News of the Week; February 24, 2021

By Jon Festinger on March 3, 2021

GAMES

  1. Oxford University Study Shows Small Correlation Between Playing Video Games And ‘Well Being’
  2. Illinois politician proposes a Grand Theft Auto ban
  3. New Illinois Bill Would Expand Restrictions on Video Games
  4. Case Study: How ADL Used Custom Consumer Research to Measure Harassment & Disruptive Behavior in Online Games
  5. Epic giving out virtual currency after loot box settlement
  6. Epic Games settlement awards in-game cash to Fortnite, Rocket League players
  7. Epic will pay off class-action loot-box settlement with in-game currency
  8. UK antitrust tribunal blocks Epic’s case against Apple
  9. Epic Games attacks Apple in antitrust complaint to EU: Apple’s position as a gatekeeper for what apps can appear on iPhones or iPads has already attracted EU antitrust scrutiny
  10. Valve gets dragged into Apple and Epic’s legal fight over Fortnite
  11. Apple turns to Valve for information in legal battle with Epic
  12. Valve pushes back against Apple’s attempt to rope it into the big Epic v. Apple dispute
  13. Bethesda faces lawsuit over Fallout 4 DLC: The company faces charges of deceit for not including its Creation Club in the game’s Season Pass, which could delay Microsoft’s ZeniMax takeover
  14. Class-action suit takes aim at Google Stadia’s 4K claims
  15. Google Faces Class Action Over Claims that all Stadia Games Support 4K
  16. Google Disbands Stadia Game Developers And Signals Potential For More Trouble Ahead
  17. Stadia Fallout: Nobody Can Address Stadia Games’ Bugs Because Google Fired All The Developers
  18. Luna, Amazon’s cloud gaming service, is no longer invite-only on some devices
  19. WallStreetBets agitator Keith Gill faces class action lawsuit over Gamestop Reddit Rally
  20. Robinhood says GameStop volatility was a “1 in 3.5 million” black swan
  21. GameStop, Musk, and the threat to decentralization (Andres Guadamuz)
  22. GameStop CFO resigns
  23. GameStop CFO Jim Bell resigns
  24. SEC Commissioner Peirce Reaffirms Agency Mission in Light of GameStop
  25. Microsoft Unveils Xbox Accessibility Guidelines Version 2.0
  26. Biden admin plans executive order to address chip-shortage woes
  27. Semiconductor shortage hitting console production to be investigated by White House
  28. Chip shortage may threaten PlayStation 5 supplies at Christmas
  29. PS5 DualSense drift — this teardown just revealed the cause
  30. Gran Turismo 7 for PS5 just hit a major delay
  31. Gran Turismo 7 delayed to 2022
  32. CD Projekt Red issues DMCA to prevent spread of stolen Gwent code
  33. CD Projekt issues DMCA takedowns to halt spread of illegally obtained source code
  34. Report: Some CD Projekt devs unable to work after ransomware attack
  35. Take-Two DMCA takes down reverse-engineered GTA source code
  36. Take-Two reportedly takes down reverse-engineered GTA3, Vice City source code
  37. What a woman games journalist experiences in a week
  38. Developer banned from Steam for naming studio Very Positive
  39. Steam’s new controller reporting lets devs know how their games are played 
  40. Burning Crusade Classic leaks ahead of BlizzCon
  41. Diablo II Resurrected tops BlizzCon announcement flurry
  42. Hardsuit Labs dropped as Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines 2 developer
  43. Microsoft’s accessibility guidelines are a great start — but we can go further | Opinion
  44. Nvidia nerfs cryptocurrency mining capabilities on newest graphics card
  45. Here’s why Glu is an excellent strategic fit for EA
  46. EA, BioWare cancel Anthem’s sweeping overhaul
  47. BioWare cancels plans for Anthem rework, shifts focus to Dragon Age and Mass Effect
  48. Crusader Kings III helps Paradox to best financial year in history
  49. Paradox reports best year ever in 2020
  50. Paradox removes Hardsuit Labs as Bloodlines 2 developer, title delayed indefinitely
  51. Unity report shows mobile games ad revenue grew 8% in 2020
  52. January digital games spending reaches $11.6bn
  53. Super Mario 3D World holds off FIFA resurgence | UK Boxed Charts
  54. Valheim tops 500,000 concurrent players on Steam in under three weeks
  55. Valheim has sold over 3 million copies in 17 days
  56. Paradox reveals new subscription service for Crusader Kings 2
  57. Paradox rolls out Crusader Kings II subscription plan to make DLC more accessible
  58. Nintendo delivered a strong Direct, but fan impatience grows | Opinion
  59. GameMaker to add next-gen support
  60. HP acquires HyperX
  61. Soccer Manager gets £3m investment
  62. Notre Dame sitting out of EA Sports College Football for now
  63. EA completes $1.2 billion acquisition of Dirt developer Codemasters
  64. EA completes $1.2bn Codemasters acquisition and hopes to “revolutionise” racing games
  65. Thunderful acquires Bridge Constructor publisher Headup in €11m deal
  66. Thunderful acquires Bridge Constructor publisher Headup for $13.3 million
  67. Thunderful Group full-year revenues rise to $374m despite Q4 profit drop
  68. Bandai Namco take minority stake in Might & Magic dev Limbic Entertainment
  69. Roblox to begin trading shares in March
  70. VSPN reportedly considering IPO
  71. Bungie scaling up to expand Destiny ‘into additional media’ and create new IPs
  72. Bungie opening Amsterdam publishing office
  73. Instant mobile game platform Artie raises $10m seed fund
  74. Instant mobile game platform Artie secures $10 million in funding
  75. ‘LinkedIn for gamers’ Efuse raises $6m 
  76. BebopBee lands $2m in funding
  77. Netmarble acquires Kung Fu Factory 
  78. Netmarble US to acquire NBA Ball Stars dev Kung Fu Factory 
  79. Lucid Sight acquires multiplayer engine Colyseus 
  80. Fandom acquires digital games marketplace Fanatical
  81. Larian opens UK development studio to work on Baldur’s Gate 3 
  82. IronSource acquires playable and video advertisement platform Luna Labs
  83. Tencent grabs minority stake in TerraTech developer Payload Studios
  84. Saudi sovereign fund invests over $3 billion in major game publishers
  85. Saudi investment fund acquires shares in Activision Blizzard, Take-Two, and EA
  86. Live-action Twisted Metal TV series moving forward
  87. Cambrian’s new game design program launches in September
  88. Top Streamer Dr Disrespect To Release Comedic Memoir On March 30 
  89. Omaken Sports forms “Nordic powerhouse of esports” with Heroic acquisition
  90. OverActive plans Toronto esports arena: Owner of Toronto Ultra and Toronto Defiant says 7,000-seat, $500 million venue projected to be complete in 2025 
  91. YouTube Millionaires: For 17-Year-Old ‘Fortnite’ Enthusiast Ryft, “The Future Is Looking Very Bright”
  92. CAA Signs Fast-Growing Facebook Gaming Creator Zack ‘ZLaner’ Lane 
  93. Striker VR raises $4 million for VR gun peripheral
  94. Sony developing ‘next-generation VR system’ for PlayStation 5
  95. Sony announces new PSVR hardware for PlayStation 5
  96. Sony just confirmed PSVR 2 for PS5 — these are the biggest upgrades
  97. Next-Gen VR Dev Kits for PS5 Shipping Soon with “completely new VR format”
  98. Sony Confirms Next-Gen PSVR is Coming, New Controllers to Feature DualSense Tech
  99. PlayStation’s commitment is a huge boost to the VR market | Opinion
  100. Carmack: Facebook-Oculus Acquisition ‘Not A Perfect Outcome’ But Still ‘Correct’ For The Company 
  101. VR specialist NDreams becomes a third-party publisher with $2 million fund
  102. Making terms and acquisitions more accessible to users
  103. The legend of The Legend of Zelda 
  104. The secret to Final Fantasy XIV’s longevity lies in the room its devs are given to innovate
  105. Let them fight! Mortal Kombat red-band trailer gives fans what they want 
  106. Minit devs launch Minit Fun Racer, with all proceeds to go to charity
  107. Don’t Miss: In It To Minit – Designing a world of one-minute adventures
  108. Blog: A market status and design analysis of Autochess
  109. Blog: How game developers can tackle the climate crisis
  110. Blog: Urban Japan and megacities expert discusses Cyberpunk 2077 
  111. Blog: Writing slapstick and narrative as one
  112. Blog: My full time indie developer life – Year 4
  113. Don’t Miss: Blizzard’s postmortem of Diablo II
  114. Don’t Miss: Making Oxenfree’s narrative unfold like a free-flowing conversation

DIGITAL

  1. Ontario Superior Court denies certification of Cambridge Analytica class action
  2. Ontario Court Sets Out New Tort of “Harassment in Internet Communications”
  3. Anonymous internet commenter fails to set aside default judgment
  4. Yet Another Story Shows How Facebook Bent Over Backwards To Put In Place Different Rules For Conservatives
  5. Facebook to reverse Australia news ban after lawmakers alter bill
  6. Facebook Caves To Australia: Will Restore Links After Government Gives It More Time To Negotiate Paying For News Links
  7. Right to post: Australia calls Facebook blocks an assault on a sovereign nation: Health Minister Greg Hunt has turned up the rhetorical dial after Facebook blocked Australian news media this morning.
  8. Facebook news ban is “arrogant,” Australia will not be “intimidated,” PM says
  9. The Bizarre Reaction To Facebook’s Decision To Get Out Of The News Business In Australia
  10. Why Is Facebook’s Decision to Restrict News in Australia So Significant?
  11. Australian News Sites Shocked & Upset To Learn They Don’t Need To Rely On Facebook For Traffic!
  12. Facebook’s Australian News Ban Did Demonstrate The Evil Of Zero Rating
  13. Beware the Unintended Consequences: Some Warning Signs for Canada from the Australian Government Battle With Facebook (Michael Geist)
  14. The Complexity of Internet Content Regulation – A Conversation with CIPPIC’s Vivek Krishnamurthy (Michael Geist)
  15. Microsoft throws Google under the bus in European news fight
  16. The Librarian War Against QAnon
  17. TikTok Removed Nearly 350,000 Videos For Violating Election Policies
  18. New ‘TikTok For Black Creatives’ Incubator Unveils Inaugural Class Of 100 Creators
  19. Arizona’s $24-Million Prison Management Software Is Keeping People Locked Up Past The End Of Their Sentences
  20. YouTube Removes PewDiePie’s Cocomelon Diss Track, Citing Harassment And Child Safety Policies
  21. Is Mandated Sideloading The Answer To App Store Deplatforming?
  22. YouTube Will Begin Letting Underage Users Onto Its Flagship Platform — With Parental Supervision
  23. Five Things Platforms Can Do Today to Fight Disinformation
  24. Indian Government Requires Educational Establishments To Obtain Its Approval For The Subject Matter And Participants Of International Online Conferences And Seminars
  25. Tech groups sue Maryland to block new digital-ad tax from going into effect
  26. How Oregon’s Top Wildlife Official Got Sued Over His State’s Hunting App
  27. Is Section 230 Just For Start-ups? History Says Nope
  28. North Dakota’s New Anti-230 Bill Would Let Nazis Sue You For Reporting Their Content To Twitter
  29. Attacks On Internet Free Speech In Malaysia And Indonesia Demonstrate Why Section 230 Is So Important
  30. Content Moderation Case Study: Senator Asks YouTube To Block Al Qaeda Videos (2008)
  31. Content Moderation Case Study: Chatroulette Leverages New AI To Combat Unwanted Nudity (2020)
  32. The Grim Consequences of a Misleading Study on Disinformation: An influential study relies too heavily on news reporting – which has only recently acknowledged the social media manipulation problem at all.
  33. Social media manipulation by political actors now an industrial scale problem prevalent in over 80 countries – annual Oxford report
  34. Congressional Jawboning of Internet Services Isn’t Actionable–AAPS v. Schiff (Eric Goldman)
  35. Doctor Can’t Win Default Judgment Over Patient’s Yelp Review–Mirza v. Amar (Eric Goldman)
  36. An Account Suspension Case Fails Again–Perez v. LinkedIn (Eric Goldman)
  37. UK Supreme Court says Uber drivers are not independent contractors
  38. Uber: Bankrupt engineer Levandowski is hiding millions from creditors
  39. Maryland First State to Adopt Digital Ad Tax
  40. Hosts Of Gimlet Media’s ‘Reply All’ Step Down After Allegations Of Toxic, Anti-Union Behavior
  41. Can YouTube Teach Facebook A Better Way To Handle News Content In Australia And Beyond?
  42. YouTube Shutters 7 Remaining ‘YouTube Spaces’ Globally, Doubling Down On Pop-ups And Virtual Programming
  43. YouTube launches new destination for sports fans and expands its YouTube Select CTV offering
  44. YouTube Announces 2021 Slate Of More Than 30 Kids’ Originals
  45. YouTube TV To Offer $30 Add-On Bundle Comprising HBO Max, Showtime, And Starz
  46. This Week In Social Video: Mars Landing, Rick Lax, Happy Gilmore
  47. Spotify Will Enable Podcasters To Charge For Monthly Subscriptions, Slates Broader Rollout For Video Podcasts
  48. TikTok without filters
  49. TikTok Locks In Multiyear Partnership With UFC
  50. David Dobrik’s ‘Dispo’ App Reportedly Eyeing Series A Funding Round At $100 Million Valuation
  51. Logan Paul Sells $5 Million Worth Of NFTs Ahead Of His Pokémon Box Break
  52. MrBeast Says His Burger Brand Sold One Million Sandwiches In 2 Months
  53. Creator Community Standard Launches In-House Studio Offering Production Resources To All Digital Creators
  54. A Teenaged Tech CEO Tries To Sneak In After Curfew And Finds His Mom Waited Up For Him
  55. Internationalized domain names: definition, challenges, and status
  56. The bitcoin blockchain is helping keep a botnet from being taken down
  57. Virtual Currency Platform Settles NY AG Charges for Unlawful Trading
  58. Treasury Secretary Skeptical of Bitcoin
  59. SEC halts trading of iced tea company that pivoted to blockchain
  60. SEC Delists the Iced-Tea Company that Added “Blockchain” to Its Name
  61. The rise of the online divorce
  62. Another route for resolving technology disputes?
  63. Is Quantum Computing about to actually become useable – even useful?
  64. Roundup of Some Influential 1990s Internet Law Articles (Eric Goldman)

A.I.

  1. Copyright in works created by artificial intelligence: issues and Perspectives
  2. Artificial Intelligence and Patents: Inventing Inventors
  3. Takeaways | Requiring Human Inventorship – Opportunities to Advise Whether to Prohibit, Permit, or Require Listing an AI Algorithm as an Inventor – Eastern District of Virginia & European Patent Office
  4. Legal Aspects of Artificial Intelligence (v3.0)
  5. The AI research paper was real. The “co-author” wasn’t
  6. Google fires top ethical AI expert Margaret Mitchell: The tech giant claims Mitchell violated staff codes of conduct.
  7. AI and Privacy Are on a Collision Course
  8. AI can write a passing college paper in 20 minutes: Natural language processing is on the cusp of changing our relationship with machines forever.
  9. CMA continues its focus on digital markets with a call for evidence on the use of algorithms
  10. Will the Final Chapter Come? FDA’s Action Plan for Oversight of Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning-Based Medical Software
  11. Trust, transparency and meaning: success factors in effective AI projects
  12. Video: Improving the AI of Mafia III

COMMUNICATIONS

  1. Court Tosses Devin Nunes’ Silly SLAPP Lawsuit Against CNN
  2. California can enforce net neutrality law, judge rules in loss for ISPs
  3. California Poised To Defeat Broadband Industry In Scrum Over Net Neutrality
  4. ‘Net Neutrality Hurt Internet Infrastructure Investment’ Is The Bad Faith Lie That Simply Won’t Die
  5. Comcast reluctantly drops data-cap enforcement in 12 states for rest of 2021
  6. AT&T and Frontier have let phone networks fall apart, Calif. regulator finds
  7. Cox’s bad customer service stymies users who don’t want upload speeds cut
  8. The DOJ/FCC ‘Fix’ For The T-Mobile Merger Is Looking More And More Like Theater
  9. Chattanooga Built Its Own Broadband Network. Now It’s The Top Ranked ‘Work From Home’ City In The US
  10. New Bill Tries To Ban Community Broadband. During A Pandemic.
  11. FCC Pressured To Let Libraries Bridge Broadband Access During The Pandemic
  12. Apple is already working on developing 6G wireless technology
  13. Apple beats Samsung in phone sales for first time since 2016
  14. Maryland Electric Cooperative Launches Broadband Subsidiary
  15. House Republicans propose nationwide ban on municipal broadband networks
  16. LG enters fray with Google, Amazon, Roku for TV operating system dominance
  17. China blocks BBC World News in Tit-for-tat move following CGTN Ban in UK
  18. ASA rejects a complaint that a Johnnie Walker ad encouraged immoderate drinking
  19. CARU Encourages Advertisers to Focus on Diversity and Inclusion
  20. Broadening the Definition of Express and Implicit Representation in Children’s Advertising

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

  1. Canadian consultation on extending the general term of copyright open through March 12
  2. Extra, extra, read all about it: new Canadian Bill proposes remuneration for use of journalistic works online
  3. Time to Pay the Copyright Piper? A Digital Media Platform Copyright Reckoning for Journalists is Upon Us!
  4. Meghan Markle gets summary judgment – but is she the sole author of her letter?
  5. Duchess of Sussex wins summary judgment in copyright and privacy claims
  6. Duchess of Sussex v Mail on Sunday & MailOnline
  7. HHJ Hacon decides ownership of Virtual Forensic Computing software created during course of employment.
  8. Karma: Twitch Replaces Live Metallica Concert With 8-Bit Music To Avoid Copyright Madness 
  9. Understanding the Boundaries of Using Copyrighted Learning Materials in Distance Learning 
  10. Hooray for the Public Domain: A prequel to The Great Gatsby sees the light of day!
  11. A Closed Book: No Past Infringement, No Reading Between the Lines into the Future
  12. Third circuit panel revises half-baked trade dress functionality decision
  13. 9th Circuit swivels on trade dress functionality doctrine in favor of iconic Herman Miller office chairs
  14. Apple Settles Trademark Opposition With PrePear Recipe App After The Latter Makes A Barely Perceptible Change In Logo
  15. A Registration is a Trump Card
  16. Peloton Seeks To Invalidate ‘Spinning’ Trademark Held By Trademark Bully
  17. FyreTV Porn Service Asks 11th Circuit Panel To Resurrect Dumb Trademark Suit Against Amazon Over FireTV
  18. USPTO Provides Guidance in View of ‘Booking.com’
  19. Trademark registrability of generic.com domain names following US Supreme Court decision on Booking.com
  20. Fairtrade Fortnight
  21. Protecting product appearance through trademark and design registrations
  22. Domain Name Dispute Resolution Options: Features, Benefits and Other Considerations for Selecting Between UDRP and URS
  23. Federal Circuit Clarifies When Appellate Review Triggers Patent Term Adjustment
  24. Federal Court Dismisses Limitation Period Defence in Patent Infringement Action under Section 8.2 of the PM(NOC) Regulations 
  25. Canadian courts are interpreting supplementary pharmaceutical patent protection more broadly than their EU counterparts
  26. Lack of enablement in Amgen v Sanofi and Regeneron
  27. Federal Circuit Axes Amgen Antibody Patents, Finding Lack of Enablement
  28. Judge Schofield Rejects Application of Rare Equitable Estoppel Defense
  29. 2G or Not 2G: Patent License Applies to Future Generation Wireless Networks
  30. Boom in M&A shifts semiconductor patent landscape 
  31. Patent Office Issues Guidance on Indefiniteness
  32. When is someone “authorised” to use a patented invention for the services of the Crown and therefore immune from patent infringement?
  33. John Deere Promised To Back Off Monopolizing Repair. It Then Ignored That Promise Completely.

PRIVACY

  1. Evidence of Harm Required To Advance Class Action Following Data Breach
  2. Uber Denial of Class Action – Alberta Court Denies Certification of Privacy Class Action
  3. Alberta court confirms competent Testator’s right to privacy
  4. Why Transparency Won’t Save Us
  5. Treasury Oversight Says IRS Should Consider Getting Warrants Before Buying Location Data From Data Brokers
  6. Ninth Circuit Sends Alexa Surreptitious Recording Case to Arbitration–Tice v. Amazon (Eric Goldman)
  7. Data Breach Plaintiff Doesn’t Have Standing in the Absence of Fraud or Identity Theft–Tsao v. Captiva
  8. The First Circuit Court of Appeals confirms government’s expansive authority to search electronic devices
  9. Think Before You Pack that Laptop—Searches at the U.S. Border May Compromise Personal and Corporate Data
  10. Microsoft says SolarWinds hackers stole source code for 3 products
  11. Global social media company should take measures to prevent app developers from transmitter users’ sensitive data
  12. Private firms can’t protect us from digital attacks. Government must step in.
  13. Post-IDFA Alliance forms to prepare for Apple privacy changes
  14. New browser-tracking hack works even when you flush caches or go incognito
  15. Clearview and Blackbaud – Where are we, how did we get here, and where are we going?
  16. To pay or not to pay: Another regulator weighs in on the decision to pay a ransom
  17. GDPR in practice for North American companies: Key takeaways from Jan 21. 2021 Webinar
  18. LAPD Asked Ring Users To Turn Over Footage Of Anti-Police Brutality Protests
  19. Firefox 86 brings multiple Picture-in-Picture, “Total Cookie Protection”

Jon

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