News of the Week: October 7, 2015

GAMES

1. Pokémon copyright lawyers demand $4,000 from party planner: “I literally don’t have $4000… I will never throw another fandom party.”

+ Pokemon Wants To Totally Bankrupt One Of Its Biggest Fans, Thanks To Copyright

+ Fan turns to the crowd for Pokemon PAX party settlement

2. EA Takes Right-of-Publicity Case to Supreme Court

3. The Escapist faces possible legal action over Star Citizen exposé: Cloud Imperium has denied accusations of mishandling funds and workplace discrimination, claims unethical journalistic practice

4. Konami’s Metal Gear Solid 5 FOB insurance is the worst kind of microtransaction: Recurring, virtual insurance policy feels like a protection racket for online players.

5. Ridiculous Deus Ex pre-order scheme canceled after “resounding” fan ire: Players no longer have to “unlock” content with collective early purchases.

6. Moneyball, but for Mario—the data behind Super Mario Maker popularity

7. Changes to UK Consumer Rights Act are good news for gamers

+ A Practical Video Games Industry Guide To The Uk’s Consumer Rights Act 2015

9. Trade Mark Trouble – Is Your Game Protected?

10. Cheaters sometimes prosper — on Facebook: Concordia researchers explore how players bend the rules in social media games, and judge others for doing the same

11. Report: Curt Schilling and Rhode Island officials tried to keep 38 Studios deal a secret

12. Why video games have launch problems

13. NBA 2K16 breaks new milestones

14. “We weren’t expecting this many people would buy a PlayStation 4”

15. eSports to bring in $1.8 billion by 2020 – Analyst

16. Destiny introduces microtransactions

17. Train Simulator 2016 And How We’ve Reached The Crest Of The Dumb DLC Wave

18. Three steps to help ensure the enforceability of your website’s terms of use 

DIGITAL

1. Maximillian Schrems v. Data Protection Commissioner, Judgment Of The EU Court (Grand Chamber) 6 October 2015

+ Safe Harbour deal ruled invalid by top European court

+ European Court Strikes Down Data Sharing Safe Harbour Between the United States and the EU: What’s the Impact for Canada?

+ How a Law Seminar Inspired a Student to Bring a Case to Europe’s Top Court

2. The Corporate-Friendly World of the T.P.P.

3. Harper government facing court challenge over secret OIC

4. Intermediary Liability And User Content Under Europe’s New Data Protection Law

5. Ashley Madison – a new era in privacy class actions for Canada?

6. HK backspace, backspace: Censors delete news of Hong Kong’s protests, but not quite fast enough

7. Female technology journalists report abuse is still the name of the game: Women in tech forced to disguise their identity – and even quit the industry – after facing threats online, study finds

8. Amazon to ban sales of Apple TV, Google Chromecast to boost Prime Video

+ Amazon Bans Sale Of Competing Apple TV, Chromecast Devices To ‘Avoid Customer Confusion’

9. David Cameron & The Pig: Revenge Porn & The Right To Be Forgotten

10. Highly personal data for 15 million T-Mobile applicants stolen by hackers

11. Apple CEO Tim Cook: ‘Privacy Is A Fundamental Human Right’

12. Yelp settles suit with bankruptcy lawyer over allegations of fake reviews

13. Epic Minds’ $70k Kickstarter cash is gone, needs $120k to finish

14. When Amazon Dies: What will happen to digital collections of books, movies, and music when the tech giants fall?

15. YouTube’s Young Viewers Are Becoming Its Creators

16. DMCA considerations following the “Dancing Baby case” – Lenz v. Universal Music Corp.

17. Apple Watch Is Being Severely Underestimated

18. The Age of Satellites

19. The importance of human innovation in A.I. ethics 

CREATIVITY

1. Scientology Ramps Up ‘Going Clear’ Smear Campaign, Contacts Academy Members

2. Ai Weiwei finds ‘listening devices’ hidden in Beijing studio: Dissident artist posts images of suspected bugs on Instagram after returning to China following first overseas trip in four years

3. Frankie Valli Faces Trial for Ripping Off His Own Life Story in ‘Jersey Boys’: A journalist’s widow pursues an odd copyright case that’s four decades in the making.

4. There are laws making it illegal to collect data on open land: Wyoming law—which forbids testing water quality, taking photos—is being challenged.

5. The Dangers When Financiers Think They Can Produce Movies, Too

6. Female Journalists Barred From NFL Locker Room — For Being Women: Ironically, the reporters were covering the Jaguars-Colts game as part of a sports media diversity event.

7. Are patent trolls taking over the fashion industry?

8. How The Media Inspires Mass Shooters

jon