Jon Festinger

Jon Festinger, Q.C. (LL.B., B.C.L. 1980 (McGill University)) is a Vancouver, British Columbia based counsel and educator. A faculty member at the Centre for Digital Media (http://thecdm.ca) Jon has taught media, entertainment and communications law topics at the Allard School of Law, UBC, for over two decades, as well as occasionally teaching at the University of Victoria Faculty of Law and the UBC Graduate School of Journalism. He is the author of the first edition of “Video Game Law” published by LexisNexis in 2005, and co-author of the 2nd Edition published in 2012 (http://www.lexisnexis.com/store/ca/catalog/booktemplate/productdetail.jsp?prodId=prd-cad-01004). As a graduate of McGill University’s Faculty of Law, Jon began his legal career in private practice, in turn becoming General Counsel of WIC Western International Communications, Senior Vice President of the CTV Television Network and Executive Vice President, Business & General Counsel of the Vancouver Canucks. Jon practices law through Festinger Law & Strategy, is Past-Chair of Ronald McDonald House British Columbia and a Director of viasport B.C. . Jon is a dedicated fan of auto-racing simulations. Website: http://videogamelaw.allard.ubc.ca Twitter: @jonfestinger PSN: cdmjon

News of the Week; February 24, 2021

By Jon Festinger on March 3, 2021

GAMES Oxford University Study Shows Small Correlation Between Playing Video Games And ‘Well Being’ Illinois politician proposes a Grand Theft Auto ban New Illinois Bill Would Expand Restrictions on Video Games Case Study: How ADL Used Custom Consumer Research to Measure Harassment & Disruptive Behavior in Online Games Epic giving out virtual currency after loot […]

Read More | No Comments

News of the Week; February 17, 2021

By Jon Festinger on February 21, 2021

GAMES Riot Games CEO sued by former assistant for sexual harassment Google Wins Motion to Dismiss Loot Box Class Action Nintendo reportedly raises damages sought in Colopl lawsuit to $47m Nintendo claims additional damages in White Cat Project lawsuit Latest Nintendo Direct event led by Zelda: Skyward Sword HD remaster Nintendo ends pandemic-driven Nintendo Direct hiatus with a remaster-filled […]

Read More | No Comments

News of the Week; February 10, 2021

By Jon Festinger on February 16, 2021

GAMES Riot Games CEO accused of sexual harassment in lawsuit from ex-employee Shadow of War publisher Warner Bros. has patented the series’ Nemesis system Super Nintendo World apparently took scenery from a Mario fangame Merritt killer gets PlayStation memory card back after win in Federal Court: Justice Zinn ruled removal order unreasonable – that inmate permitted […]

Read More | No Comments

News of the Week; February 3, 2021

By Jon Festinger on February 7, 2021

GAMES Valve loses controller patent case, must pay $4m in damages Valve on the hook for $4 million over Steam Controller patent infringement Is Steam really conspiring to price fix? Riot Games pushes for arbitration in gender discrimination lawsuit Riot Games pushes gender discrimination case back towards arbitration Ubisoft Toronto co-founder Alexandre Parizeau departs Ubisoft […]

Read More | No Comments

News of the Week; January 27, 2021

By Jon Festinger on February 1, 2021

GAMES Québec law firm files latest Nintendo Switch Joy-Con drift lawsuit: Lambert Avocat seeking compensation for all Québec consumers who bought Switch controllers since August 2017 European Commission called to investigate into Joy-Con drift BEUC calls for Joy-Con Drift investigation after receiving 25,000 complaints Valve on trial for allegedly infringing controller patents: The Steam Controller […]

Read More | No Comments

News of the Week; January 20, 2021

By Jon Festinger on January 24, 2021

GAMES CD Projekt faces a second class-action lawsuit over Cyberpunk 2077 CD Projekt Red exec disputes Cyberpunk 2077 demo were “almost entirely fake” CD Projekt vows ‘vigorous’ defense as investors launch second Cyberpunk class action Inside Cyberpunk 2077’s Disastrous Rollout Epic Games takes legal action against Apple and Google in UK Epic submits claims against Google and […]

Read More | No Comments

News of the Week; January 13, 2021

By Jon Festinger on January 20, 2021

GAMES ESA suspends political contributions after assault on U.S. Capitol ESA PAC to pause political contributions following insurrection at US Capitol Twitch suspends Trump account following insurrection at US Capitol Updated: Twitch, Discord suspend Trump-related accounts after Capitol assault Twitch removes popular emote after pro player’s support for Capitol Hill mob Twitch pulls Pogchamp emote […]

Read More | No Comments

News of the Week; January 6, 2021

By Jon Festinger on January 17, 2021

GAMES The Sinking City returns to stores as legal dispute over publishing rights continues CD Projekt gearing up for ‘vigorous action’ against investor lawsuit Apple removes 39,000 games from the App Store in China Apple removes 39,000 games from China store in biggest single-day takedown Microsoft calls for Xbox drift lawsuit to be handled by arbitration […]

Read More | No Comments

News of the Week; December 30, 2020

By Jon Festinger on January 2, 2021

GAMES CD Projekt Red investors sue company over Cyberpunk 2077 debacle Apple reportedly warns devs of more app takedowns in Chinese App Store What makes for a good game publishing contract? Nier: Automata surpasses 5 million shipped Steam’s end of year bonanza gets ‘experimental’ Blackstone makes big investment in mobile ad firm Liftoff Parents Who Gift Quest 2 […]

Read More | No Comments

News of the Week; December 23, 2020

By Jon Festinger on December 26, 2020

GAMES Games Are Now Making More Than Movies And Sports Combined: Gaming sales are up to almost $180 billion per year. GamesIndustry.biz presents… The Year in Numbers 2020 Digital gaming just had its best revenue month ever in November 31% of young UK gamers struggle to track spending on loot boxes: New report from Gambling […]

Read More | No Comments