News of the Week; May 13, 2020

GAMES

1. Nintendo files lawsuit barrage to take down Super Mario 64 PC port
2. A year of Riot’s diversity and inclusivity efforts mean it now employs 1% more women: And US operations have 1% more underrepresented minorities
3. Riot “can’t solve society” but commits to combatting player abuse in Valorant: “Harassment and bullying in games is not a status quo I’m comfortable accepting,” says executive producer
4. Riot wants to curb toxicity in Valorant without putting the burden on targeted players
5. Riot Games’ Social Impact Fund has raised $10m so far: So far, the fund has provided $8 million in grands and funding to over 50 nonprofits
6. Gaming Emote Litigation: Battle Royale Ensues Over Fortnite Emotes with Plaintiffs Testing Different Causes of Action
7. Fortnite surpasses 350 million registered players
8. Crytek Delays Launch of Lawsuit Against Star Citizen Devs Before Suddenly Settling
9. Finnish Hockey League Championship Decided Via Stand-In Esports Playoff
10. Ex-Respawn devs set up new studio Gravity Well as anti-crunch and pro-remote work
11. Can video games depict war responsibly?: On the eve of the 75th VE Day, we explore how developers engage players in military conflict
12. Animal Crossing boosts Nintendo sales despite COVID-19
13. Animal Crossing: New Horizons sold 11.77 million copies in under two weeks
14. Animal Crossing New Horizons hits 13.4m sales
15. Animal Crossing New Leaf took six years to reach 12.6m sales — New Horizons surpassed it in six weeks
16. UK Charts: Animal Crossing: New Horizons sales surge 135%
17. Nintendo praises Switch momentum as lifetime sales eclipse 55 million units
18. Switch passes 55m lifetime sales in a strong year for Nintendo: Pokémon and Animal Crossing were the standouts among 27 Switch titles that sold more than one million units
19. Sales up at Nintendo due to ‘significant growth’ across the entire Switch family
20. Animal Crossing is now the best-selling Switch game of all time in Japan: Island getaway game has sold 3.9 million copies, beat Final Fantasy 7 Remake in latest monthly charts
21. Animal Crossing: New Horizons and its impact on a pandemic-stricken world
22. Tales From The Quarantine: People Are Selling ‘Animal Crossing’ Bells For Real Cash After Layoffs
23. Nintendo forecasts down year amid COVID-19 uncertainty: Switch maker expects to sell 17% fewer games, 9.6% less hardware for the fiscal year that started last month
24. PlatinumGames apologises for blank Switch codes following The Wonderful 101 delay: Kickstarter backers complained of malfunctioning or empty codes, Japanese studio working on replacements
25. Grand strategy title Stellaris has sold over 3 million copies in four years
26. Twitch viewers watched 334m hours of Valorant in April: It was the most popular game on Twitch, and drove the rise of new streamers to the top ten
27. Report: games market to generate $159 billion in 2020 thanks to coronavirus (Newzoo)
28. Mobile games to see the least negative impact from COVID-19: Newzoo – All platforms will see growth, but low barrier to entry and simpler development will bolster mobile
29. Report: COVID-19 spurns 45% growth in livestreaming viewership (StreamElements)
30. COVID-19 and the Games Industry: Opportunities and Challenges
31. Q&A: How Jackbox CEO Mike Bilder is grappling with quarantine-driven success
32. The Resident Evil series has sold 98m units to date: Monster Hunter has sold 63 million total, Street Fighter is at 44 million
33. Digital revenue and packaged game sales driving growth at Sega Sammy
34. Surge in packaged games drive Sega’s full-year sales to $3.4bn: Boxed products were biggest revenue driver for games business, but future releases may be delayed by COVID-19
35. Zynga posts its best-ever Q1 by way of $404 million in revenue
36. Zynga COO: We could work from home forever if needed – Matt Bromberg says the social gaming company hasn’t skipped a beat because of social distancing
37. Sledgehammer COO: “We’re ready and prepared to work this way indefinitely” – Andrew Wilson says the studio has overcome most work-from-home tech hurdles, but mental health still a challenge
38. Sales down, profits up at Capcom
39. Capcom posts record profits on sharply down sales: Despite revenues down 18.4% year-over-year, shift to higher-margin digital sales drives Monster Hunter maker’s bottom line
40. Playrix sees best month ever as Gardenscapes lifetime revenue nears $2b – Sensor Tower: Mobile games publisher has surpassed 1.1 billion downloads across its entire portfolio
41. Rogue Games nets $2 million to expand publishing business
42. Rogue Games raises $2m toward expanding its publishing business: In total, the mobile publisher has raised $3.4 million
43. Lack of big releases sees Square Enix sales drop to $2.4bn: But profits and operating income still show increases thanks to Final Fantasy XIV and Dragon Quest X expansions
44. Nexon’s Q1 takes a hit from closure of PC gaming cafes in China: But Korean revenue remains strong due to MapleStory, FIFA Online 4
45. Avalanche pushes in a new direction with Systemic Reaction: The Swedish firm’s rebranded self-publishing division is aiming for faster development with smaller teams
46. Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1+2 will be remastered for a second time in Sept 2020
47. The Culling is coming back, this time swapping free-to-play for one-free-play-per-day
48. Xbox “set some wrong expectations” for next-gen livestream: Microsoft and Ubisoft mollify fans expecting to see promised Xbox Series X gameplay
49. Xbox Series X showcase redefines “gameplay” | Podcast: Latest episode available now, focusing on last week’s special episode of Inside Xbox
50. Some Xbox Series X games won’t hit 60fps “performance target”
51. Microsoft shows off 13 “launch window” games for Xbox Series X
52. New IP dominates first Xbox Series X game reveals: Nine new games will use Xbox’s ‘Smart Delivery’ offering that allows gamers to buy a game once for use across all Xbox consoles
53. Every Xbox Series X game announced by Microsoft today: That’s a lot of games!
54. Epic debuts free Online Services to help devs build cross-platform, cross-play games
55. Devs using Unreal Engine won’t owe Epic royalties on a game’s first $1 million
56. Unreal Engine is now royalty-free until a game makes a whopping $1 million
57. Epic’s next-gen bid to knock down the walled garden: Tim Sweeney, Kim Libreri, and Nick Penwarden discuss Unreal Engine 5, next-gen development, and Epic’s efforts to make both open and accessible
58. Epic Games announces Unreal Engine 5 with first PS5 footage: Beginning today, Epic will waive royalties on the first $1 million in game revenue for all Unreal Engine games
59. Epic reveals next-gen Unreal Engine 5 tech running on PlayStation 5
60. PS4 sales down at Sony, but network services revenue gets ‘significant’ boost
61. Sony’s games business declines as new generation looms: PS4 sales passed 110m units in a down fiscal year, but PS5 is still set to launch in 2020
62. First-party PlayStation games to be collected under new PlayStation Studios brand
63. Sony announces new PlayStation Studios branding for its first-party PS5 games
64. PlayStation Studios brand will launch alongside PS5: Check out the video that will open upcoming first-party PlayStation games
65. Sony has suspended the PlayStation Store in mainland China to upgrade security
66. Sony temporarily closes PlayStation Store in China: Platform holder says it is improving store security, no reopening date given
67. Niko Partners: COVID-19 may slow consumer adoption of next-gen consoles
68. UK: Ads on social media for esports betting come under the microscope
69. Activision Blizzard brings in betting monitoring firm to observe its esports leagues: Overwatch League, Call of Duty League enter multi-year partnership with Sportradar
70. Esports & the global pandemic
71. Electronic Arts shifts playbook for all-digital esports events
72. Fantasy sports firm Sleeper turns to esports after $20m round: Series B funding round closes ahead of new League of Legends fantasy esports game
73. We talk esports vs. a pro racing simulator with Jaguar’s Mitch Evans
74. Hologate Wants Its New VR Arcade Hygiene Standards to Inspire Confidence in a Wary Public
75. Researchers Say Head-mounted Haptics Can Combat Smooth Locomotion Discomfort in VR
76. VR could seize its moment — if the big players would cooperate | Opinion: VR has an opportunity to break out, but the mess of competing standards is holding back the whole sector
77. Maze Theory raises £1.4m for Doctor Who VR trilogy: Studio receives investment from UK Creative Content EIS Fund, plus a second grant from government programme
78. Can video games depict war responsibly?: On the eve of the 75th VE Day, we explore how developers engage players in military conflict
79. Growing mobile games through user acquisition: Nordeus’ Andrej Kugonič takes a deep dive into UA for the GamesIndustry.biz Academy
80. Starbreeze cuts losses by $7.2 million, calls Payday 3 publishing talks ‘positive’
81. Starbreeze cuts losses to $9.9m: Payday 3 publishing plans hindered by travel restrictions
82. Streaming startup Parsec raises $7m in funding: Series A round will fund push into streamed gameplay and remote development
83. Scavengers Studio ends active development on Darwin Project
84. How World of Warcraft has evolved with the Internet
85. Here’s the surprisingly sweet origin story behind New Horizons’ sea bass gag
86. Don’t Miss: Writing Deus Ex: Mankind Divided to ‘hold a mirror up to the world’
87. Don’t Miss: Chris Crawford wants game devs to do long-term planning
88. Don’t Miss: Ken Rolston’s development secrets of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
89. Don’t Miss: A postmortem of Treyarch’s Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater for the Dreamcast
90. Don’t Miss: Paradox Development Studio’s postmortem of Stellaris
91. Q&A: Re-imagining 1998’s Half-Life for a 2020 audience in Black Mesa
92. Video: Behind the beautiful audio of PSVR game Paper Beast
93. Video: Balancing visuals and performance while art directing Forza
94. Video: Using deep reinforcement learning for NPCs and playtesting
95. Video: Understanding different specialties & approaches in game production
96. Blog: Understanding open world level design – Part 1
97. Blog: A data-filled deep dive into LudoNarraCon
98. Blog: The calming effect of low stakes games4
99. Blog: Tilemaps – More than a grid
100. Insights: With Metaverse Talk Common Amid Pandemic, We’re Ready To Be ‘Player One’ Almost Anywhere Else
101. U.S. Patent no. 10,315, 108: Local application quick start with cloud transitioning

DIGITAL

1. Facebook will pay $52 million in settlement with moderators who developed PTSD on the job: Current and former moderators will all be paid a minimum of $1,000
2. Facebook Agrees To Pay $52 Million To Content Moderators Whose Work Affected Their Mental Health
3. Facebook settles moderator suit for $52M as hate speech on site increases
4. As Facebook Agrees To Pay $52 Million In PTSD Payments To Moderators, Why Are Some Demanding More Human Moderators?
5. Facebook’s Supreme Court Is In Place… And Everyone Hates It, Because Facebook Makes Everyone Hate Everything
6. Amazon Sued For Saying You’ve ‘Bought’ Movies That It Can Take Away From You
7. Amid Pandemic, Dozens Of Health Professionals Petition For Tech Companies To Curtail Misinformation
8. Anti-Trump Ad Demonstrates Both The Streisand Effect & Masnick’s Impossibility Theorem
9. How covid-19 conspiracy theorists are exploiting YouTube culture: Covid-19 conspiracy theorists are still getting millions of views on YouTube, even as the platform cracks down on health misinformation.
10. YouTube, Vimeo, Facebook, Twitter Crack Down On COVID-19 Conspiracy Film ‘Plandemic’
11. Twitter failing to curb misinformation “superspreaders,” report warns
12. Twitter Making It Easier To Study The Public Discussions Around COVID-19
13. ‘Smart’ Home Platform Wink Changes The Deal, Suddenly Imposes Subscription Fees
14. Beyond Netflix and Spotify, what subscriptions are worth keeping in quarantine?
15. Netflix’s first interactive sitcom: Good for laughs, deserves a better app
16. Hamilton is coming to Disney+ a year early—just in time for Fourth of July
17. YouTube Accelerates Launch Of Connected TV Ad Products Amid Coronavirus Viewership Boom
18. YouTube’s FameBit Shutters Self-Service Influencer Marketing Platform To Prioritize In-House Matchmaking
19. YouTube TV Adds BET, MTV, Comedy Central, Nick In Multi-Year Deal With ViacomCBS
20. YouTube TV Adds ‘Court TV’ To Expanding Channel Lineup
21. Court Dismisses Lawsuit Against Company that Added “Blockchain” To Its Name
22. Twitch Developing Weekly Slate Of Unscripted, Interactive Shows (Report)
23. ‘Twitch Roulette’ Spins Up Random Streamers With Few Viewers
24. Jeffrey Katzenberg On Quibi’s 1.3 Million Active Users: “It’s Not Close To What We Wanted”
25. Jeffrey Katzenberg’s Ego Decides That COVID-19 Must Be Why Quibi Totally Sucks And No One Wants It
26. Studio71 And YouTube Animator Alex Clark Are Crowdfunding A Card Game
27. YouTube Creator Corey La Barrie Has Tragically Passed Away On His 25th Birthday
28. Family Of Late YouTuber Corey La Barrie Launches GoFundMe For Memorial Expenses
29. Paul Vasquez, YouTube’s Joyful ‘Double Rainbow Guy,’ Has Passed Away Age 57
30. YouTubers Kristin And Marcus Johns Both Recovering From Surgery After Devastating Hit-And-Run
31. Studio71 UK Is Bringing TLC YouTube Series ‘Countdown To I Do’ To The Small Screen
32. Top 50 Most Viewed YouTube Channels Worldwide • Week Of 5/11/2020
33. Top 50 Most Viewed US YouTube Channels • Week Of 5/11/2020
34. How Ad Council, Collectively, And Digital Brand Architects Are Evaluating Social Good Campaigns During COVID-19
35. To compete with Gmail, Microsoft reveals plans for new Web-based Outlook features
36. Bon Appétit’s Beloved ‘Test Kitchen’ Crew To Host Coronavirus Benefit Dinner On Instagram Live
37. Charli And Dixie D’Amelio No Longer Affiliated With ‘The Hype House’ As A Business
38. NBC Picks Up ‘A Little Late With Lilly Singh’ For Season Two, But Won’t Film Remotely
39. BroadbandTV Signs Competitive Eater Matt Stonie, Jesse Wellens, Others
40. English Law Challenges in Recovering Cryptocurrency Ransoms
41. Alphabet’s Sidewalk Labs scraps its ambitious Toronto project
42. Thunderspy: What it is, why it’s not scary, and what to do about it
43. Coronavirus: Google ends plans for smart city in Toronto
44. Google unifies messenger teams, plans “more coherent vision”
45. Google Play Music dies this year, YT Music library imports begin today
46. TikTok Goes On Hiring Spree In London, Which Will Serve As Center Of European Ops (Report)
47. Facebook’s New Features Are Meant To Help Small Businesses See More “Virtual Foot Traffic”
48. Zoomism and Discipline for Productive Immobility
49. Choose your quarantine meme house: A taxonomy of the pandemic’s greatest meme hits.
50. Bitcoin’s “halving” is bad for miners, good for everyone else
51. What Do Platforms Do? Understanding the Gig Economy (Steven Vallas & Juliet B. Schor)

A.I.

1. Thomson Reuters Accuses Ross Intelligence of Using Bot to Hijack Westlaw Data: Lawsuit against San Francisco-based Ross Intelligence could outline the often adversarial coexistence of copyrights and artificial intelligence.
2. ROSS Fires Back At Thomson Reuters Over Data Case
3. France is using AI to check whether people are wearing masks on public transport: The technology won’t be used to identify and punish individuals
4. Blurring the Lines: When AI Creates Art Is It Copyrightable?
5. CAA Signs Its First Virtual Client: Computer-Generated Instagrammer Miquela
6. Shuttered restaurants, bars, hotels speed up TV cord-cutting even more
7. All’s Clear for Deepfakes: Think Again
8. Why Fake Video, Audio May Not Be As Powerful In Spreading Disinformation As Feared
9. FTC Consumer Protection Director Provides Guidance on Use of Artificial Intelligence in Automated Decision-Making
10. This ‘Beat Saber’ Project Uses AI to Generate Custom Beat Maps for Any Song
11. Building the AI of F.E.A.R. with goal oriented action planning
12. Response to the European Commission’s White Paper on Artificial Intelligence (Elettra Bietti)
13. U.S. AI and IoT Legislative Update – First Quarter 2020
14. Regulating Text and Data Mining in the European Union: Issues and Challenges

COMMUNICATIONS

1. Why “Taking On” Google and Facebook Isn’t the Cure for the Media Sector’s Ills (Michael Geist)
2. Shuttered restaurants, bars, hotels speed up TV cord-cutting even more
3. No, Congress Can’t Fix The Broken US Broadband Market In A Mad Dash During A Pandemic
4. COVID-19 Is Exposing A Virulent Strain Of Broadband Market Failure Denialism
5. FCC fines Sinclair $48M, refuses to revoke its broadcast licenses
6. FCC Makes it Easier for Broadcasters and Cable Operators to Rehire Laid Off Employees
7. US military is furious at FCC over 5G plan that could interfere with GPS
8. ISPs Finally Lifted Data Caps. It Only Took A Global Pandemic
9. Comcast resists call to open home Wi-Fi hotspots, cites potential congestion
10. Verizon’s nationwide 5G will only be a “small” upgrade over 4G at first
11. Study Shows US 5G Is An Over-hyped Disappointment
12. New AT&T CEO Says You’re A Moron If You Don’t Use AT&T Streaming Services
13. Democrats try to ban Internet shutoffs until pandemic is over

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

1. Wiseau Studio, LLC et al v Harper et al, (2020 ONSC 2504)
2. Ontario Court finds room for fair dealing in documentary on The Room
3. Intellectual Property litigation in the Federal Court
4. Second Circuit Clicks “I Agree” Affirming Website Agreement Protects Web Application from Misappropriation by Users
5. Fair Use Protects a Highly Cropped Photo–Harbus v. Manhattan Institute (Eric Goldman)
6. “I’m [Not] Yours”
7. “I’m Yours” Not Theirs: Jason Mraz Settles Dispute Over Beer Ad’s Allegedly Unauthorized Use of Performance Footage on Instagram
8. Court Of Appeals Affirms Lower Court Tossing BS ‘Comedians In Cars’ Copyright Lawsuit
9. Sixth Circuit Concurrence Fears Courts May Be Groovin’ to the Wrong Tune in Copyright Cases
10. Eleventh Circuit: Guitar Designer Wasn’t Taking a Solo
11. Second Circuit Limits Copyright Damages To Those Incurred Within Three Years Prior to Suit
12. Does copyright subsist in the Brompton Folding Bicycle?
13. Does the Cofemel decision mark the end of “artistic value”?
14. Copyright protection for fabric designs
15. Monkey Business (and Other Animal Non-Rights)
16. Copyright Troll Richard Liebowitz Has Two Separate Courts Sanction Him For His Ongoing Copyright Trolling Failures
17. Supreme Court: Willfulness Not Required for Profits Awards in Trademark Infringement Actions
18. Supreme Court Holds Trademark Infringement Does Not Require a Finding of “Willful” Infringement To Recover an Award of Profits
19. Without a Willfulness Requirement, Is the Path Clearer for Brand Owners to Pursue and Recover Trademark Damages?
20. Supreme Court clarifies rules for remedies in trademark litigation
21. Whether or not there’s a will, there’s still a way to infringers’ profits in Canadian trademark litigation
22. Trademark Law Alert – A Book Title Sometimes May Prevent Registration of the Same Term for Other Goods
23. 2(b) Prohibition On “Flag Marks” Bars Use of Flag as Part of a Mark
24. Coachella may not be cancelled – but its EU trade mark has been
25. Say It With Me Now, Australia: Beer And Wine Are Not The Same Thing, Not Even For Trademarks
26. Freedom of expression counts in trademark law
27. [Insert Yell Here]: Rapper Pitbull Receives Trademark Registration for “EEEEEEEYOOOOOO!” Sound Mark
28. NCAA Issues New Name, Image, Likeness Guidance
29. The Face(David)Off
30. Bongo’s Bingo and Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah cause IP Hoo-Hah
31. SkyKick: High Court narrows Sky’s trade mark protection and criticises the use of trade marks as a weapon
32. Justices Voice Reservations About a Bright-line Genericness Test in Booking.com
33. Can a mathematical mystery be registered as a trade mark?
34. Tiger King – Battle of the Big Cat Trade Marks
35. National Geographic Defeats Trademark Suit Over ‘Wild America’ and ‘Untamed Americas’ Claim
36. Patent Filings Doom Registered Trade Dress in Seventh Circuit
37. Combination Litigation: Recent Software Disputes at the Intersection of Trade Secret, Copyright and Patent Law
38. Federal Circuit Rules that Moving Software to the Cloud Alone Is Obvious
39. Importance of Determining Inventorship Prior to Patent Issuance
40. Patentability of Covid-19 smartphone apps at the EPO
41. Fed. Cir.: Threat of Suit Over Past Infringement Confers Standing
42. The Federal Circuit Dismisses Pfizer’s Appeal for Lack of Standing
43. Object detection in an augmented reality image: insufficiently disclosed
44. Obvious to the Bone: Teva Wins Opposition against Eli Lilly’s Patent Application Covering Osteoporosis Blockbuster FORTEO®
45. Analysis of the innovativeness of “zanubrutinib” from a patent perspective
46. Finite Methods as a Ground for Obviousness
47. The deadlock on the unified patent convention
48. Actions Speak Louder Than Words: Germany’s Highest Court tells SEP implementers that simply saying that you are willing to license is not enough, and hold-out will not be tolerated
49. The UKIPO investigates AI-powered prior art searches
50. How combining blockchain technology and AI could benefit patent analysis
51. The Inventinator: May AI “Inventors” get Patents?
52. USPTO: Artificial Intelligence Systems Cannot Legally Invent
53. Creative COVID-19 Collaborations – IP Agreements that Work
54. White House Identifies Amazon Foreign Domains as “Notorious Markets” for Counterfeit Goods
55. Federal Circuit Patent Update
56. IP Litigation Quarterly Update

PRIVACY

1. India is forcing people to use its covid app, unlike any other democracy: Millions of Indians have no choice but to download the country’s tracking technology if they want to keep their jobs or avoid reprisals.
2. Zoom Reaches Agreement with New York Attorney General to Resolve Privacy and Security Issues
3. Zoom to Implement New Security Measures in Deal with NY Attorney General
4. Utah Pulls Plug On Surveillance Contractor After CEO’s Past As A White Supremacist Surfaces
5. Google’s Privacy Policy Can’t Save it From Smartphone Spying Claim: California Privacy Laws Tested in Suit Alleging Big Tech is Letting Subcontractors Listen in on Your Conversations
6. Cookie walls invalidate consent, says EDPB
7. In Response To Getting Sued, Clearview Is Dumping All Of Its Private Customers
8. EU Data Protection: Updated EDPB Guidance on Consent Clarifies the Mechanism for Cookie Consent
9. The EU is trying to fix its abysmal cookie consent policy: The pain of cookie consent mechanisms is an international problem
10. EUROPE: New privacy rules for connected vehicles in Europe?
11. Conflict Between the Right to Privacy and the Right to Public Health: Global Phenomenon and Coronavirus Outbreak
12. Your Boss May Soon Track You At Work For Coronavirus Safety
13. Privacy litigation in the age of coronavirus
14. As More Students Sit Online Exams Under Lockdown Conditions, Remote Proctoring Services Carry Out Intrusive Surveillance

CREATIVITY   

1. “Happy Cows” False Labeling Theory is Just “Half Baked”: Court Dismisses False Advertising Claims Against Ben & Jerry’s
2. Counterclaims on the Cutting-Room Floor: How a Central District Court Cut Down the Writers Guild’s Countersuit Against Hollywood’s Talent Agencies
3. HRH The Duchess of Sussex v Associated Newspapers Limited [2020] EWHC 1058 (Ch)
4. Bud Light’s win on “corn syrup” ad offers valuable lessons on false advertisement claims
5. Whoops! Whooper ad banned by the ASA
6. The Impact of COVID-19 on Media and Entertainment Industry Transactions
7. Art Law: Introduction
8. First-step analysis: art law in USA (New York)
9. Top 3 Legal Predictions on Fashion Law for 2020

Jon