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News of the Week; June 26, 2013
1. EA’s timing argument thrown out in Madden lawsuit 2. Appeals court sides with Nintendo in Wii Balance Board patent lawsuit 3. Long, unhappy post on Hart v. EA 4. Ellen Page Says The Last Of Us’ Ellie “Ripped Off My Likeness” 5. Naughty Dog accused of swiping Last of Us art 6. Saints Row IV effectively banned under new Australian […]
News of the Week; June 19, 2013
1. Apogee Sues Gearbox Over Duke Nukem Forever Deal 2. Beyonce Settles Lawsuit with Game Developer Gate Five 3. The Truth About Video Games and Gun Violence 4. George Lucas & Steven Spielberg on the Future of Entertainment 5. Is EA Seeing the Light on Used Games? It Sure Sounds Like It 6. Microsoft reverses Xbox One online check and used […]
2011 Talk to LSUC Symposium on Convergence 3.0
In April 2011, was very honoured to give the keynote at The Law Society of Upper Canada’s Entertainment & Media Law Symposium – “Convergence 3.0: It’s Here and It’s Happening”. The talk on “The Three Faces of Convergence” was an attempt to reconcile digital media legal issues with observations from my broadcast and sports and operational experiences. Thanks to […]
News of the Week; June 12, 2013
1. Patrice Désilets Sues Ubisoft For $400,000 And Rights To Purchase 1666: http://www.gameinformer.com/b/news/archive/2013/06/08/patrice-desilets-files-lawsuit-against-ubisoft.aspx 2. Acknowledging Copyright’s Illegitimate Offspring – User-Generated Content and Canadian Copyright Law by Teresa Scassa: http://www.press.uottawa.ca/sites/default/files/9780776620848_14.pdf 3. How Games Licensing Works on Xbox One: http://news.xbox.com/2013/06/license 4. Xbox One, discs, and downloads: Better than feared, worse than hoped: http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2013/06/xbox-one-discs-and-downloads-better-than-feared-worse-than-hoped/ 5. PS4 $399, no used game restrictions: http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2013-06-11-ps4-USD399-no-used-game-restrictions 6. EFF Weighs in on First […]
Games as Art & Expression Examined.
In “Games Are Not Coffee Mugs Ep#1” Prof. William K. Ford of John Marshall Law School and an expert panel delve into the history of games and legal decisions which did not and then did recognize the expressive aspects of the medium. For additional context check out Nostalgia Critic’s analysis “Are Video Games Art?” and Paola Antonelli’s […]
News of the Week; June 5, 2013
1. Athletes’ rights of publicity trump First Amendment in video game context: http://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=11825a4a-15ac-435f-93d9-3d375da14e2c 2. The Future of Video Games – A Box and a Cloud: http://m.newyorker.com/online/blogs/elements/2013/05/the-future-of-video-games-a-box-and-a-cloud.html 3. Canadian Video Game Industry Critical Component of New Digital Economy and Source of National Pride; Contributes $2.3 Billion to GDP: http://online.wsj.com/article/PR-CO-20130531-906598.html?mod=googlenews_wsj 4. Russian Hacker Pirates The Dishwasher, Calls it ‘Justice’: http://www.gamepolitics.com/2013/06/04/russian-hacker-pirates-dishwasher-calls-it-justice#.Ua6QIhZC7fg 5. Let’s Play crackdown is […]
News of the Week; May 29, 2013
1. Atari Seeks Permission to Hold Asset Auctions in July from Bankruptcy Court: http://www.gamepolitics.com/2013/05/23/atari-seeks-permission-hold-asset-auctions-july-bankruptcy-court#.UZ64cpVC7fg 2. German commissioner highlights Xbox One privacy concerns: http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2013-05-28-german-commissioner-highlights-xbox-one-privacy-concerns?utm_content=bufferb0a5d&utm_source=buffer&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Buffer 3. Can the next generation consoles block used games?: http://www.gamerlaw.co.uk/2013/can-the-next-generation-consoles-block-used-games/ 4. Cheating in Online Video Games: http://techland.time.com/2013/05/24/cheating-in-online-video-games/ 5. Gaming Tax Credits: A Developer’s Guide to Free Money: http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2013-05-22-gaming-tax-credits-a-developers-guide-to-free-money 6. ESA Releases 2012 Annual Report: http://gamepolitics.com/2013/05/28/esa-releases-2012-annual-report#.Uabu85VC7fg 7. The legal status of virtual goods: http://www.lawyersweekly.ca/index.php?section=article&articleid=1912&rssid=4 8. Demcak […]
UBC CTLT Institute session on “Open Courses, Open Pedagogies”
Had the privilege today of speaking about Video Game Law as an open course at the UBC Centre for Teaching, Learning & Technology’s annual week-long CTLT Institute program. My talk followed presentations from Christina Hendricks, a Senior Instructor who regularly teaches both in Philosophy and in Arts One at UBC, and from Jon Beasley-Murray who teaches in the […]
News of the Week; May 22, 2013
1. Ryan Hart v. Electronic Arts (USCA 3rd) – “NCAA Football” right of publicity opinion filed May 21, 2013: http://www.ca3.uscourts.gov/opinarch/113750p.pdf 2. Nintendo targets user YouTube videos: http://www.gamepolitics.com/2013/05/16/nintendo-targets-lets-play-videos-youtube#.UZUYuZVC7fg 3. Nintendo’s YouTube Ad-Grab Is Playing With Fire: http://www.wired.com/gamelife/2013/05/nintendo-youtube-lets-play/ 4. Virtual and augmented reality: the next big legal controversy for games?: http://www.gamerlaw.co.uk/2013/virtual-and-augmented-reality-the-next-big-legal-controversy-for-games/ 5. Shady Shadow of the Eternals T&C’s ‘a mistake’: http://www.develop-online.net/news/44225/Shady-Shadow-of-the-Eternals-TCs-a-mistake 6. Former GTA Producer: Why […]
News of the Week; May 15, 2013
1. EA will no longer pay gun makers for the right to depict weapons in games: http://www.theverge.com/2013/5/8/4311300/electronic-arts-distances-itself-from-gun-manufacturers 2. ‘Xbox Killer’ Takes Conviction Fight to Florida Supreme Court: http://gamepolitics.com/2013/05/09/xbox-killer-takes-conviction-fight-florida-supreme-court#.UZPyh5VC7fg 3. Research: Frequent Exposure to Violent Games May Have ‘Desensitizing Effect’: http://www.gamepolitics.com/2013/05/10/research-frequent-exposure-violent-games-may-have-desensitizing-effect#.UZKU1pVC7fg 4. Vice President Sees No Legal Hurdles in Enacting Sin Tax on Violent Media: http://www.gamepolitics.com/2013/05/13/vice-president-sees-no-legal-hurdles-enacting-sin-tax-violent-media#.UZJvM5VC7fh 5. Blizzard Donates Money Made from Diablo […]