GAMES
- Crytek’s lawsuit against Star Citizen devs ends in settlement
- TIGA principles for protecting players are quietly radical | Opinion: UK trade group’s endorsement of common sense best practices shows good faith effort, puts peers to shame
- NHS’ gaming addiction clinic only needed by ‘a very small percentage’: Founder Dr Bowden-Jones hopes the numbers will remain lower than problem gambling
- Copyright In The Modern Era: Fortnite Lets Players Mute Emote To Avoid Auto-Copyright Claims Against YouTubers
- UK High Court Confirms That Grand Theft Auto Cheat Software Infringes Copyright
- EA bans pro FIFA player from all EA games for threatening messages and behavior
- The nuclear option: EA bans “abusive” FIFA player from all of its games
- Activision subpoenas Reddit in hopes of tracking down Call of Duty leaker
- Activision goes after Reddit to expose Call of Duty leaker: DMCA subpoena issued to identify user who posted new screenshot
- Well Then: Activision Issues DMCA Subpoena To Have Reddit Unmask Whoever Posted That CoD Image Leak
- Kitfox’s Victoria Tran aims to kill toxic game communities with kindness
- Panic Art Studios CEO posts racist remarks on Twitter: Elias Viglione describes outburst as “moment of temporary insanity”
- Kobe Bryant: Washington Post reporter reinstated after tweet row
- New legal counsel takes over class action lawsuit against Riot Games
- New legal counsel seeking ‘institutional reform’ in Riot Games’ discrimination lawsuit
- Two of Riot Games’ next few projects are being developed with Unity
- The next Xbox will quadruple XB1’s CPU, octuple its GPU performance
- Microsoft confirms Xbox Series X will pack 12 teraflop GPU, shares more tech specs
- Xbox boss Phil Spencer: Game streaming won’t hinder home consoles
- GeForce Now passes 1 million signups during free trial period
- Weeks after launch, Nvidia’s GeForce Now attracts a million streaming gamers
- Bethesda Softworks pulls all games but Wolfenstein: Youngblood from GeForce Now
- Bethesda pulls games from GeForce Now, more publishers may follow: But Nvidia promises new games will be added every week as trial period comes to an end
- Google wants to bring HTML5 titles to low-end devices with GameSnacks
- Google Stadia will come pre-installed in certain smartphones: Starting with the Asus ROG Phone 3
- The strange, unexplained journey of ToTok in Google Play fuels user suspicions
- Google Pulls 600 Apps From the Google Play Store for Disruptive Advertising
- Kunai becomes the latest title review bombed on Metacritic by a single person: TurtleBlaze’s Metroidvania was targeted at random, dropping from an 8.1 user score to a 1.7 in a single day
- Game crunch lessons: How to avoid game development crunch – “Teams who are having fun make better games and making games should be fun — otherwise, what’s the point?”
- Around 20 employees laid off at mobile studio Kixeye
- Kixeye lays off around 20: Parent company Stillfront says cuts were “a natural step” after acquisition, won’t affect portfolio or business in general
- UK studio Ultimatum Games has shut down after four years
- Adventure game trailblazer Roberta Williams to receive Pioneer Award at GDC 2020
- Roberta Williams to receive GDCA Pioneer Award: King’s Quest designer will be recognized for her work in graphic adventures and for co-founding Sierra On-Line
- Is the US market ready to embrace a $500 game console?
- Roblox raises $150 million for game-making, game-playing platform
- COVID-19 looms over planning for next-gen launches | Opinion: The epidemic threatens to shut down supply chains the entire games industry relies on — and even push new console launches into next year
- PlayStation cites coronavirus, backs out of multiple major gaming expos [Updated]
- PlayStation and Facebook cancel GDC appearances citing coronavirus concerns: Kojima Productions also pulls out, cancelling founder’s talk
- Australian retailers limit Ring Fit Adventure sales as resellers and coronavirus cause stock shortage: Staff reportedly warned new stock will not be available until end of March or early April
- PUBG, Black Desert add new PS4 and Xbox One cross-play features
- CD Projekt Red and PUBG Corp cancel event plans due to coronavirus: But Cyberpunk 2077 developer currently still plans to attend GDC 2020
- The Wonderful 101 dev PlatinumGames to open 100-person studio in Tokyo
- Platinum Games opening new Tokyo studio: Bayonetta developer plans to build new team to 100 people to work on Viewtiful Joe and Wonderful 101 follow-up
- Employees say “sheer desperation” drives GameStop’s aggressive sales tactics: Chain focuses on pre-orders and buying used phones, with the potential threat of termination for staff who miss targets
- Nintendo severely limits save file options for Animal Crossing on Switch
- UK Monthly Report: GTA V and Nintendo Switch Lite shine in quiet January
- Pokemon Home first week downloads reached 1.3m: Sensor Tower -Estimated first week revenue from subscription plans is around $1.8 million
- Pokemon-inspired MMO Temtem passes 500,000 copies sold
- Steam’s latest search features are straight from Steam Labs experiments
- Metro Exodus off to strong start on Steam, despite Epic exclusivity: Embracer Group CEO says shooter has already sold 200,000 copies, also discusses Shenmue III’s performance
- UK Charts: Bayonetta and Vanquish return to Top Ten: Half-Term sales boosts Team Sonic Racing, Call of Duty Black Ops 4 and Forza Horizon 4
- Games’ European mobile market share expected to shrink to 55% by 2022: But category will still be biggest source of user spending, expected to hit $12.9 billion
- GOG expands refund policy to 30 days: New policy allows for customers to get their money back even if the game was played
- GOG asks you to please not abuse its expansive new 30-day refund policy
- Netmarble’s full year sales are up, but profit is down: Korean mobile developer to continue focus on global expansion
- Giants opening Chicago office: Farming Simulator developer’s first outpost outside of Europe to focus on support for North and South American players
- Starbreeze looks toward Payday 3 with $5m share sale: New series A shares are equivalent to 30% of voting rights in the embattled Swedish publisher
- Animal Crossing New Horizons lost save files can only be recovered once: Cloud saves will be limited to Switch Online members, and can only be accessed in case of loss or damage
- Take-Two forms new internal studio to finish Kerbal Space Program 2
- Private Division moves Kerbal Space Program 2 development to new, internal studio: Jeremy Ables, other KSP2 leads join Private Division, but former developer Star Theory’s status is unknown
- Deathtrap Dungeon adaptation aims to demonstrate the true potential of interactive fiction: Branching Narrative’s Matt Spall also discusses how the scariest graphics are your imagination
- Black Desert Online and the diverging MMO ecosystem; Pearl Abyss America CEO Jeonghee Jin discusses the changing face of MMO monetisation
- On Kirby 64 and Impressionism: Sketch House Games’ Nate Buck considers how N64 developers discarded details while preserving an aesthetic
- Games sales up 51% at THQ Nordic at end of 2019
- The Witcher 3 earns $50 million on Steam in 18 months to hop revenue tiers
- Make-A-Wish launches GameStars charity intiative: UK branch of the charity will make it simpler for the games community to raise money
- YouTube Millionaires: MMG Balances College And A “Cuul” Gig As One Of YouTube’s Top ‘Madden’ Creators
- Twitch is making it easier to understand League of Legends matches: Helping you keep track of your favorite League of Legends streamers
- Twitch Star Dr DisRespect To Pen “Memoir” About His Gaming Persona For Simon & Schuster
- Twitch to top 40 million US viewers next year, forecast says
- Newzoo: Global esports market will reach $1.1b in 2020 – Nearly three-fourths of all revenue will come from sponsorships and media rights
- Esports firm Tempo Storm raises $3.3 million to launch a game
- Esports company Tempo Storm nets $3.3 million to start making games
- Tempo Storm raises $3.3 million: Esports team will use latest funding to expand into blockchain game development and livestreamed entertainment
- Adapting to the evolution of esports: Major League Gaming co-founder Mike Sepso explains why the original MLG wouldn’t work today, and how his new start-up Vindex is positioned for the future
- Wales. Golf. Madrid. Esports. In that order? Gareth Bale sets up a new esports team
- Ride on…in accordance with the rules
- Space Channel 5 VR review: The worst value proposition for a PSVR game yet
- Facebook acquires Asgard’s Wrath dev Sanzaru Games
- Facebook acquires Sanzaru Games: Studio behind Asgard’s Wrath to join Oculus Studios and continue VR development
- More Than 100 VR Games Have Exceeded $1 Million in Revenue
- HTC takes its own magic leap, announces Vive Proton prototype headset
- Index Will Return to Stock Ahead of ‘Half-Life: Alyx’, but “far fewer units” Due to Coronavirus
- How a new wave of developers are using voxels to create jaw-dropping worlds
- Push-button warfare: How artists use games to capture drone strike horror
- DeltaDNA and Earplay partner to bring analytics to voice-based games and apps
- PewDiePie Returns To Daily YouTube Uploads After “Really Healthy And Good” Break
- An extended interview with Atrus himself, Myst creator Rand Miller
- Video: Inside the AI systems of Final Fantasy XV
- Blog: Crafting nightmares to define Othercide’s art direction
- Blog: Dear game developers everywhere – go teach!
- Blog: A decade-spanning retrospective of the Indonesian games industry
- Blog: A critical analysis of The Outer Wilds
- Blog: My full-time indie developer life – Year 3
- Don’t Miss: A Game Design Deep Dive into SteamWorld Dig’s digging mechanic
- Don’t Miss: A water interaction model for great video game boat physics
- Don’t Miss: The Resident Evil 4 postmortem
- Don’t Miss: A look back at the history of Konami’s Gradius
- Red Candle Games’ delisted game Devotion added to Harvard Library collection
- Eli Roth to direct Borderlands movie: Long-in-the-works adaptation will be helmed by filmmaker behind Hostel, Cabin Fever, and Death Wish remake
- The Outer Worlds, Outer Wilds, and more named Nebula Award finalists
- Obituary: Konami Code creator Kazuhisa Hashimoto has passed away
DIGITAL
- First Amendment doesn’t apply on YouTube; judges reject PragerU lawsuit: YouTube can restrict PragerU videos because it is a private forum, court rules.
- Father Of Alison Parker Files FTC Complaint Against YouTube, Alleging It Refuses To Remove Videos Of Her Death
- T-Series’ YouTube Channel Becomes First To Collect 100 Billion Views
- YouTube Confirms Demonetization Of Controversial Vlogger JayStation, As He Announces Indefinite Hiatus
- YouTube Reinstates Popular Music Streaming Channel ChilledCow After Fan Outcry
- Section 230 Protects Zillow for Bogus Submissions of House Details–924 Bel Air v. Zillow (Eric Goldman)
- Why Section 230 Matters And How Not To Break The Internet; DOJ 230 Workshop Review, Part I
- Section 230 and Criminal Law; DOJ 230 Workshop Review, Part II
- Barr’s Motives, Encryption and Protecting Children; DOJ 230 Workshop Review, Part III
- Rep. Cicilline Wants To Remove Section 230 Protections For Platforms That Host ‘Demonstrably False’ Political Ads
- Apple Pay under Competition Law scrutiny
- Apple is considering letting users change default email, browser, music apps in iOS
- Apple Maps expands its Street View competitor to Boston, DC, Philadelphia
- Apple tells moviemakers that villains can’t use iPhones, Rian Johnson says
- New Sony Xperia 1 II smartphone looks handsome, costs a ridiculous $1,300
- UK Government Releases Details of New ‘Online Harms’ Regime for Online Platforms
- UK Government’s Action Tackles Online Harms
- EU’s new digital strategy targets data-hoarding tech firms
- Digitalization, a high priority for Europe’s future – the European Commission showcases its new digital and AI strategy
- European Commission Announces Strategy for Data, Artificial Intelligence and Competition in the Digital Age
- CMA publishes interim report on online platforms and digital advertising
- How the Coronavirus Revealed Authoritarianism’s Fatal Flaw: China’s use of surveillance and censorship makes it harder for Xi Jinping to know what’s going on in his own country. (Zeynep Tufekci)
- China Expels Three Wall Street Journal Reporters: China’s Foreign Ministry says move was punishment for a recent opinion piece published by the Journal
- US government agencies are banning TikTok, the social media app teens are obsessed with, over cybersecurity fears — here’s the full list
- Amid Security Concerns, TSA Bans Employee Usage Of TikTok For Social Posts
- Prada Taps TikTok Megastar Charli D’Amelio For Milan Fashion Week Appearance
- Significant online defamation damages in Canada – are online platforms immune?
- Attorney General William Barr Raises Concerns over ISP Immunity
- The system is rigged against users: Another reason why getting compensated for data is not a good idea (Beatriz Botero Arcila)
- Clickwrap Agreement: Consent or Not Consent, That Is A Question
- Swinging the Vote?: Google’s black box algorithm controls which political emails land in your main inbox. For 2020 presidential candidates, the differences are stark.
- Federal Circuit Finds Presence Of Google’s Cache Servers In The Eastern District Of Texas Does Not Justify Venue
- 300 Oracle employees walk out over Ellison’s Trump fundraiser: The Trump administration just sided with Oracle in its legal battle with Google.
- Report: 300 Oracle employees walk out over Ellison’s Trump fundraiser
- Inside the Seething Boardroom Drama That Poisoned HQ Trivia: The app was America’s favorite gameshow until a toxic culture and co-founder feuding drove it off the air. Now, the CEO wants to bring it back.
- Companies are stealing influencers’ faces
- Federal Circuit Rules Presence of Google Servers in District Insufficient to Establish Venue
- FTC Toughens Enforcement against Comparison Websites and Influence Marketers
- FTC Seeking Public Comment on Revisions to Endorsement Guides
- Get ready for price hikes up to 10% annually after sale of .org registry
- The Drive-Thru Creator Problem: How Low-Quality Content Is Hurting Brands (And Creators)
- Instagram influencer Natalia Taylor fakes Bali vacation with Ikea pics: Taylor wanted to remind people not everything they see on Instagram is the real deal.
- Children’s Content Studio Pocket.Watch Unveils Kid-Centric Ad Agency ‘Clock.Work’
- Tana Mongeau Debuts Second Season Of MTV Reality Series, Adding Trevor Moran To Primary Cast
- Nickelodeon Nabs Social Star Annie LeBlanc For 13-Episode Linear Sitcom ‘Side Hustle’
- Facebook Aims To Get 3.5 Billion People Online So That It Can Profit From Their Data
- Facebook offers to pay users for their voice recordings
- Facebook will now pay you for your voice recordings: But it won’t pay much
- New Decade, New Facebook? Facebook Reaches $550 Million Settlement in Facial Recognition Class Action, Agrees to Upgrade Privacy Safeguards
- Facebook Unveils Creator-Centric ‘Studio’ App For Upload Management, Video Analytics, More
- Are Your Facebook Posts Discoverable? Application of the Forman Test in New York
- WCB Seeks to Refresh Record in Restoring Internet Freedom Proceeding in Wake of D.C. Circuit’s Mozilla Decision
- YouTube TV Adding HBO, HBO Max, Cinemax To Channel Lineup Come Spring
- WarnerMedia, YouTube TV Expand Distribution Deal to HBO, Cinemax, HBO Max
- YouTuber Partnerships Are Playing Big At This Year’s Toy Fair New York
- The Dolan Twins’ ‘Love From Sean’ Cancer-Fighting Venture Raises Roughly $200,000 In 24 Hours
- Tubular Labs Introduces New ‘Video Categories’ Tool, Co-Developed By Former Netflix Exec
- Netflix’s Top 10: What Is It, And Why Has It Shown Up Now?
- Fox Looking To Acquire Tubi For Reported $500 Million, As NBCUniversal Sets Sights On Vudu
- TikTok Rolls Out Tools Enabling Parents To Police Screen Time, Direct Messaging
- Petnet goes offline for a week, can’t answer customers at all
- Twitter now makes it easier to add new tweets to old threads: Now you can keep tweetstorms going forever
- This is Amazon’s newest grocery store concept
- Amazon made a bigger camera-spying store—so we tried to steal its fruit
- Spotify revamps the brand of its New Music Friday playlist
- Amid A Sudden Gold Rush, Is Podcasting’s Market “Anyone With Ears?”
- Sweep” of European websites
- Overview of internet intermediary and media law cases for Northern Ireland in 2019: Part 1
- Overview of internet intermediary and media law cases for Northern Ireland in 2019: Part 2
- The Mandalorian was shot on a holodeck-esque set with Unreal Engine, video shows
- A peanut butter brand has put its spoon into the GIF pronunciation debate
A.I.
- How Should AI be Regulated in Canada? Speak now, or forever hold your peace!
- 2020 Update: Data-Driven Online Targeting
- The Regulator: European Commission sets out approach on the future regulation of AI
- AI Update: European Commission Presents Strategies for Data and AI (Part 1 of 4)
- Contextual Analysis of Social Media: The Promise and Challenge of Eliciting Context in Social Media Posts with Natural Language Processing
- Who’s protecting the machines? Will IP law offer incentives to AI developers in the battle to beat bacteria?
- A neural network picks promising antibiotics out of a library of chemicals
- Dark, Beyond Deep: A Paradigm Shift to Cognitive AI with Humanlike Common Sense
- 2019 Artificial Intelligence Year in Review
- NTSB blasts Tesla, CalTrans, and NHTSA for Autopilot death
COMMUNICATIONS
- Complaint filed against Bell Canada and Rogers for anti-competitive conduct: Bell and Rogers sometimes inflated rates by more than 900 per cent, CRTC found
- Deja Vu All Over Again: Looking Back at Two Decades of Bell, Telus and Rogers Battles Over the Canadian Wireless Market (Michael Geist)
- Who Runs Canadian Telecom Policy Anyway?: Why the Telus Threats at the CRTC Will Backfire (Michael Geist)
- Broadcast Panel Chair Says Canada Already Licenses News Organizations So Why Not Internet Companies? (Michael Geist)
- The Broadcast Panel Report and Canadian Stories: Take the Cancon Quiz (Michael Geist)
- NY AG Gives Up, Won’t Appeal T-Mobile Merger Ruling
- AT&T loses key ruling in class action over unlimited-data throttling
- AT&T Loses California Case After Lying To Consumers About ‘Unlimited’ Data Throttling
- Time Warner Cable Enters Into $18.8M Settlement With California DAs Over Internet Speeds
- Clarence Thomas regrets ruling that Ajit Pai used to kill net neutrality
- Trump report bizarrely claims net neutrality repeal raised incomes $50B a year
- The FCC To Field More Comments On Net Neutrality. Maybe They’ll Stop Identity Theft And Fraud This Time?
- FCC Does Bupkis As US Telco Networks Fall Apart, Putting Lives At Risk
- FCC Adopts Strict Processing Policies on Requests for Modification of TV Markets for Cable and Satellite Carriage
- FCC Announces Data Collection on Huawei and ZTE Equipment Replacement Effort
- U.S. Alleges Huawei Involved in Long-Running Scheme to Steal Trade Secrets
- FCC Seeks Anti-Robocall Information from Seven “International Gateways” Believed to be Originating Illegal Robocalls
- FCC Proposed Nearly $13 Million Fine for Illegal Spoofing
- As satellite TV tanks, Dish says merger with DirectTV is “inevitable”
- Dish Floats DirecTV Merger, Because What’s A Little Mindless Monopolization Among Friends?
- Thanks, Qualcomm: Mandatory 5G means phones now ship with disabled 5G modems
- Federal Trade Commission Reminds 19 VoIP Providers of the Telemarketing Sales Rule
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
- Musicians Algorithmically Generate Every Possible Melody, Release Them to Public Domain: Damien Riehl & Noah Rubin generated and saved every possible melody to a drive, then turned it around to the commons.
- Attempt To Put Every Musical Melody Into The Public Domain Demonstrates Craziness Of Modern Copyright
- Can a Machine Be Considered an ‘Inventor’ for Patent Purposes?
- Drake’s Sampling is a Fair Use
- Judge upholds decision awarding $6.75 million (£5.2 million) damages to 5 Pointz graffiti artists
- Second Circuit Affirms Visual Artists Rights Act Protects Famed Graffiti-ed Building
- An introduction to copyright for creatives
- Merchandising Monsters – European Commission imposes €14.3 million fine on NBCUniversal
- The NCAA Blocks the Use of “March Madness” in Trademark Dispute
- Brakes put on Bentley Motors’ use of trademark
- Infringement by ReTweet?
- Copyright term under Disney’s spell?
- Can You License A Video You Don’t Hold The Copyright Over?
- Copyright Can’t Bend Far Enough to Be Used Like a Patent
- Protecting the Design of Consumer Goods
- Compete, monetise, abandon: the strategic path to IP value
- Intellectual Property Alert: Where and How You Store Your Servers May Subject You to Patent Litigation in a Distant Jurisdiction
- Canadian patent law: 2019 year in review
- Obtaining patent protection for software in Europe
- 2019 U.S. Patents Hit All Time High
- Is Chinese IP Theft Coming to an End?
- The US Spent Years Telling China To Take Patents Seriously; Now It’s Freaking Out That China Is Doing So
- Design Patent Guidance Found in Recent Court Decisions
- Intellectual Property and Brexit
- IP after Brexit: consequences and checklists
- Revolution in enforcement of intellectual property rights in Poland – Introduction of specialised IP courts
- Hiding Actualities: Whether Art Should Exist Independent of the Artist (Derek Diemer)
- Open source licenses: What, which, and why
- The Next Risk In Buying An IOT Product Is Having It Bricked By A Patent Dispute
- Smithsonian Releases 2.8 Million Images And 3D Models Into The Public Domain
PRIVACY
- Ontario Recognizes False Light Tort of Invasion of Privacy
- Coronavirus brings China’s surveillance state out of the shadows
- Google cracks down on location-tracking Android apps
- NSA Blew $100 Million On Phone Records Over Five Years, Generated Exactly One Usable Lead
- Kentucky Appeals Court Says Cops Need Warrants To Obtain Real-Time Cell Site Location Info
- Yelp Defeats Businesses’ “Right to Be Forgotten” Claims—Spiegelman v. Yelp (Eric Goldman)
- Comments on the DOJ’s Proposed Modifications to the CCPA Regulations (Eric Goldman)
- Stalkerware Developer Found Leaking Sensitive Data From Thousands Of The Software’s Victims
- Stalkerware Developer Demands TechCrunch Remove Article Detailing Its Leaking Of Sensitive Data
- California man arrested on charges his DDoSes took down candidate’s website
- Senators Pitch Temporary Facial Recognition Ban, Leave Door Wide Open For Abuse By Federal Agencies
- Google faces state lawsuit alleging misuse of schoolkids’ private data
- Removing a GPS tracking device from your car isn’t theft, court rules
- Secretive face-matching startup has customer list stolen
- Flaw in billions of Wi-Fi devices left communications open to eavesdropping
- Firefox turns encrypted DNS on by default to thwart snooping ISPs
- The House wants to know what Ring is doing with footage from your house
- Ring Says It Helps Cops Fight Crime But The Data Shows It’s No Better At This Than Any Other Security Camera
- Ring Continues To Pitch Facial Recognition To Law Enforcement While Claiming It Won’t Be Adding Facial Recognition To Its Cameras
- An Airbnb For Farmland Hits A Snag, As Farmers Raise Data Privacy Concerns
- Data Breaches and complaints up over 70% – key findings of DPC Annual Report
- The Overlooked IoT Data Security Law in California
- UK Government to Introduce New Law to Strengthen Security of Consumer IoT Devices
- February 21, 2020 Commissioners launch joint investigation into Clearview AI amid growing concerns over use of facial recognition technology
- Russia’s War On Encryption Stumbles Forth With Ban Of Tutanota
CREATIVITY
- Trump campaign says it is suing New York Times over Russia opinion piece
- As Court Finally Dumps One Of Devin Nunes’ Ridiculous Lawsuits (With A Warning About Sanctions), Nunes Promises To File Another
- Public Citizen Weighs In On Why Court Should Protect @DevinCow’s Information Under The 1st Amendment
- Group Promoting ‘Religious Freedom’ Around Vaccines Appears To Want To Stifle Free Expression Of Critics
- NPR Pulls Out The Big Guns: Asks For Sanctions Against Lawyer Steven Biss For Lying
- Corona Beer Takes a Hit From Coronavirus as Brand Image Suffers
- Judge Sullivan Dismisses Former Knick Charles Oakley’s Defamation Suit Against James Dolan and MSG
- Discovering Ed Sheeran’s Concert Income
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