News of the Week; August 12, 2020

GAMES

  1. Aeon Must Die dev Limestone Games faces accusations of “endless crunch” and IP theft: Publisher Focus Home Interactive is “carefully looking into” allegations
  2. Goldeneye 64 remake shut down by James Bond licence holders: Developers will now redesign upcoming ’90s-style shooter as Project Ianus
  3. Ubisoft Loses Appeal and Patent Related to “Rocksmith” is Invalidated
  4. UK survey finds positive links between playing games and literacy
  5. New research shows video games improve literacy: 35% of the respondents said that playing games made them better readers
  6. EA shareholders say no to massive proposed raises for executives
  7. EA shareholders reject executive compensation plan: If plan goes ahead, CEO Andrew Wilson’s compensation will rise to $21.4 million
  8. Riot forms global deals council and ethics committee after NEOM controversy
  9. Riot Games creates global deals council and ethics committee: Following the Neom controversy, the developer will be examining its sponsorship deals more closely
  10. How to usher more women into leadership roles within the game industry
  11. Interplay silent on Earthworm Jim developer’s racist, homophobic remarks: TenNapel and Intellivision confirm he is an “unpaid consultant” on Earthworm Jim 4
  12. Trump signs executive order that would ban transactions with Tencent: White House reportedly confirms this will not affect Tencent-related games firms, only WeChat
  13. Tencent reportedly driving Huya and DouYu to merge into livestreaming giant: Merging Chinese Twitch rivals would create a business worth $10 billion with 300 million users 
  14. Blizzard employees reportedly preparing demands for fair pay: As dissatisfied staff organise, spokesperson says management “looks forward to hearing from them” 
  15. Voltage Entertainment ends writers strike with new pay deal: Lovestruck writers will return to work after securing a deal that almost doubles their pay
  16. Practical tips to prevent abuse and build team trust: At GDC Summer, Emily Greer offers advice on how to build a respectful workplace and what to do when harassment occurs
  17. AbleGamers enlists Ryan Reynolds to highlight its mission, call for donations
  18. Silver Rain Games delivers on diversity goal with new hires: More than 60% of the team at Abubakar Salim’s new studio is from underrepresented ethnic groups
  19. King’s Sabrina Carmona offers practical tips to get more women leaders in games
  20. How Code Coven aims to Elevate marginalised developers: Tara Mustapha and Karla Reyes talks us through the ambitions for their upcoming accelerator, financed by the GDC Relief Fund
  21. How to better design your game communities for kindness
  22. Four ways game developers can help save the planet: At GDC Summer, the Playing for the Planet Alliance offered clear steps the industry can take to tackle the climate crisis
  23. Warner Bros restructure suggests games division is no longer for sale: Internal message reaffirms Interactive segment will continue “engaging fans with our brands and franchises through games” 
  24. The COVID gaming boom — why and how to protect your IP
  25. Halo Infinite delay pushes it into 2021 and out of Xbox Series X launch lineup
  26. Microsoft announces November launch for Xbox Series X, Halo Infinite delay
  27. Halo Infinite delayed into 2021: Key Xbox Series X launch title pushed due to “multiple factors” including COVID-19
  28. Xbox Game Pass could be a boon for indie developers: At GDC Summer, solo developer Davionne Gooden explained how Xbox Game Pass offered a simple path to profit for his tiny studio
  29. Microsoft pulls iOS test for Project xCloud: Streaming service’s future on Apple devices uncertain as Xbox focuses on Android
  30. Xbox Series S outed by next-gen controller leak—and it’s legit 
  31. Controller leak all but confirms ‘Xbox Series S’ 
  32. Xbox Series S confirmed by leaked controller: A white version of the Xbox Series X controller appeared online, pointing at more than one version of the next-gen Xbox console 
  33. Xbox narrows down Series X launch window to November 2020
  34. Xbox Series X will launch in November: Console launch lineup will emphasize backward compatibility, Game Pass
  35. How your PS4 and Xbox One games will work on PS5 and Series X
  36. Crystal Dynamics Explains Spider-Man PS4 Exclusivity By Saying A Bunch Of… Words, I Guess?
  37. Console Exclusive Games Have Given Way To Console Exclusive Game Characters
  38. Apple won’t let Stadia or xCloud into iOS, citing App Store guidelines 
  39. Apple blocking Project xCloud and Stadia because it can’t review every game: Microsoft responds, accusing Apple of “consistently treating gaming apps differently” 
  40. Intellivision Amico delayed to April 2021: Upcoming retro games console pushed back six months due to “constraints imposed by the global pandemic”
  41. Microsoft condemns Apple’s App Store policies: Apple will not approve Microsoft’s xCloud gaming service
  42. Facebook slams Apple’s App Store policies, launches Facebook Gaming on iOS without games: Facebook is not happy with the months of rejections it has faced
  43. Facebook finally launches Facebook Gaming on iOS — without Instant Games: Platform condemns Apple’s strict approval process, saying it “severely hamstrings innovation on mobile”
  44. A data-driven primer for publishing agreements 
  45. Is your publishing agreement fair?: At GDC Summer, lawyer Kellen Voyer broke down the average indie game publishing agreement in 2020 
  46. US games spending once again reaches record quarterly highs: By the end of Q2, one out of every three US owners of either a PS4 or Xbox One owned both systems 
  47. UK Charts: Nintendo Switch accounts for six of the Top Ten – Animal Crossing New Horizons is back at No.1
  48. Animal Crossing: New Horizons has sold over 22 million copies
  49. The Nintendo Switch has crossed 60 million lifetime sales 
  50. Switch hardware and Animal Crossing driving growth at Nintendo
  51. Animal Crossing drives Nintendo Q1 profits up 500% to $1bn: New Horizons has sold more than 20 million units since March, Switch lifetime shipments passed 60 million units
  52. Final Fantasy VII Remake surpasses 5 million digital sales and shipments
  53. Mobile classic Subway Surfers surpasses 3 billion lifetime downloads
  54. Summoner’s War: Sky Arena reaches $2 billion in lifetime revenue: The mobile RPG first reached $1 billion in revenue in 2017, three years after launch
  55. Sega reports loss despite strong video game sales
  56. Fortnite developer Epic Games secures $1.78 billion in funding 
  57. ‘Fortnite’ Publisher Epic Games Closes $1.78 Billion Funding Round At $17.3 Billion Valuation 
  58. Epic Games is now worth $17.3bn following latest funding round: Fortnite firm raised $1.78 billion, including Sony’s $250 million investment
  59. Zynga’s revenues still soaring, losses still deepening for another quarter running: Success of two 2019 acquisitions has the company projecting a net loss of $550 million for the full year
  60. Zynga to acquire prolific hyper-casual game studio Rollic for $168 million
  61. Mobile developer Big Run Studios nets $5.25 million to expand operations
  62. Fall Guys has sold over 2 million copies on Steam alone 
  63. Sugar rush financials don’t mean we’ve dodged the COVID bullet | Opinion: Publishers are reporting record revenues — but the industry isn’t “recession-proof” and there’s pain to come down the line 
  64. The impact of COVID-19 on mobile games in H1 2020 and beyond: Sensor Tower’s Craig Chapple analyses changes to downloads and revenue in key markets as the pandemic has spread
  65. Why are you making your game’s store page unattractive? 
  66. Enthusiast Gaming acquires Omnia Media in $11.2m deal: Transaction brings Omnia into group with Destructoid, Nintendo Enthusiast, the Escapist, and others
  67. H1Z1 dev Daybreak Games acquires Cold Iron Studios
  68. Cold Iron Studios gets sold for the fourth time: Daybreak Games has acquired the San Jose studio, which is still working on an Alien game 
  69. Big Run Studios raises $5.25m in seed investment: In total, the mobile studio has raised over $6.6 million to date
  70. Game Discoverability Now: How big is your game’s Discord? (Not this big!)
  71. Vampire The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 delayed to 2021: Paradox Interactive and Hardsuit Labs also making organisational changes to improve long-awaited sequel
  72. Paradox reports upturn in revenue as expansion packs drive growth 
  73. Nexon wants to build a virtual theme park for the future: CEO Owen Mahoney on how the publisher plans to be at the forefront of “lean forward” entertainment
  74. Twitch announces ‘Prime Gaming’ rebrand 
  75. Amazon rebrands Twitch Prime to Prime Gaming: Name change explained as a move toward a more platform-agnostic vision 
  76. US Army to reinstate its Twitch viewers banned for “harassing and degrading behavior”: Users were banned from the esports channel in droves last month for asking about the United States’ history of war crimes
  77. Shroud returns to Twitch: Following Mixer shutdown, Shroud signs exclusivity deal with his original platform 
  78. DrDisrespect makes streaming return on YouTube: YouTube says it did not reach out or encourage him to do so
  79. Half A Million People Watched Dr. DisRespect’s First Post-Permaban Live Stream On YouTube
  80. Facebook Researchers Develop Bleeding-edge Facial Reconstruction Tech So You Can Make Goofy Faces in VR
  81. 1,100 words of praise for Thirty Flights of Loving | Why I Love: YCJY Games’ Josef Martinovsk explains how Blendo Games’ short story showed him what games could be
  82. Five tips for making better loot experiences in games 
  83. Leveraging physical animation to sell Force powers in Jedi: Fallen Order
  84. Three nasty netcode bugs we fixed around Blightbound’s launch
  85. Inside the twisting, turning development of Hardspace: Shipbreaker
  86. Blog: Using Wikipedia as an interactive narrative device
  87. Blog: The value trap of free-to-play design
  88. Blog: Five secrets of game art direction
  89. Blog: Creating a progression curve for your casual game 
  90. Blog: Scope – Choose A Target! Focus! Shoot!
  91. Don’t Miss: Why multiplayer almost didn’t make it into Halo: Combat Evolved
  92. High Score review: Netflix’s story of gaming’s “golden age” is honestly solid 
  93. U.S. Patent no. 9,682,314: Method and system for temporarily incentivizing user participation in a game space

DIGITAL

  1. Genius Media Lawsuit Accusing Google of Stealing Song Lyrics Is Tossed
  2. Yes, Facebook Treats Trump Fans Differently: It Has Relaxed The Rules To Give Them More Leeway
  3. Trump campaign’s false COVID-19 claims taken down by Facebook and Twitter
  4. Mass hijacking spree takes over subreddits to promote Donald Trump
  5. Muting Misinformation: Can we sue to stop misleading political speech?
  6. The Silver Lining Of Internet Regulation: A Regulatory Impact Assessment
  7. Digital Technology As Accelerant: Growth And Genocide In Myanmar
  8. Ousted COO sues Pinterest, alleges rampant gender discrimination
  9. New Jersey prosecutors drop charges over tweeting a cop’s photo
  10. HS suspends teen who tweeted photo of hallway packed with maskless students
  11. HS that suspended teen who tweeted photo of hallway has 9 COVID-19 cases
  12. Paulding County High School Un-Suspends Student But Can’t Un-Infect Students Who Got COVID-19
  13. State Department Announces That Great Firewall For The US; Blocks Chinese Apps & Equipment
  14. New Executive Orders Target Chinese Apps
  15. Trump declares TikTok, WeChat “national emergency,” preps bans
  16. National Security Meets Teenage Dance Battles: Trump Issues Executive Orders Impacting TikTok and WeChat Business in the U.S.
  17. President Trump Issues Executive Orders Prohibiting Transactions Related to TikTok and WeChat
  18. Nine Things You Need to Know About the Trump Administration Sanctions Against TikTok and WeChat
  19. U.S. Government Takes Aim at TikTok and WeChat Citing Privacy and Security Concerns
  20. China already has your data. Trump’s TikTok and WeChat bans can’t stop that.
  21. Trump Issues Ridiculous Executive Orders Banning TikTok And WeChat
  22. How a TikTok ban would affect the influencer economy
  23. TikTok deal tests Microsoft’s decades of China experience
  24. TikTok In Talks With Twitter About Acquisition, Is Looking To Sue Trump Administration As Ban Looms (Report)
  25. Is the clock ticking for TikTok? What’s the big deal anyway?
  26. Insights: Microsoft Intercepts TikTok Political Football, Despite Facebook’s Game Plan
  27. Trump’s bid to force TikTok sale follows well-trod legal path: US government decisions to block and unwind deals on national security grounds are all but impossible to overturn in court
  28. Gullible Maine & DHS Intel Officers Believed Teen TikTok Video Was Serious Terrorist Threat
  29. Addison Rae Is TikTok’s Highest Earner, Pocketing Roughly $5 Million Over Past Year (Report)
  30. TikTok Aligns With ‘American Idol’ Creator Simon Fuller To Search For Next Pop Supergroup
  31. David Dobrik, Avani Gregg, Brittany Broski Among First Recipients Of TikTok’s $1 Billion Creator Fund
  32. Hype House TikToker Kelianne Stankus Signs With UTA (Exclusive)
  33. New York Yankees Tap TikTok For Sponsorship, Exclusive Content Deal
  34. YouTube, TikTok Stars ‘The Stokes Twins’ Each Charged With Felony, Misdemeanor After Bank Robber Prank
  35. YouTube Reinstates Monetization For Steven Crowder 14 Months After Racist, Homophobic Harassment Of Carlos Maza
  36. Top 50 Most Viewed YouTube Channels Worldwide • Week Of 8/10/2020
  37. Top 50 Most Viewed US YouTube Channels • Week Of 8/10/2020
  38. Influencer Marketing Company CreatorIQ Joins YouTube’s Measurement Program
  39. Google says it’s working hard to address YouTube Music complaints
  40. Why Are There Currently No Ads On Techdirt? Apparently Google Thinks We’re Dangerous
  41. YouTube Millionaires: For Our First 10 Million Subscriber Special, We Check In With Chad Wild Clay And His Burgeoning Franchise ‘Spy Ninjas’
  42. Rebecca Zamolo Launches Mobile Game Inspired By Hit ‘Game Master Network’ YouTube Series
  43. Three Of Bon Appétit’s Test Kitchen Stars Have Exited After Failed Pay Negotiations
  44. 2 More Bon Appétit Hosts Depart YouTube Channel, With Video Production Set To Resume In September
  45. Bon Appétit’s Popular YouTube Channel Loses Sixth Host, Carla Lalli Music
  46. Hey Creators, Are Your Viral Parties Really Worth the Risk?
  47. NikkieTutorials Robbed At Gunpoint In Netherlands Home, As Local Police Solicit Tips
  48. Monk-Turned-Motivational Content Creator Jay Shetty Signs With WME
  49. Snapchat Unveils In-App Voter Registration Tools Ahead Of November Election
  50. FTC Commissioners Are Upset About Section 230; Though It’s Not At All Clear Why
  51. Online platform immunity under Section 230 teed up for FCC
  52. Section 230 Isn’t Why Omegle Has Awful Content, And Getting Rid Of 230 Won’t Change That
  53. Comments on NTIA’s Petition to the FCC Seeking to Destroy Section 230 (Eric Goldman)
  54. Mozilla cuts 250 jobs, says Firefox development will be affected
  55. Content Moderation Case Study: Social Media Services Respond When Recordings Of Shooting Are Uploaded By The Person Committing The Crimes (August 2015)
  56. Photo embedding cases depend on social media company decisions
  57. WhatsApp’s Lawsuit Against NSO in US Federal Court Survives Motion to Dismiss
  58. The Harry Potter Films Are Now Exclusive To Comcast, And The Streaming Sector Remains Oblivious To Piracy’s Looming Resurgence
  59. Financial Daily Dose 8.6.2020 | Top Story: Facebook Launches Instagram Reels to Compete with TikTok
  60. How The NBA Has Approached Facebook Video Since Returning to the Court
  61. Jukin Launches Self-Service Platform Allowing Anyone To License Its Viral Videos, Starting At $50
  62. Focals ‘Smart’ Glasses Become Dumb As A Brick After Google Acquisition
  63. Android is now the world’s largest earthquake detection network
  64. Revisiting The Common Law Liability Of Online Intermediaries Before Section 230
  65. Coronavirus clobbers Uber, leading to $1.8 billion quarterly loss
  66. Content Moderation At Scale Is Impossible: Twitter Locks Accounts For Fact Checking The President
  67. The quest to liberate $300,000 of bitcoin from an old ZIP file
  68. Scientists Forced To Change Names Of Human Genes Because Of Microsoft’s Failure To Patch Excel
  69. Three algorithm-less streaming sites revive the wacky Web from days of yore

A.I.

  1. Facial Recognition Start-Up Mounts a First Amendment Defense
  2. Get Ready For Deepfakes To Be Used In Financial Scams
  3. Uber / Google Trade Secret Row Over Self-Driving Car Tech Hits End of Road: Settlement and Jail Time
  4. Las Vegas Police Are Running Lots Of Low Quality Images Through Their Facial Recognition System
  5. Here’s why Apple believes it’s an AI leader—and why it says critics have it all wrong
  6. Inventorship, Patenting and AI: The Public Comments on Patenting Artificial Intelligence Inventions

COMMUNICATIONS

  1. Trump admin shrugs off FCC court loss to fight Calif. net neutrality law
  2. FCC Focuses on Review of Broadcasters’ Online Political Files
  3. NTIA Section 230 Petition Raises Significant Legal and Policy Issues at FCC
  4. Safe Harbors and Erroneous Blocking Redress Measures Adopted by the FCC; Additional Rulemaking Proposed
  5. Charter tries to convince FCC that broadband customers want data caps
  6. New York State Leaders Finally Realize U.S. Broadband Availability Data Is Hot Garbage
  7. FCC lowers some prison phone rates after blaming states for high prices
  8. FCC Sets Rules for 5G Spectrum Auction – Bidding to Start December 8
  9. FCC Eliminates Rule Requiring Broadcast Station Tower Owners to Give Access to Competing Stations
  10. FCC Eliminates Program Duplication Rules for AM and FM Stations
  11. The Making – and Unmaking – of an FCC Commissioner
  12. Broadcasts and Podcasts: Foreign Investment in Telecom Infrastructure
  13. The Legal Debate Over Net Neutrality Shifts to State Laws
  14. FAR Council Publishes Interim Rule on Section 889 Part B Increasing Prohibitions on Contracting with Companies Using Certain Chinese Telecommunications Equipment and Services
  15. AT&T to lay off 600 at HBO and Warner Bros. after revenue decline

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

  1. Genius Media Lawsuit Accusing Google of Stealing Song Lyrics Is Tossed
  2. Judge Tosses Out Genius’ Laughable Lawsuit Against Google Over Licensed Lyric Copying
  3. Neil Young’s Suit Illustrates Music Licensing Issues
  4. Helpless No More? Neil Young Sues Trump Campaign for Use of His Songs
  5. Fair Use, “The Frankenstein,” and the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler
  6. Masterson v. The Walt Disney Company: 9th Circuit dismisses claim against Disney’s animated film Inside Out, holding that alleged similarities to plaintiff’s book of poetry and movie script are unprotectable.
  7. DMCA 512 Report: key findings by US Copyright Office
  8. U.S. Copyright Office: DMCA Is “Tilted Askew,” Recommends Remedies for Rightsholders
  9. In 10 Years Of Existence, The Long-Running French Farce Known As Hadopi Has Imposed Just €87,000 In Fines, But Cost Taxpayers €82 Million
  10. Easier Copyright Registration Coming for Blogs and Social Media Posts
  11. Like, Comment, Share, and Protect the Copyright of Digital Content
  12. PRS v Qatar Airways
  13. Porn Company Strikes Back
  14. Special tweetment: Who owns the IP for social media content?
  15. Interlocutory Injunction Issued in relation to Grey Goods in Canada
  16. Apple Opposes Trademark Application For Recipe App’s Pear-Shaped Logo
  17. Maker of VAMPIRE-Branded Alcoholic Beverages Alleges Grocery Chain Is Taking a Bite Out of Its Trademark Rights
  18. Trademark tips: Beware linguistic errors and cultural appropriation
  19. A New Standard for Multicolored Marks August 10, 2020
  20. Merck v Merck: A lesson on the practical implications of co-existence agreements and online use in the digital age
  21. Unfair Competition: The Tort that Tags Along
  22. Monsanto V. Schmeiser 20 Years Later: The Answer Wasn’t Blowin’ in the Wind
  23. Claims Covering Human Engineering That Exploits a Naturally-Occurring Phenomenon Are Patent Eligible
  24. Sort It Out: Cell Sorting Method with Data Processing Steps Patent Eligible
  25. Doing It That Way Is Natural . . . and Patentable
  26. IP Alert | Still Contentious and “No More” Clear – AAM v. Neapco and Its Take on § 101
  27. Obviousness, Common Sense and Sensibility: Federal Circuit Ruling Offers Cautionary Tale for Patent Applicants
  28. Federal Circuit’s Cardionet Reversal Sheds Light on Patent Eligibility in Medical Diagnosis Inventions
  29. Federal Circuit Still Spinning Its Wheels on American Axle
  30. The Federal Circuit Finds a “Hooke” to Patent Ineligibility
  31. District of Delaware Goes against Prior Decisions and Declines to Dismiss Willful Infringement Claims Despite Failure to Allege Egregious Infringing Conduct
  32. Balance is Key in Design Patent Claim Drafting
  33. Judge Woods Zips Up Loose Ends and Readies Zipper Dispute For Trial
  34. The game begins: Strategies for the early stages of patent litigation – The defendant’s view
  35. Intellectual Property: New Options for Patent Ownership Disputes
  36. Congress To Consider National Right To Repair Law For First Time
  37. Snapshot: intellectual property for fashion goods in USA

PRIVACY

  1. Baltimore’s Aerial Surveillance Program Has Logged 700 Flight Hours, One (1) Arrest
  2. Police use of facial recognition violates human rights, UK court rules
  3. NJ Supreme Court: No 5th Amendment right not to unlock your phone
  4. Congressional Reps Want To Know Why The California DMV Is Making $50 Million A Year Selling Driver Data
  5. Chinese hackers have pillaged Taiwan’s semiconductor industry
  6. Cybersecurity Threats & Vulnerabilities
  7. Forget TikTok. Feebly Secured Infrastructure Is Our Real Problem
  8. More than 20GB of Intel source code and proprietary data dumped online
  9. Snapdragon chip flaws put >1 billion Android phones at risk of data theft
  10. Refresher Course on California Anti-Spam Law

CREATIVITY   

  1. Hong Kong Uses New National Security Law To Arrest Prominent Pro-Democracy Media Tycoon
  2. Judge Rejects Devin Nunes’ SLAPP Suit Over The Esquire Article He Really, Really Doesn’t Want You To Read
  3. Georgia School District Inadvertently Begins Teaching Lessons In First Amendment Protections After Viral Photo
  4. Why movie theaters are in trouble after DOJ nixes 70-year-old case 
  5. Appeals court rules 10¢-a-page charge for court documents is too high
  6. Appeals Court Upholds Ruling Saying PACER Overcharged Users

Jon