News of the Week; February 10, 2021

By Jon Festinger on February 16, 2021

GAMES

  1. Riot Games CEO accused of sexual harassment in lawsuit from ex-employee
  2. Shadow of War publisher Warner Bros. has patented the series’ Nemesis system
  3. Super Nintendo World apparently took scenery from a Mario fangame
  4. Merritt killer gets PlayStation memory card back after win in Federal Court: Justice Zinn ruled removal order unreasonable – that inmate permitted to having a gaming system in their cell should also have a memory card
  5. Fischer v. Canada (Attorney General), 2021 FC 112
  6. G.I. Bro is a Go: Copyright Dispute Over Call of Duty Poster Survives Summary Judgement
  7. Activision Blizzard sued over Call of Duty character
  8. Call of Duty drives record year for Activision Blizzard
  9. Microsoft says terms of service mandate arbitration for Xbox controller suit
  10. Microsoft creates ‘Vault’ to temporarily house Bethesda parent ZeniMax
  11. PS5 DualSense controllers already have a drift problem – what you need to know: It’s not just the Nintendo Switch’s Joy-Cons anymore
  12. Advocating for accessibility in video games
  13. PS5’s DualSense controller also faces drift issues
  14. PS5 to launch in China in Q2 2021
  15. Warner Bros finally secures patent for Shadow of Mordor’s Nemesis system
  16. CD Projekt Red’s internal systems “compromised” following ransomware attack
  17. CD Projekt Red gets ‘cyberpunk’d’ – another ransomware attack
  18. Cyberpunk 2077 developer hit with ransomware attack
  19. Cyberpunk 2077 developer CD Projekt hit by ‘targeted cyber attack’
  20. MP proposes bill to make console scalping illegal amid PS5 and Xbox Series shortages
  21. Gaming sites are still letting streamers profit from hate
  22. Can you cheat to get ahead on Steam?
  23. Steam Becomes Available In China, Offers 53 Whole Games To Customers
  24. Lessons from GameStop: Small Investors “100% Don’t Care” About Risk
  25. Regulators forced to respond to GameStop Corp.’s historic yo-yo
  26. Robinhood Sued in Class Action, Alleging Website Inaccessibility and Discrimination Against Blind Users
  27. Another Speculation Is Possible: The Political Lesson Of R/WallStreetBets
  28. Amazon’s next CEO vows to help struggling Amazon Game Studios bounce back
  29. Bandai Namco switches management amid business unit shake-up
  30. Profits dip at Bandai Namco despite rising game sales
  31. Bandai Namco reports rising profits amid restructure
  32. Nintendo boss says diverse Switch playerbase will help it outsell the Wii
  33. Nintendo discusses Switch growth plans as console enters “middle of its lifecycle”
  34. Ori director criticises developers for overhyping games with “lies and deception”
  35. YouTube Releases Self-Certification Guide Specifically For Gaming Creators
  36. Terraria developer cancels Google Stadia port after YouTube account ban
  37. Stadia’s issues were clear from the start | This Week in Business
  38. Google’s shutdowns relegate streaming to “gaming of the gaps” | Opinion
  39. Digital downloads jumped 47% across Europe in 2020 | European Annual Report
  40. Animal Crossing continues to dominate UK retail | UK Boxed Charts
  41. Xbox Series S/X was the No.1 console of January | UK Monthly GfK Charts
  42. Assetto Corsa franchise reaches €100 million in lifetime sales
  43. Epic Games addresses speculation over IPO
  44. Epic Games’ ability to go to war with Apple stems from its financial freedom, says CEO
  45. Epic’s new tool promises high-fidelity human characters in under an hour
  46. Epic Games’ new MetaHuman Creator will let devs build hi-fi humans
  47. Super High-Fidelity Mario: The quest to find original gaming audio samples
  48. Sony now has a stake in parent of Dark Souls dev From Software
  49. Wildlife Studios launches Never Forget Games
  50. EA Sports Announces College Football Video Game Revival and Another Collegiate Athlete Persona Rights Piece of Legislation is Proposed in Congress
  51. EA continues its big mobile push with $2.1 billion Glu Mobile acquisition
  52. EA acquires Glu Mobile in $2.1 billion deal
  53. EA’s Andrew Wilson talks about the Glu acquisition
  54. Leaf Mobile: Kings of Green Mountain – Darcy Taylor on building a thriving business in the “green games” market, and what the $159m acquisition of East Side Games means for Leaf’s future
  55. Leaf Mobile confirms $125m acquisition of East Side Games
  56. Zynga posts record revenues, record net losses
  57. Digital makes up 85% of Take-Two’s $860.9 million in Q3 net revenue
  58. Maple Story and mobile expansion push Nexon to record revenues
  59. Ubisoft’s Prince of Persia remake postponed indefinitely
  60. Assassin’s Creed Valhalla leads Ubisoft’s biggest quarter ever
  61. Assassin’s Creed, Watch Dogs, and Just Dance push Ubisoft to new record highs
  62. Minecraft Dungeons has crossed 10 million players on all platforms
  63. Huuuge Games IPO to raise $442m
  64. Vertigo Games acquires location-based VR arcade platform SpringboardVR
  65. Mountaintop raises $5.5 million to accelerate development of its PvP shooter
  66. Homa Games raises $15m for hypercasual titles
  67. Candivore raises $12 million
  68. French mobile studio Homa nets $15 million to create hypercasual titles
  69. Unity reports record year despite losses
  70. Revenue, downloads, and MAUs all on the rise as Unity closes Q4
  71. Activision Blizzard closes out 2020 with rising revenue and profit
  72. Final Fantasy VII Remake and Marvel’s Avengers boost sales at Square Enix
  73. Mobile titles and domestic releases are driving revenue at Konami
  74. Mobile developer Wildlife opens new studio in California
  75. Match Masters dev Candivore nets $12 million to drive user acquisition
  76. Focus Home Interactive opens up new Deck13 studio in Montreal
  77. TinyBuild acquires three studios
  78. Totally Reliable Delivery Service dev among three studios acquired by TinyBuild 
  79. Nazara Technologies gets $13.7m in funding
  80. Latitude raises $3.3 million for its AI platform
  81. Pizza Club secures $1.5m investment from My.Games
  82. Focus Home Interactive is opening a Deck13 subsidiary in Montreal
  83. Kowloon Nights backs indies with funding deals for 23 titles
  84. Tencent buys minority stake in DayZ developer Bohemia Interactive
  85. Tencent acquires minority stake in Bohemia Interactive
  86. Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury review: Everything old is new again
  87. Here’s what ESRB’s ratings looked like in 2020
  88. “Arcades are a crucial part of the history of video games”
  89. E3 skipping in-person event again
  90. Newzoo’s Esports Trends to Watch in 2021
  91. Pokémon World Championships 2021 cancelled
  92. ‘Why was that focusing on Miranda’s butt?’ & other dev tales from remastering Mass Effect 
  93. “90 bugs left”: Rare devs talk about the nearly completed Goldeneye 007 remake [Updated]
  94. Blog: Set rotations in Magic The Gathering – A mobile F2P perspective
  95. Blog: Revisiting the fall of Resident Evil
  96. Blog: Building an arcade cabinet for the 21st Century 
  97. Video: The combat animations of Middle-earth: Shadow of War
  98. Don’t Miss: How Baldur’s Gate 3 first approached the RNG of D&D-inspired dice rolls
  99. Level Up: 33 Legal Tips for Game Developers and Publishers Part II

DIGITAL

  1. The Tort of Internet Harassment: A new tort with an extraordinary remedy
  2. Ontario Superior Court recognizes new cause of action addressing internet harassment
  3. Ontario Superior Court recognizes new tort for online harassment
  4. Court Refuses to Order Removal of Social Media Posts Alleging Employer was Racist
  5. Parler’s ownership offer to Trump and possible Russian ties probed by Congress
  6. Parler CEO says board fired him for planning to ban “neo-Nazi” groups
  7. Various States All Pile On To Push Blatantly Unconstitutional Laws That Say Social Media Can’t Moderate
  8. If We’re Going To Talk About Discrimination In Online Ads, We Need To Talk About Roommates.com
  9. 25 Years Later: A Celebration Of The Declaration Of The Independence Of Cyberspace
  10. Can A Community Approach To Disinformation Help Twitter?
  11. Facebook moves to scale down political content
  12. Google, Facebook tell SCOTUS it should be harder for you to sue them
  13. Indian Government Threatens To Jail Twitter Employees For Restoring Accounts The Government Wants Blocked
  14. Huawei Attempts To Rebuild Trust By Using… Fake Twitter Telecom Experts
  15. Without Twitter, Trump Is Left To Write Tweets He Would Have Said On Paper
  16. With Trump gone, Huawei tells Biden it’s not a security threat
  17. Not just Facebook: Snap, Unity warn Apple’s tracking change threatens business
  18. Soon, you may be able to change the default music service in iOS
  19. Sorry, small-phone lovers: The iPhone 12 mini was Apple’s 2020 sales flop
  20. Klobuchar targets Big Tech with biggest antitrust overhaul in 45 years
  21. Senators Warner, Hirono, And Klobuchar Demand The End Of The Internet Economy
  22. Platform mergers and antitrust: This paper sets out a framework for addressing competition concerns arising from acquisitions in big platform ecosystems.
  23. Lingerie Brand Adore Me Accuses TikTok Of Targeting Videos With BIPOC, Plus-Size, Disabled Models
  24. Oracle’s TikTok acquisition reportedly “shelved” indefinitely
  25. Trump And Oracle’s Dumb TikTok Cronyism Falls Apart
  26. 20-Year-Old Nashville Man Allegedly Shot Dead While Attempting YouTube Robbery Prank
  27. Sony picks up minor stake in From Software parent company Kadokawa Corporation
  28. Microsoft Offers To Break The Web In A Desperate Attempt To Get Somebody To Use Its Widely-Ignored Bing Search Engine
  29. Raspberry Pi OS added a Microsoft repo. No, it’s not an evil secret
  30. The Definitive Guide to Clickwrap
  31. We’re Living Our Lives On The Internet, And We Can’t Be Free If It Isn’t.
  32. Smartmatic Sues Two Trump Lawyers And Three Fox News Hosts For $2.7 Billion-Worth Of Defamation
  33. Now It’s The Democrats Turn To Destroy The Open Internet: Mark Warner’s 230 Reform Bill Is A Dumpster Fire Of Cluelessness
  34. Senators Propose Substantial Revisions to Section 230’s Protections for Online Providers
  35. Proposed Sec. 230 rewrite could have wide-ranging consequences
  36. The Many Reasons To Celebrate Section 230
  37. Section 230 Lets Tech Fix Content Moderation Issues. Congress Should Respect That
  38. How To Think About Online Ads And Section 230
  39. How Section 230 Makes My Life Better (A Celebration of Its 25 Year Anniversary) (Eric Goldman)
  40. Comments on the “SAFE TECH” Act (Eric Goldman)
  41. Content Moderation Case Study: Twitch Allows Users To Enable Emote-Only Chats (2016)
  42. Content Moderation Case Study: Twitter Attempts To Tackle COVID-related Vaccine Misinformation (2020)
  43. TikTok’s Sale To Oracle, Walmart Indefinitely Shelved, As Biden Administration Conducts Its Own Cybersecurity Review
  44. Instagram Building Vertical Scrolling Experience For Stories, Just Like TikTok
  45. Instagram Will Begin Making Reels Including A TikTok Watermark “Less Discoverable”
  46. Whalar Launches First All-Black Creator House, ‘The Crib Around The Corner’
  47. Former YouTube Employee Launches ‘BlackOakTV’ Streaming Service To Superserve Black Viewers And Creators
  48. Sports YouTuber KOT4Q Partners With Malka, Up North Management For Weekly YouTube Series
  49. YouTube’s lo-fi music streams are all about the euphoria of less
  50. MrBeast’s ‘MrBeast Burger’ Ghost Kitchen Concept Arrives In Canada
  51. David Dobrik Shows Off New $9.5 Million Mansion, Unveils Video Version Of ‘Views’ Podcast
  52. ASA upholds another complaint against an influencer social media ad
  53. In A First, Shopify To Integrate Checkout Technology Directly Within Facebook And Instagram
  54. Universal Music Yanks Catalog From Triller, Slams Service For Withholding Artist Payments
  55. Disney fires Mandalorian’s Gina Carano over “abhorrent, unacceptable” posts
  56. Netflix acquires the rights to all 22 Redwall books, plans film and series
  57. HBO Max signs “adult” cartoon series based on Scooby-Doo’s Velma
  58. New report on Apple’s VR headset: 8K in each eye, potential $3,000 price tag
  59. Texas Dept. Of Public Safety Issues Amber Alert For Victim Of Horror Doll Chucky
  60. Joint Chiefs of Tax Enforcement to Investigate Tax Fraud Arising Out of FinTech and Cryptocurrency
  61. A terabyte isn’t what it used to be—14% of Internet customers use more
  62. 25 years ago today, the internet declared its independence — for better and for worse
  63. ‘I’m Not a Cat,’ Says Lawyer Having Zoom Difficulties

A.I.

  1. Protecting AI Innovations Through Trade Secrets and Patent Protection
  2. A.I. and machine learning tools in financial services should expect regulatory scrutiny
  3. Apple’s car project could put it on a collision course with Tesla
  4. The Collision of AI’s Machine Learning and Manipulation: Deepfake Litigation Risks to Companies from a Product Liability, Privacy, and Cyber Standpoint
  5. In Defense of AI
  6. Why the resignation of the Dutch government is a good reminder of how important it is to monitor and regulate algorithms
  7. AI Regulation Under the New US Administration
  8. New UK AI Roadmap published
  9. Will AI Create More Problems Than It Solves in Recruiting?
  10. Amazon will use cameras and AI to monitor delivery drivers
  11. AI Update: The Future of AI Policy in the UK
  12. AI: cure for or cause of discriminatory outcomes in healthcare?
  13. FDA Publishes Action Plan for Oversight of Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning-Based Medical Software
  14. Code Red: The FDA’s Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning Action Plan Poses Potential Risks for Medical Device Makers
  15. U.S. Advances AI Innovation with NAIIA
  16. BAILII grants Oxford University unprecedented access to case data for AI analysis in historic agreement
  17. Video: The AI of Assassin’s Creed Origins
  18. MintzTech Connect Industry News: Spotlight on Turing Enterprises 

COMMUNICATIONS

  1. Conservative MP Files Amendment Calling on the Government to Withdraw Bill C-10 (Michael Geist)
  2. Why The Secrecy on Bill C-10?: How the Liberals Abandoned Their Commitment to Consultation, and Transparency in Pushing Their Broadcast Reform Bill (Michael Geist)
  3. Vancouver’s TSN 1040 off the air after Bell suddenly pulls the plug: Vancouver’s most popular sports radio station shut down Tuesday morning, surprising fans and staff alike
  4. Bell abandoning all-sports format at radio stations in Vancouver, Winnipeg, Hamilton
  5. Why Laid Off Bell Sports Journalists Should Form A Worker Co-op: We cannot rely on legacy corporate media to save the journalism industry. It’s time to build something better.
  6. DOJ Drops Ridiculous Trump-Era Lawsuit Against California For Passing Net Neutrality Rules
  7. Want a New Radio Station? FCC Proposes Procedures for a July 2021 Auction, Lists Channels to be Sold, and Imposes a Freeze on Certain Applications
  8. Authorities bust SIM-swap ring they say took millions from the rich and famous
  9. 16 States Ask The FCC What The Hell Is The Point Of The Verizon Tracfone Merger
  10. ISPs step up fight against SpaceX, tell FCC that Starlink will be too slow
  11. SpaceX plans Starlink phone service, emergency backup, and low-income access
  12. SpaceX Starlink passes 10,000 users and fights opposition to FCC funding
  13. SpaceX Starlink opens preorders, but slots are limited in each region
  14. Appeals Court Tells Lying Cop No ‘Reasonable’ Officer Would Think It’s OK To Tear Gas Journalists For Performing Journalism
  15. Big Game, Ad Claims: Reflecting on Super Bowl Advertising Tactics
  16. The Importance of Advanced Telecommunications Networks to Modern Healthcare
  17. ASA rules that Ladbrokes TV ad showed gambling behaviour that was socially irresponsible
  18. How Cubans make island Internet work for them

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

  1. Federal Court trusts technology to prove infringement
  2. Is This Beverly Hills Cop Playing Sublime’s ‘Santeria’ to Avoid Being Live-streamed?: Police in Beverly Hills have been playing music while being filmed, seemingly in an effort to trigger Instagram’s copyright filters. 
  3. Latest Anti-Accountability Move By Cops Involves Playing Music While Being Recorded In Hopes Of Triggering Copyright Takedowns
  4. Celebrity tattoo artist Kat Von D sued for inking Miles Davis design? Tats crazy!
  5. Desire v. Manna Textiles (USCA, 9th Circuit): Holds only one statutory damages award available where defendant supplied infringing work to other defendants, even when those other defendants exploited infringing work.    
  6. Carlini v. Paramount Pictures Corp. (USDC, California): Court action brought alleging film “What Men Want” infringed plaintiff’s screenplay, finding access was insufficient and works were not substantially similar. 
  7. Be careful what you scrape from the HiQ v. LinkedIn decision 
  8. Sherlock Holmes and the copyright infringement claim
  9. Protect your moves – A mix of Intellectual Property and Dance
  10. Snippet Taxes Not Only Violate The Berne Convention, But Also Betray The Deepest Roots Of Newspaper Culture
  11. Why Is Congress Pushing For Locking Up More Culture? 
  12. SCOTUS Update – Google v. Oracle 
  13. Music – Royalty Rates for Digital Transmissions 
  14. Copyright year in review 2020 
  15. The growing role of domains in IP 
  16. What to Do when “Everything Sucks” 
  17. Utah Theme Park Sues Taylor Swift Over Album Title After Exploiting It
  18. Taylor Swift sued by Utah Theme Park for trademark infringement.
  19. Pearl Jamm changes name to Legal Jam…to avoid legal jam 
  20. SDNY Magistrate Judge Recommends that Rubik’s Cube Design is Not Functional 
  21. Hanes Pop Warner’s Way: Trademark Dispute Over Pop Warner Mark 
  22. How to Register a Common Shape as Your Trademark 
  23. Trademarks in 2020: notable cases and developments 
  24. Trade Secret Management in the United States: Top Ten Mistakes to Avoid 
  25. December 2020 COVID-19 Relief Bill Finally Closes the Streaming Loophole 
  26. Third Circuit Finds Pocky Trade Dress Functional, Not Protectable 
  27. There’s No Sugarcoating It: Pocky’s Cookie Design Trade Dress Is Functional
  28. The Doctrine of File Wrapper Estoppel in Canada: The Court of Appeal Hands Down its Decision 
  29. Evidence Supports Prior Art’s Public Accessibility but Not the Board’s Adoption of an Unpresented Theory of Anticipation
  30. Federal Circuit Clarifies Part of Patent Term Extension Equation 
  31. Federal Circuit Says Automated Systems Are Not Abstract when Tied to Improvements 
  32. The “Skinny Label” – The Federal Circuit Has Second Thoughts 
  33. No Patent Eligibility Reward for Customer Loyalty Program Computer System
  34. How to patent over-the-air (OTA) automotive technology 
  35. Federal Circuit Agrees to Reconsider Ruling in GSK v. Teva Drug Patent Case 
  36. When Fixing One Problem Creates Another: How Patent Infringement Arises Out of Product Repairs 
  37. Key Insights for Obtaining FinTech Patents
  38. Patents in 2020 – The year in review

PRIVACY

  1. Privacy class action not certified – Setoguchi v Uber B.V., 2021 ABQB 18
  2. Clearview AI’s Facial Recognition Tool Found to Violate Canadian Privacy Laws
  3. Exceptions from consent in PIPEDA: facial recognition, privacy and Clearview
  4. Privacy Commissioners Issue Report on Clearview AI’s Facial Recognition Tool
  5. Canadian Privacy Commission Says Clearview’s App Is Illegal, Tells It To Pack Its Things And Leave
  6. “Made in Canada” – What is happening to Privacy by Design under the CPPA?
  7. NYT Easily Tracks Location Data From Capitol Riots, Highlighting Once Again How US Privacy Standards Are A Joke
  8. Amazon Transparency Report Indicates Its Multiple IoT Devices Are Juicy Targets For Law Enforcement
  9. 11th Circuit: Future identity theft risk does not confer standing
  10. 11th Cir. Rejects Standing Due to Threat of Future Identity Theft & Further Deepens Circuit Split
  11. Calling SCOTUS: Eleventh Circuit Invites Supreme Court to Address Circuit Split on Article III Standing for Data Incident Plaintiffs
  12. Court Dismisses CCPA Claim Against Google
  13. Court denies tech company’s second request for COPPA claim dismissal
  14. California AG Becerra Tweets Endorsement for a Universal Opt-Out Tool
  15. Chastity Penis Lock Company That Was Hacked Says It’s Now Totally Safe To Put Your Penis Back In That Chastity Lock
  16. FTC Reaches Settlement with Digital Health App, Requires First Notice of Privacy Action
  17. Key Takeaways from the Recent Grindr Decision and “Tentative” $11M Fine
  18. The Bright Side of the Horrifying Story About a Hacked Water Treatment Plant
  19. Water Treatment System Hack is a Warning to Critical Infrastructure Organizations
  20. Breached water plant employees used the same TeamViewer password and no firewall
  21. Turf wars: confidentiality of live (sports) data
  22. Android barcode scanner with 10 million+ downloads infects users
  23. Google Pixel phones will soon track heart rate using only the camera
  24. Zoombombing countermeasures are ineffective in the vast majority of cases
  25. Report: Google considering an iOS-style anti-tracking feature for Android
  26. Cops can’t access $60M in seized bitcoin—fraudster won’t give password
  27. 2020 Privacy Law Year in Review

Jon

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