registered trade mark is unlikely to show up in any statistics. However, studios may see their brand copied less, while infringers move to other studios’ IP.
The session ended with a Q&A between the audience and the guest speakers as a panel discussion. The theme of community was raised, highlighting that consistency in protection and enforcement (online or offline) remains key to ensuring community perspective remains protected and within the brand’s interest.
The panel discussion was then brought to a close and was followed by a drinks reception where conversations continued, fuelled by the ideas presented by the panel.