News of the Week

News of the Week; July 10, 2013

1. Sega claiming $941,000 from THQ over Company of Heroes 2 preorders 2. Is Hacking Videogame Characters Legal? 3. Research: Violent Games Do Not Adversely Affect Prosocial Behavior 4. Microsoft patent filing attempts to lock down games with multiple engines running concurrently 5. Microsoft: Xbox One advertising will integrate with Kinect 6. Mattrick prepped Zynga buyout while at Microsoft – […]

“i am a gamer” game-jam July 12-14 @ the CDM

This coming weekend my friend and colleague Dr. Kimberly Voll is unleashing the (first annual) “i am a gamer” Game-Jam on our world. The event is committed to creating games with strong female characters and was prompted by a number of industry comments doubting the viability of woman as lead characters in games. If any […]

News of the Week; July 3, 2013

1. Beyonce Settles $100M Lawsuit With Video Game Company 2. First Amendment trumps trademark in Call of Duty Case 3. Antonick v. Electronic Arts (Patent Arcade Update) 4. Texas Teen Could Face Eight Years in Prison for Comments Made in League of Legends 5. Blizzard Bans More Diablo III Players for ‘Cheating’ 6. 10 Business Lessons from the Battlefield […]

News of the Week; June 26, 2013

1. EA’s timing argument thrown out in Madden lawsuit 2. Appeals court sides with Nintendo in Wii Balance Board patent lawsuit 3. Long, unhappy post on Hart v. EA 4. Ellen Page Says The Last Of Us’ Ellie “Ripped Off My Likeness” 5. Naughty Dog accused of swiping Last of Us art 6. Saints Row IV effectively banned under new Australian […]

News of the Week; June 19, 2013

1. Apogee Sues Gearbox Over Duke Nukem Forever Deal 2. Beyonce Settles Lawsuit with Game Developer Gate Five 3. The Truth About Video Games and Gun Violence 4. George Lucas & Steven Spielberg on the Future of Entertainment 5. Is EA Seeing the Light on Used Games? It Sure Sounds Like It 6. Microsoft reverses Xbox One online check and used […]

News of the Week; June 12, 2013

1. Patrice Désilets Sues Ubisoft For $400,000 And Rights To Purchase 1666: http://www.gameinformer.com/b/news/archive/2013/06/08/patrice-desilets-files-lawsuit-against-ubisoft.aspx 2. Acknowledging Copyright’s Illegitimate Offspring – User-Generated Content and Canadian Copyright Law by Teresa Scassa: http://www.press.uottawa.ca/sites/default/files/9780776620848_14.pdf 3. How Games Licensing Works on Xbox One: http://news.xbox.com/2013/06/license 4. Xbox One, discs, and downloads: Better than feared, worse than hoped: http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2013/06/xbox-one-discs-and-downloads-better-than-feared-worse-than-hoped/ 5. PS4 $399, no used game restrictions: http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2013-06-11-ps4-USD399-no-used-game-restrictions 6. EFF Weighs in on First […]

News of the Week; June 5, 2013

1. Athletes’ rights of publicity trump First Amendment in video game context: http://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=11825a4a-15ac-435f-93d9-3d375da14e2c 2. The Future of Video Games – A Box and a Cloud: http://m.newyorker.com/online/blogs/elements/2013/05/the-future-of-video-games-a-box-and-a-cloud.html 3. Canadian Video Game Industry Critical Component of New Digital Economy and Source of National Pride; Contributes $2.3 Billion to GDP: http://online.wsj.com/article/PR-CO-20130531-906598.html?mod=googlenews_wsj 4. Russian Hacker Pirates The Dishwasher, Calls it ‘Justice’: http://www.gamepolitics.com/2013/06/04/russian-hacker-pirates-dishwasher-calls-it-justice#.Ua6QIhZC7fg 5. Let’s Play crackdown is […]

News of the Week; May 29, 2013

1. Atari Seeks Permission to Hold Asset Auctions in July from Bankruptcy Court: http://www.gamepolitics.com/2013/05/23/atari-seeks-permission-hold-asset-auctions-july-bankruptcy-court#.UZ64cpVC7fg 2. German commissioner highlights Xbox One privacy concerns: http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2013-05-28-german-commissioner-highlights-xbox-one-privacy-concerns?utm_content=bufferb0a5d&utm_source=buffer&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Buffer 3. Can the next generation consoles block used games?: http://www.gamerlaw.co.uk/2013/can-the-next-generation-consoles-block-used-games/ 4. Cheating in Online Video Games: http://techland.time.com/2013/05/24/cheating-in-online-video-games/ 5. Gaming Tax Credits: A Developer’s Guide to Free Money: http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2013-05-22-gaming-tax-credits-a-developers-guide-to-free-money 6. ESA Releases 2012 Annual Report: http://gamepolitics.com/2013/05/28/esa-releases-2012-annual-report#.Uabu85VC7fg 7. The legal status of virtual goods: http://www.lawyersweekly.ca/index.php?section=article&articleid=1912&rssid=4 8. Demcak […]

UBC CTLT Institute session on “Open Courses, Open Pedagogies”

Had the privilege today of speaking about Video Game Law as an open course at the UBC Centre for Teaching, Learning & Technology’s annual week-long CTLT Institute program. My talk followed presentations from Christina Hendricks, a Senior Instructor who regularly teaches both in Philosophy and in Arts One at UBC, and from Jon Beasley-Murray who teaches in the […]

News of the Week; May 22, 2013

1. Ryan Hart v. Electronic Arts (USCA 3rd) – “NCAA Football” right of publicity opinion filed May 21, 2013: http://www.ca3.uscourts.gov/opinarch/113750p.pdf 2. Nintendo targets user YouTube videos: http://www.gamepolitics.com/2013/05/16/nintendo-targets-lets-play-videos-youtube#.UZUYuZVC7fg 3. Nintendo’s YouTube Ad-Grab Is Playing With Fire: http://www.wired.com/gamelife/2013/05/nintendo-youtube-lets-play/ 4. Virtual and augmented reality: the next big legal controversy for games?: http://www.gamerlaw.co.uk/2013/virtual-and-augmented-reality-the-next-big-legal-controversy-for-games/ 5. Shady Shadow of the Eternals T&C’s ‘a mistake’: http://www.develop-online.net/news/44225/Shady-Shadow-of-the-Eternals-TCs-a-mistake 6. Former GTA Producer: Why […]