Course Video & Notes

This presentation, delivered by Brandon Potomak, Kai Rogers, Alirod Ameri, and Peter Mate, explores video game piracy from multiple angles, including its evolution, legal implications, industry impact, and future trends.

1. The Evolution of Video Game Piracy

Video game piracy has evolved from early disk copying in the 1980s to modern digital distribution methods.

• 1980s–1990s: Piracy was primarily done through floppy disks and bulletin board systems (BBS).
• 2000s: The rise of the internet led to peer-to-peer file-sharing and torrents, making piracy more widespread.
• 2010s–Present: Advanced DRM (Digital Rights Management) measures like Denuvo have been introduced, but piracy groups continue to crack protections.

2. Video Game Piracy and the Law

• Legal Definition: Piracy is copyright infringement but not legally classified as theft, as stated in Dowling v. United States (1985).
• International Laws: Treaties like the TRIPS Agreement (1995) and the WIPO Copyright Treaty (1996) criminalize commercial-scale piracy and outlaw DRM circumvention.
• Canada: Governed by the Copyright Act, with penalties up to $20,000 per infringed game for commercial piracy.
• United States: Heavy penalties, with statutory damages up to $150,000 per work infringed.

3. Effects of Piracy on the Industry and Counter-Piracy Measures

• Piracy has not prevented the video game industry from prospering. Piracy of video games is harder and less prevalent than piracy of film, television and music.
• Some companies such as Nintendo take an active and strong stance against piracy, pursuing violators around the world in court and seeking stiff penalties and enforcement.
• There are several factors which encourage piracy, such as the high price of games and inaccessibility in certain regions.
• However, the inherent structure of video games and technological measures such as DRM make video game piracy difficult, ineffective and cumbersome.

4. Future Developments in Video Game Piracy

• AI-assisted cracking could emerge to help crack current anti-piracy measures such as DRM.
• Generative AI can be used to create games that are similar to existing copyrighted games.
• Current models of piracy mitigation are unprepared for these potential and upcoming developments.

Hi everyone,

First off, thank you all for your participation and cooperation during our presentation last week! We really appreciate the engagement and the great discussions that came out of it. We hope you all enjoyed the presentation and came away with a better understanding of cheating in video games, from a player and industry perspective, as well as how laws are (or in many cases, are not) addressing these issues. It’s a fascinating area where legal and technological challenges continue to evolve, and we’re glad we got to explore it together.

Attached are our slides and outline for anyone who wants to take a closer look at what we covered. Feel free to drop any questions or thoughts in the discussion—happy to keep the conversation going!

Thanks again,
Sam, Vik, Tim, and Josh

VGL Presentation Slides

VGL – Discussion Outline

Oasis playable demo mentioned by Jason and Dave below…

For now in addition to the video there are just my base slides. Am determined to create a second version of the slides that more directly tracks the talk I ended up improvising 😉 Jon

Hello everyone,

Here are the slides from Eva, Cléa, and Sam’s presentation on loot boxes today. Thank you for your participation!

LAW 423 Presentation PPT

FYI…if of interest please check out the Games & Social Justice lecture series. Clicking on the poster below will take you to a linked Canvas Announcement that has a lot more detail. Note that the first of several events is this Thursday afternoon.