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This Week’s Guest Speaker
Our guest speaker this week will be Howard Donaldson, the president of DigiBC. DigiBC’s mission is to promote, support and accelerate the growth, sustainability and competitiveness of BC’s digital media and wireless industry. Prior to joining DigiBC, Howard held senior management positions with Disney Interactive Studios and Electronic Arts Canada. Howard’s discussion will focus on […]
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: […]
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 […]
Interesting Berkman Center Conference Live Webcast: Wednesday Feb. 6
Live Webcast: Social Media and Behavioral Economics Conference: http://www.law.harvard.edu/news/2013/02/social-media-and-behavioral-economics-conference.html And lucky you, it ends before class Wednesday if you are in the mood to get up at 6 AM. jon
Resale of used games – consumer protection issue?
Hot on the heals of yesterdays discussions (both Jas & I) regarding contractual prohibitions on the legalities/cases dealing with the re-sale of digital property (as well as Michela’s musings on digital property – scroll down under “What is Your Take”), check this out: German Consumer Advocacy Group Files Complaint Against Valve for Steam’s Used Games […]
False Dichotomy of Interactivity
I don’t see a categorical difference between the interactivity of video games and the interactivity of more traditional mediums like television/radio. On a long continuum of interactivity we could certainly place video games on a side of “direct-highly-interactive” and something like radio on the polar opposite; but we <i>do</i> interact with these apparent one directional […]
In the “Pass the Q-Tips, did I hear that right department?”
Sen. Lamar Alexander: “Games are a Bigger Problem Than Guns: http://www.gamepolitics.com/2013/01/30/sen-lamar-alexander-games-are-bigger-problem-guns
‘Gaymers’ petition USPTO
An important and interesting story about a group of Reddit users who are petitioning the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office claiming the term “gaymer” should remain in the public domain. “Reddit ‘Gaymers’ Fight Cease-and-Desist Letter claiming ‘gaymer’ is a word that should remain in the public domain”: http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9236068/Reddit_39_gaymer_39_group_fights_back_against_trademark Thoughts? jon
Wednesday’s Guest Speaker: Jas Purewal
Hello colleagues, Will and I wanted to give you a brief overview of Wednesday’s guest speaker. Jas Purewal is a lawyer at the London office of Osborne Clarke. He is a commercial and intellectual property lawyer with a focus on interactive entertainment and digital media. Jas is a regular commentator on recent developments in these […]
Swedish Innovative Culture
Found these sites in my research for today’s class. Would welcome any other interesting links you guys might have.. Sweden: http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/europe/111104/swedish-tech-has-its-abba-moment http://socialinnovation.se/en/finally-a-national-strategy-for-social-innovation/ http://www.euclidnetwork.eu/news-and-events/sector-news/840-swedish-innovation-strategy.html Link to actual Swedish Innovation Strategy Doc — http://www.government.se/content/1/c6/20/25/58/ace0cef0.pdf Also interesting and on topic. It’s a bit older, but gives a sense of the landscape in 2008http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/policies/innovation/files/countryreports/sweden_en.pdf