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Jon Festinger
Week 7
Jon’s Talk Feb.13, 2013: “What’s it all about…Alpha?” Download the PowerPoint Slides Patrick Sweeney’s Talk: “Negotiating Game & App Development Agreements” Download the PowerPoint Slides
[UPDATED] Speaker for February 13th Discussion Hour: Patrick Sweeney
Hey class, Hope you all had a great long weekend! Our guest speaker this week is Patrick Sweeney, counsel with Reed Smith and based out of Century City. Mr. Sweeney’s experience prior to joining Reed Smith includes serving as senior corporate counsel at Vivendi Universal Games and at Paramount Pictures Television Group. He was also […]
A common video game issue comes up against the current U.S. gun control debate
Nancy Pelosi: Video Games are Not the Reason for Violence in America (Huffington Post): http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/10/nancy-pelosi-video-games_n_2657169.html
News of the Week; Feb. 6, 2013
1. ‘Spacewar!’ The story of the world’s first digital video game: http://mobile.theverge.com/2013/2/4/3949524/the-story-of-the-worlds-first-digital-video-game 2. What is the government’s interest in copyright? Not that of the public. – Copyright Librarian: http://blog.lib.umn.edu/copyrightlibn/2013/02/what-is-the-governments-interest-in-copyright.html 3. Patent Assertion Entities: Six Actions the Antitrust Agencies Can Take by Michael Carrier: SSRN: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2209521&buffer_share=14a72&utm_source=buffer 4. Something to look forward to, er, in 2013+1: http://ipkitten.blogspot.ca/2013/01/something-to-look-forward-to-er-20131.html?m=1 5. North Korean Propaganda Video […]
Week 6
Jon’s Talk Feb. 6, 2013: “Ten Cases – Ten Clauses – Ten Contexts” Download the PowerPoint Slides
A Post IP World
Two thoughts re: whether we really are in a post IP world when it comes to video games. 1) Many minors play video games. I don’t think a plaintiff would have much luck enforcing a EULA against one. Particularly relevant in the technology context since I’m sure there are many teenage programmers out there who […]
Thoughts on Today’s Class
A few thoughts on today’s class. 1. All our discussions on EULAs reminded me of this story I had read some time ago, and was able to miraculously find without much difficulty using Google: http://www.cypherpunks.ca/dell.html 2. It also reminded me of this: http://news.cnet.com/8301-17852_3-20002689-71.html 3. When I draft a contract, my primary goal is to clearly state the […]
Swedish Tech Start-ups Outdoing European Rivals
I just tweeted this with the #ubcvgl tag but thought it worthwhile enough that I would post about it as well. The Globe and Mail has an article discussing how well Swedish tech start-ups (including specifically those related to gaming) are doing: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/international-business/european-business/swedish-tech-start-ups-outdoing-european-rivals/article8183599/. The article discusses various reasons why the Swedes may be doing so well: […]
Game engine to remix games
Check out Craftyy, a game engine that allows you to create new games based on other peoples games. Thoughts on tools like these? http://www.craftyy.com/ jon
News of the Week; Jan. 30, 2013
1. Virtual Superheroes Are More Heroic In Real Life: http://news.discovery.com/tech/gear-and-gadgets/virtual-superheroes-more-heroic-real-life-130130.htm#mkcpgn=twdsc2 2. One pilot’s mistake leads to massive battle in EVE Online: A misclick causes The Battle of Asakai: http://www.destructoid.com/one-pilot-s-mistake-leads-to-massive-battle-in-eve-online-243509.phtml 3. Five approaches to ‘good’ violence in games: http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/185004/Five_approaches_to_good_violence_in_games.php#.UQ7iJKXUQco 4. Little Evidence Sandy Hook Shooter Was a Gamer: http://www.ign.com/blogs/andreweisen/2013/01/25/little-evidence-sandy-hook-shooter-was-a-gamer 5. The Journal News Fallout – Limiting the First Amendment to Protect the […]