News of the Week

GAMES

1. CD Projekt faces a second class-action lawsuit over Cyberpunk 2077
2. CD Projekt Red exec disputes Cyberpunk 2077 demo were “almost entirely fake”
3. CD Projekt vows ‘vigorous’ defense as investors launch second Cyberpunk class action
4. Inside Cyberpunk 2077’s Disastrous Rollout
5. Epic Games takes legal action against Apple and Google in UK
6. Epic submits claims against Google and Apple to UK Competition Appeal Tribunal
7. “Loot boxes” and other in-game purchases: ASA launches consultation
8. European Commission fines Valve, others $9.4 million for ‘geo-blocking’ games
9. EU fines Valve and five publishers €7.8m for geo-blocking practices
10. FTC Cracks Down on Mobile Gaming Middlemen Offering In-Game Rewards and Offers
11. FTC reaches settlement over misleading mobile advertisements for in-game rewards, and warns of growing scrutiny towards today’s gaming gatekeepers
12. FTC Pursues Advertising Network that Failed to Deliver In-Game Rewards in Exchange for Payment or Personal Information
13. Planning a Super Bowl-themed Marketing Campaign? 5 Tips for Staying In Bounds
14. ITC Threat for Gaming Companies Grows with PTAB Discretionary Denials
15. Twitch’s Trump ban sustained after leaving office
16. Nintendo blocks videos by Game & Watch hacker
17. Nintendo uses copyright claims to take down Game & Watch hacking videos
18. Nintendo Hates You: Gaming Giant Lobs A DMCA Nuke At Hundreds Of Fan Games
19. Universal delays opening of Super Nintendo World again due to COVID-19
20. Super Nintendo World opening on “indefinite hiatus”
21. Analyst: The Nintendo Switch outsold every other console in 2020
22. Chinese Switch sales expose a failure to counter the import market | Opinion
23. Studios and designers: Are you sure that you own the intellectual property rights to your video games?
24. Gaming the system: How GameStop stock surged 1,500% in nine months
25. GAME details efforts to prevent PS5 scalpers
26. Epic Games Store exclusivity muddles Hitman 3’s legacy DLC promise on PC
27. IO Interactive assures Hitman 3 players will not have to repurchase previous entries
28. Hitman III review: Let’s call it Hitman 2.5 and be fine with it
29. Hitman 3 | Critical Consensus
30. US environmental agency warns against Xbox Series X, PS5 energy consumption
31. Report: Xbox’s “instant on” feature could consume 4 billion kWh by 2025
32. Mobile gaming saw surge of new players in 2020
33. Bungie is shutting down its Halo stats archive in February
34. Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor has lost its online features, including Vendetta missions
35. Games investments reached $33.6bn in 2020
36. InvestGame: 2020 game deals hit value of $33.6 billion across 664 transactions
37. 2020 sees record US games spending at $56.9bn | US Annual Report
38. NPD reveals the best-selling games of 2020 in the U.S.
39. Battle.net gets a fresh coat of paint to improve navigation, accessibility, and more
40. The triumph of mobile core games heralds a demographic shift | Opinion
41. The Switch has officially shipped 1 million units in China
42. Nintendo Switch accounted for 87% of consoles sold in Japan last year | Japan Annual Report
43. Nintendo and GTA 5 come top in big year for Australia game sales | Australia Annual Report
44. Nintendo continues to prop up UK games retail | UK Boxed Charts
45. Ace Combat 7 has topped 2.5 million sales worldwide
46. Puzzle Quest dev Infinity Plus Two acquired by 505 Games parent Digital Bros
47. Playtech sells YoYo Games to Opera for $10m
48. Opera buys GameMaker Studio maker YoYo Games for $10 million
49. Opera opens new video game division and confirms YoYo Games purchase
50. 505 Games acquires Infinity Plus Two
51. Playtika IPO raises $1.88bn
52. IPO plans value Krafton at up to $27bn
53. Impending IPO values PUBG Studio parent Krafton at as much as $27 billion
54. Casino game studio Huuuge looking to raise $150 million through IPO
55. Savage Game Studios raises $4.4m
56. Mobile developer Savage Game Studios nets $4.4 million for competitive shooter
57. Miniclip acquires Online Soccer Manager studio Gamebasics
58. Miniclip acquires Online Soccer Manager developer Gamebasics
59. How MTG’s acquisition will fuel Hutch’s race to No.1
60. Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Blockbuster IP
61. PC fan port of early Sonic games lets you zoom the camera way, way out
62. How to localize a game video: A checklist for developers
63. YouTube channel GameXplain accused of overworking and underpaying staff
64. PewDiePie Signs Exclusive Facebook Distribution Deal With Jellysmack
65. Leyline: “We don’t care about the money — we want to make the world better”
66. Esports’ Wild 2020 Ride Culminates In 69 Percent Growth And A Continuing Rising Trend
67. Kuato raises £4.5m, expands to VR
68. Educational game studio Kuato nets $6.1 million to finance VR pivot
69. Tilting Point opens studio in Russia to work on multiple projects
70. The return of Peter Moore
71. Industry vet Peter Moore returns to games as Unity SVP
72. Peter Moore joins Unity as SVP and GM of sports and live entertainment
73. Blog: The successful steps of Early Access games
74. Blog: How can we improve support powers in RTS games? 
75. Blog: Understanding the types of game currencies in mobile free-to-play
76. Video: Next-level creature sound design
77. Video: Unscoring the world of Kenshi
78. Don’t Miss: Monolith Productions’ postmortem of Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor
79. Don’t Miss: Building a ‘homebrew’ video game console

DIGITAL

1. YouTube Extends Trump Ban For Another Week, Citing Concerns About “Ongoing Potential For Violence”
2. YouTube Removes Onision From Partner Program, Demonetizes His Channels Over Child Safety Concerns
3. Facebook knew about violent extremists before insurrection, reports find
4. Sheryl Sandberg Makes Disingenuous Push To Argue That Only Facebook Has The Power To Stop Bad People Online
5. They Used to Post Selfies. Now They’re Trying to Reverse the Election.: Right-wing influencers embraced extremist views, and Facebook rewarded them.
6. Inside Twitter’s Decision to Cut Off Trump
7. The Capitol Rioters Are Giving Insurrection a Bad Name
8. Disinformation creep: ADOS and the strategic weaponization of breaking news
9. Sticks and Stones May Break My Bones but Words Incite a Riot
10. I’m a First Amendment scholar – and I think Big Tech should be left alone
11. No Political Advertising on Google, At Least Until After Inauguration Day
12. Inauguration Has Happened, Google And Facebook Should End The Ban On Political Advertisements
13. Social Media Platforms See 73% Drop In Election Misinformation After Trump’s Ban (Study)
14. Dominion Voting Systems Files Defamation Lawsuit Against Former Trump Lawyer, Sidney Powell
15. GitHub regrets firing Jewish employee who called Trump-incited mob “Nazis”
16. Trump pardons engineer who copped to stealing a Google secret for Uber: Peter Thiel, Palmer Luckey, and others asked Trump to pardon Levandowski.
17. Chinese Ad for Make-Up Wipes Pulled Over Charges of Sexism and Victim-Blaming
18. Applying Uber v. Heller – Ontario Superior Court of Justice applies unconscionability doctrine to standard form arbitration clause
19. Jonathan Zittrain on the Great Deplatforming
20. 2021 Is the Year the Internet Gets Rewritten: As Silicon Valley flails to combat an insurrection at home, Europe is marching ahead with a plan to revise the web’s basic rulebook.
21. Jack Dorsey Explains The Difficult Decision To Ban Donald Trump; Reiterates Support For Turning Twitter Into A Decentralized Protocol
22. What motivates the motivated reasoning of pro-Trump conspiracists?
23. Trump’s Facts-Optional Assault On Chinese Tech Continues With Blocking Of Xiaomi
24. As Beijing Continues To Creep Into Hong Kong, Internet Censorship Begins
25. Amazon offers Biden help to speed up vaccine distribution
26. Judge Not Impressed By Parler’s Attempt To Force Amazon To Put It Back Online
27. Parler CEO admits site may never recover from Amazon ban
28. Parler’s CEO Promises That When It Comes Back… It’ll Moderate Content… With An Algorithm
29. Ridiculous: Yale Law Prof Argues That Because Some In Congress Want More Moderation, That Makes Twitter A State Actor
30. A Few More Thoughts On The Total Deplatforming Of Parler & Infrastructure Content Moderation
31. Parler seems to be sliding back onto the Internet, but not onto mobile
32. Parler Attempting to Come Back Online, Still Insisting The Site’s Motivation Is ‘Privacy’ Despite Leaking Details On All Its Users
33. Questions Raised About Why Online Retailers Are Promoting Attack on Capitol Hill-Themed Products
34. Hackers alter stolen regulatory data to sow mistrust in COVID-19 vaccine
35. When Can a Politician Block Constituents on Social Media?–Garnier v. O’Connor-Ratcliff (Eric Goldman)
36. Facebook Isn’t Liable for Account Hack/Hijack–Damner v. Facebook (Eric Goldman)
37. The local politics of AirBNB’s ban on DC rentals
38. Samsung’s top executive gets 30 months in prison for bribery
39. Mobile Advertising Company Gets Flack from FTC for Failure to Deliver Upon Advertised Promises
40. “Big Tech” under pressure – new Rules for Digital Platforms in the EU and UK
41. UK government sets out final approach to regulating online harms
42. Should my Will refer to Digital Assets
43. Google says it’s closing the Fitbit acquisition—uh, without DOJ approval?
44. Former FCC Boss Tom Wheeler Continues To Misunderstand And Misrepresent Section 230 And The Challenges Of Content Moderation
45. Understanding the Controversy over Section 230
46. Content Moderation Case Study: Dealing With Demands From Foreign Governments (January 2016)
47. Content Moderation Case Study: Using Hashes And Scanning To Stop Cloud Storage From Being Used For Infringement (2014)
48. The New Age of Content Moderation(?)
49. Free Access To Academic Papers For Everyone In India: Government Proposes ‘One Nation, One Subscription’ Approach As Part Of Major Shift To Openness
50. Indonesian Government Prioritizes Influencers — Alongside Healthcare Workers — In COVID Vaccine Rollout
51. Influencer and brand under fire for failing to clearly identify marketing communication on TikTok (Jamella t/a GHD in association with Emily Canham)
52. Influencer Marketing Guide
53. 2020 Advertising Law Year in Review
54. Netflix’s First Inclusion Report Lays Out Its Diversity Efforts, Shortfalls, Goals
55. Netflix Soars Past 200 Million Subscribers, Clocked $25 Billion In Revenues Last Year
56. ViacomCBS Sets March 4 Launch For Paramount+ Streaming Service
57. CBS All Access is dead, long live Paramount+: “New” streaming service launches March 4
58. Apple Looking To Monetize Podcasting Platform Via Subscription Service (Report)
59. Apple pulls the plug on user-found method to sideload iOS apps on Mac
60. Some Creators Are Making Millions Uploading Videos To Snapchat’s Spotlight
61. YouTube Adds Safety Feature Targeting Comments With External Links
62. YouTube Adds New Metric Letting Creators Track Video Performance Over 24-Hour Span
63. The Dolan Twins, With 11 Million Subscribers, Resign From YouTube To Pursue Other Ventures
64. YouTube Wonderkid ‘Like Nastya’ Topples 200 Million Subs Across Portfolio Of 14 Channels
65. PC sales finally saw big growth in 2020 after years of steady decline
66. Newly-Formed ‘Group Nine Acquisition Corp.’ Prices $200 Million IPO, Kicking Off Today
67. Wattpad Acquired By Webtoon’s Parent Company ‘Naver’ In $600 Million Deal
68. CAA Acquires Creative Agency ‘Tandem’ To Bolster Digital Partnerships, Branded Content Efforts
69. Treasury nominee Yellen is looking to curtail use of cryptocurrency
70. The internet didn’t kill counterculture—you just won’t find it on Instagram
71. Rhode Island clarifies sales taxation of advertising software
72. Zeros and Ones in 2021: Next Moves in the Digital Tax Debate
73. Emoji Law Year-in-Review for 2020 (Eric Goldman)

A.I.

1. Facebook will pay more than $300 each to 1.6M Illinois users in settlement
2. WorkLife 2.0: A robot in control – should AI have a voice on the Board?
3. Brainard weighs benefits and risks of using AI in financial services industry
4. AI-powered text from this program could fool the government
5. Microsoft invests in $30 billion driverless car company Cruise
6. FDA Issues Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning Action Plan
7. Five highlights from FDA’s new AI device regulation Action Plan
8. House of Lords liaison committee report on AI published
9. “AI in the UK: No room for complacency” and no room for a separate AI regulation
10. The AI Council calls for a National AI Strategy: building public trust
11. What You Need to Know About M&A and Investing in AI
12. Blockchain, AI and Cloud in the Luxury Sector
13. An interview with Cirio Advokatbyrå AB discussing artificial intelligence in Sweden

COMMUNICATIONS

1. Federal Enforcement Agencies Remind Canadian Mobile App Companies of their CASL Obligationsl
2. Fox News Needs To Accept Some Of The Blame For The Insurrection; But That Doesn’t Mean We Toss Out The 1st Amendment
3. FCC fines white-supremacist robocaller $10 million for faking caller ID
4. FCC Fines White Supremacist ~$10 Million for Spoofed RoboCalls
5. In Departing Statement, FCC Boss Ajit Pai Pretends He ‘Served The People’
6. As Ajit Pai exits FCC, Charter admits defeat on petition to impose data caps
7. With Trump Loss, Charter Backs Off FCC Request To Allow Broadband Caps
8. 3Mbps uploads still fast enough for US homes, Ajit Pai says in final report
9. FCC’s new foreign ownership review rules set to take effect
10. House Lawmakers Question Telecom Giants Over Broadband Price Gouging During A Pandemic
11. Broadband Market Failure Keeps Forcing Americans To Build Their Own ISPs
12. US declares Xiaomi a “Communist Chinese military company,” bans investments
13. English Premier League wins latest round in battle over satellite decoder cards
14. UK faces major telecoms regulation overhaul courtesy of the European Electronic Communications Code

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

1. Foreign Certificate of Registrations of Copyright may not suffice to prove ownership of copyright in Canada
2. How one musician took on the world’s biggest TV network over copyright—and won
3. Ninth Circuit Panel Adopts “Asserted Truths” Doctrine in Holding Jersey Boys Musical Does Not Infringe Copyright 
4. INSTA-FRAUD Instagram ‘Copyright Infringement’
5. Martin v Kogan: High Court re-writes script as Kogan succeeds in copyright co-authorship retrial
6. Why Software Developers Should Provide Licensees With Software Escrow Services 
7. Getting Your Website Ready for the New Library of Congress Copyright Claims Board
8. A Short Summary of the CASE Act (Tyler Ochoa) 
9. Mixed reactions as copyright owners ring in 2021 with CASE Act
10. In CASE You Missed It: Significant New Dispute-Resolution Process for Copyright Claims 
11. New Stimulus Bill Creates Small Claims Copyright Court 
12. Pepe the Frog 
13. Knobbe Practice Webinar Series – Protecting User Interface Technologies
14. Celebrated graffiti artist Futura sues The North Face for its FUTURELIGHT apparel line alleging copyright and trademark infringement 
15. A COVID-19 fast-track for Canadian trademark applications 
16. Canadian Trademark Law: 2020 Year in review 
17. Year in Review – Key Trademark Cases from 2020
18. The Case of the ‘Missing S’
19. A not so EASY task after all – UKIPO finds EASY mark devoid of distinctive character 
20. SCOTUS Refuses To Hear Case Between Jack Daniels And VIP Products Over Doggy Chew Toy
21. Are Commercial Parody Dog Toys Subject to the Heightened Rogers Test, and Do They Qualify As Non-Commercial Works under the Trademark Dilution Revision Act? 
22. Everything Old is New Again: Presumption of Irreparable Harm Restored to Third Circuit Trademark Cases Seeking Injunctive Relief 
23. TTAB KO’s Mayweather PAST PRESENT FUTURE Trademark Application
24. Trademark Modernization Act Becomes Law: Establishes Procedures to Remove Deadwood Registrations, Restores Presumption of Irreparable Harm, and Protects the Independence of the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board
25. Trade Mark Filings increase worldwide in 2019 
26. A Trademark is Not a Copyright or a Patent 
27. Manufacturers Must Not be Blind to Their Rights Against Counterfeiters
28. Shoe design found valid and infringed in the UK Court’s last Community registered design case
29. Case Study | Breach of Confidence by employees 
30. Litigation finance helps companies keep their cool during trade secrets disputes 
31. How Not to Build a Case of Trade Secret Misappropriation 
32. Federal Court invalidates Janssen ZYTIGA® Patent
33. Federal Court decision regarding glatiramer acetate finds one patent obvious and another valid and infringed
34. PM(NOC) Invalidity Grounds May Extend Beyond NOA
35. Federal Court continues recent trend of granting summary judgment in appropriate patent proceedings
36. The new rules of Canadian patent litigation: Federal Court of Appeal affirms the viability of summary judgments in patent actions, upholds interpretation of file wrapper estoppel
37. Recent Amendments to the Patented Medicines Regulations Declared Unconstitutional by Québec Superior Court
38. Have any Patents Issued under the USPTO’s COVID-19 Prioritized Patent Examination Program?
39. Patenting the 3D Bioprinting Innovations that Combat COVID-19
40. Revenge of the Grammer Nerds: Grammatical Canons Overturn $8.6 Million Jury Infringement Verdict 
41. No Reasonable Expectation of Success, No Obviousness 
42. The China Pivot: Closing the “Back Door” to Trade Secret and IP Theft
43. Rapid Rise in Blockchain Patent Filings in China
44. Everyday IP – Brushing up: When were toothbrushes invented?
45. UK-EU Trade Agreement and IP Rights
46. Proposed University Technology Licensing Program Gets Nod from Justice Department
47. Making the best of a bad year: Winning IP cases in 2020
48. World Intellectual Property Indicators Report 2020
49. 2020 Engineering & Technology Year in Review
50. Importance of Protecting Intellectual Property in the Digital Age 
51. 10 things every new IP counsel should do

PRIVACY

1. Defunct Photo App Agrees to Erase Biometric Data in FTC Settlement
2. FTC Settles Allegations of Deceptive Practices by Photo Storage App Provider
3. FTC Takes Aim at Facial Recognition Claims in Latest Deception Settlement
4. Tiktok faces lawsuit for violating children’s data privacy law in the UK
5. Fired former data scientist Rebekah Jones arrested, tests positive for COVID-19
6. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals Vacates MD Anderson HIPAA Penalty
7. CJEU rules that the UK’s “mass surveillance” regime is out of line with EU law
8. The NSA warns enterprises to beware of third-party DNS resolvers
9. Security firm Malwarebytes was infected by same hackers who hit SolarWinds
10. How law enforcement gets around your smartphone’s encryption
11. Beware of biometric data compliance pitfalls under BIPA
12. Another Day, Another Location Data Privacy Scandal We’ll Probably Do Nothing About
13. Oceans Apart? Mass Privacy Litigation in the US and Europe
14. Key lessons from the first major GDPR fines for cyber breaches

Jon

GAMES

1. ESA suspends political contributions after assault on U.S. Capitol
2. ESA PAC to pause political contributions following insurrection at US Capitol
3. Twitch suspends Trump account following insurrection at US Capitol
4. Updated: Twitch, Discord suspend Trump-related accounts after Capitol assault
5. Twitch removes popular emote after pro player’s support for Capitol Hill mob
6. Twitch pulls Pogchamp emote over link to Capitol siege supporter
7. Twitch removes PogChamp emote it says was “the face of… further violence”
8. Riot and Bungie file lawsuit against Destiny 2 and Valorant cheat-maker 
9. Riot Games and Bungie file joint lawsuit against cheatmakers
10. Koei Tecmo says it will sue over bootleg Dead or Alive video
11. Dangen Entertainment settles dispute with Protoculture Games
12. Nintendo Appears To Be Using A Fan-Made Drawing Of Mario Without Artist’s Permission Or Credit
13. Legal risks and implications of hyper-realistic videogames
14. CD Projekt apologizes again for Cyberpunk 2077 on consoles
15. CD Projekt faces scrutiny from consumer protection org over Cyberpunk 2077
16. CDPR CEO blames “in-game streaming” for Cyberpunk’s console problems
17. CD Projekt leadership vows no ‘obligatory overtime’ during Cyberpunk 2077 fixes
18. Polish competition watchdog investigating Cyberpunk 2077
19. Capcom confirms at least 16,000 people affected by Nov. data breach
20. Personal information of 16,415 people compromised during Capcom security breach
21. Capcom security breach compromised personal data of 16,415 people
22. Take-Two officially ends pursuit of Codemasters following EA offer
23. Take-Two withdraws bid for Codemasters following EA offer of $1.2bn
24. Wolfenstein 3D + Super Monkey Ball = free Nazi-flattening fun!
25. Payload Studios launches incubator for underrepresented developers
26. FTC wary of Apple and Google “squeezing developers”
27. The FTC slams Tapjoy over deceptive ads, pledges to keep ‘gatekeeping giants’ in check
28. FTC Settles With Mobile-Game Platform for Misleading In-Game Advertisements
29. FTC Pursues Advertising Network that Failed to Deliver In-Game Rewards in Exchange for Payment or Personal Information
30. Federal Trade Commission orders Tapjoy to better police fraudulent advertising
31. Peter Moore: FIFA Ultimate Team is a “long way” from gambling
32. EA’s hold over Star Wars games ends with Ubisoft’s open-world announcement
33. Lucasfilm Games taps Ubisoft Massive to create new open-world Star Wars title
34. Lucasfilm re-establishes Lucasfilm Games as home for all its gaming titles
35. Star Wars games are now housed under a revived Lucasfilm Games brand
36. Disney brings back the Lucasfilm Games brand for future Star Wars titles
37. Bethesda lands Indiana Jones license
38. Bethesda, Lucasfilm tease new Indiana Jones video game
39. Lucasfilm and Ubisoft partner on Star Wars game
40. GameStop holiday sales down 3.1% in 2020
41. GameStop: Fewer stores, ‘industry-wide decline’, supply woes led to holiday sales slide
42. N95 masks, gamer style: Razer’s crazy face-mask prototype revealed
43. Video Games & the Novel (Eric Hayot)
44. Video games have replaced music as the most important aspect of youth culture
45. Forget power fantasies: pandemic-era players crave companionship | Opinion
46. What will a post-pandemic games industry look like? | This Week in Business
47. Tencent confirms 1m Nintendo Switch shipments in China
48. Amazon’s 2020 gaming best-sellers again led by gift cards, Switch games
49. Nintendo Switch dominates Top Ten as lockdown boosts game sales | UK Boxed Charts
50. 43 million games sold in the UK in 2020 | UK Annual Report
51. Number of mobile gamers increased 50% in the UK due to COVID-19
52. Core gamers generated 66% of mobile revenues in 2020
53. Newzoo sees mobile marketing upheaval in 2021
54. Nerts! is the free, pleasant six-player card game we could all use right now
55. GameFly introduces movies-only subscription
56. Tilting Point signs $10 million publishing deal with South Korean dev Storytaco
57. Best Fiends publisher Playtika launches $1.6B IPO
58. Playtika launches IPO, looks to raise as much as $1.6b
59. Roblox to go public through direct listing, not IPO
60. Roblox secures fresh $520 million investment, outlines plans for direct listing
61. Turtle Beach acquires Neat Microphones
62. Epic acquires Rad Game Tools
63. Steam saw 21% more games sold in 2020
64. Over 8 million demos played during 2020’s Steam Festivals (and other nifty Steam stats)
65. How did Rust make $1 million in Steam revenue in a day – twice?
66. Genvid targets “a huge opportunity for game developers” with Rival Peak
67. The future is digital — right?
68. What does 2021 hold for the African games industry?
69. What I learned playing 30+ years’ worth of Jeopardy! video games
70. Handheld hardships | 10 Years Ago This Month
71. Twitter says gaming posts up 75% in 2020
72. Streamer TheGrefg breaks Twitch peak concurrent viewership records
73. Twitch, Facebook see best months for viewership yet in December
74. Dolphin Entertainment acquires esports and game PR agency B/HI
75. B/HI acquired by Dolphin Entertainment
76. Financing in the Esports sector
77. Oculus Quest 2 players make up nearly half of Rec Room’s 1 million VR-using MAUs
78. Making Chestnut Grove (a game set in the pandemic) during the pandemic
79. Blog: Deconstructing the product strategy of PC Building Simulator
80. Blog: Have video games become products like any other?
81. Blog: Studying physical elements of play 
82. Blog: How many currencies should my game have?
83. Blog: How studios can prevent unauthorized spending in games
84. Don’t Miss: The challenges BioWare faced designing Mass Effect 3
85. Don’t Miss: A 2014 Lucasfilm Games postmortem, told by those who lived it
86. Don’t Miss: Leveraging physical animation to sell Force powers in Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order
87. Video: The appeal of ‘legacy’ board games
88. GI 100 | Game Changers

DIGITAL

1. Trump deletes tweets after being banned from Twitter
2. Donald Trump has finally earned a permaban from Twitter
3. Not Easy, Not Unreasonable, Not Censorship: The Decision To Ban Trump From Twitter
4. Facebook, Instagram ban Trump through at least Inauguration Day
5. YouTube suspends Trump’s account, disables comments “indefinitely”
6. Just-Formed Alphabet Union Condemns YouTube’s “Lackluster” Response To Pro-Trump Capital Mob
7. Wednesday, January 6th: The Day The Game Of Politics Turned Into Insurrection
8. Politics Is Not A Game
9. Republican state lawmaker livestreamed himself in mob storming US Capitol
10. FBI arrests Republican lawmaker who stormed Capitol with pro-Trump mob
11. Republican lawmaker resigns after arrest for storming US Capitol
12. Identifying Insurrectionists Is Going To Be Easy — Thanks To Social Media And All The Other Online Trails People Leave
13. Insurrectionists’ social media presence gives feds an easy way to ID them
14. Dominion Voting suing “kraken” lawyer Sidney Powell for $1.3B
15. Michael Flynn and Sidney Powell banned from Twitter in QAnon purge
16. Trump social media ban will feature in future antitrust hearings
17. The real lesson of Trump’s social media silencing
18. Trump Is Banned. Who Is Next?
19. Reddit’s largest remaining Trump community banned for “inciting violence”
20. Google bans Parler from Android app store
21. Amazon cuts off Parler’s Web hosting following Apple, Google bans
22. After white supremacists storm US capitol, Apple expands racial justice initiative
23. Parler goes dark, sues Amazon to demand immediate reinstatement
24. Parler’s Laughably Bad Antitrust Lawsuit Against Amazon
25. Filing: Amazon warned Parler for months about “more than 100” violent threats
26. Parler’s amateur coding could come back to haunt Capitol Hill rioters
27. Trump, Parler, and the internet regulation fallout (Andres Guadamuz)
28. Facebook says it’s blocking posts with the phrase “stop the steal”
29. Big ISPs pause donations to 147 Republicans who tried to reverse Biden’s win
30. Snowflake Josh Hawley Seems To Think The 1st Amendment Means Simon & Schuster Has To Give Him A Book Contract
31. Some Thoughts On Twitter Pulling The Plug On Trump’s Account
32. Irony: German Chancellor Merkel Upset At Twitter For Banning Trump; Meanwhile Germany Demands Social Media Blocks Dangerous Content
33. More Plaintiffs (and Lawyers) Need To Be Reminded That YouTube Isn’t a State Actor–Divino v. Google (Eric Goldman)
34. The First Amendment: Where it is Implicated, and Where it is Not
35. A New Year, a new approach to digital regulation: the DSA and Online Harms
36. SolarWinds malware has “curious” ties to Russian-speaking hackers
37. “Baby-making machines”: Chinese tweet on Uighurs not against Twitter rules
38. Twitter takes down China’s “baby-making machines” tweet on Uighur women
39. Appeals Court: Just Because Someone Used An Email Account To Send Threats Doesn’t Make It An ‘Interstate’ Crime
40. Mossack Fonseca & Co. v. Netflix Inc. (California: Central District December 23, 2020): In libel action concerning Netflix’s 2019 film The Laundromat, district court grants anti-SLAPP motion.
41. PSA: If Someone Doesn’t Accept Your Friend Request, Do Not Threaten To Kill Them And Kick In Their Front Door
42. Goliath Beater Roku Rockets Into ‘The Streaming Decade’
43. Quibi’s $1.75B experiment ends with Roku acquisition for “less than $100M”
44. Roku Has Officially Acquired Quibi’s Pricey Programming Library
45. Internet Shutdowns in 2021 
46. The Year That Changed the Internet
47. New proposals for regulation of online platforms in Europe
48. Dear Section 230 Critics: When Senators Hawley And Cruz Are Your Biggest Allies, It’s Time To Rethink
49. New Op-Ed: People Who Understand Section 230 Actually Love It (Eric Goldman)
50. Section 230 Year-in-Review for 2020 (Eric Goldman)
51. Content Moderation Case Study: SoundCloud Combats Piracy By Giving Universal Music The Power To Remove Uploads (2014)
52. Content Moderation Case Study: Yelp Attempts To Tackle Racism On Its Platform (2020)
53. The Slope Gets More Slippery As You Expect Content Moderation To Happen At The Infrastructure Layer
54. Everything Pundits Are Getting Wrong About This Current Moment In Content Moderation
55. Twitter Bans Sci-Hub’s Account Because Of ‘Counterfeit Goods’ Policy, As Indian Copyright Case Heats Up
56. Apple allegedly working with Hyundai on electric car for 2027
57. Bummed about new Google Photos storage limits? Amazon Photos says “hi”
58. A Google smart display with radar-based sleep tracking is reportedly happening
59. How YouTube helps form homogeneous online communities
60. YouTube Re-Teams With Demi Lovato For ‘Dancing With The Devil’ Docuseries
61. YouTube Turns On Post-Roll Ads By Default On All 10-Minute, Monetizing Videos
62. YouTube Names Dr. Garth Graham Global Head Of Healthcare, In Bid To Bolster Authoritative Health Content
63. ‘#YouTubeBlack Voices Grant Program’ Unveils Inaugural Class Of 132 Creator Recipients
64. MrBeast Smashes 50 Million Subs, Though Recent Videos Have Lost A “Ridiculous” Amount Of Money
65. 100 Thieves Snags AT&T Sponsorship, Will Install Branded ‘Valorant’ Team Training Room
66. Some Uber, Lyft drivers sue over California ballot measure: Lawsuit says Proposition 22 is unconstitutional because it limits right to organize
67. Sway House Investment Spurs Tinder Founder Sean Rad To Seed $1 Million In ‘Versus Game’ App
68. Music and Social Media – Times are changing for brands on TikTok
69. TikTok Launches 3-Month Incubation Program For Black Creators
70. TikTok Breakout Noah Beck Lands Reality Series At AwesomenessTV
71. Context is key: ASA dismisses complaint against a Laphroaig whisky ad accused of linking alcohol with sexual activity
72. After corporate blunders and setbacks, Intel ousts CEO Bob Swan
73. Qualcomm will acquire chip company founded by Apple execs for $1.4 billion
74. Nvidia’s next laptop GPU generation powers a leap to 1440p displays
75. Nvidia’s takeover of Arm is being investigated by UK competition authorities
76. UK competition regulator to investigate Nvidia’s takeover of Arm
77. 2H 2020 Quick Links, Part 5 (Contracts, E-Commerce, Defamation, Censorship, & More) (Eric Goldman)

A.I.

1. UKIPO patent guidance updated for DABUS judgment
2. Landmark artificial intelligence legislation becomes law
3. Eye on AI
4. An interview with Covington & Burling discussing artificial intelligence in the United States
5. New York City proposes regulating algorithms used in hiring
6. AI Update: Provisions in the National Defense Authorization Act Signal the Importance of AI to American Competitiveness
7. Why Big Tech Wants Your Body
8. Remember Sony’s electric car from CES? Now it’s being road-tested
9. Tesla’s main self-driving rival isn’t Google—it’s Intel’s Mobileye
10. FRB Governor Promotes Financial Inclusion through AI
11. One piece of optical hardware performs massively parallel AI calculations 

COMMUNICATIONS

1. Ajit Pai offers mild criticism of Trump incitement, drops Section 230 plan
2. In His Last Two Weeks, Ajit Pai Finally Finds A Backbone And Refuses To Move Forward With Trump’s Ridiculous 230 Attack
3. Reminder – 2021 Will Include Some Off-Year Elections for State and Local Office – and FCC Political Broadcasting Rules Do Apply
4. Big Telecom Wants A Cookie For Pausing PAC Donations After Hoovering Up Billions In Trump Favors
5. AT&T kills off the failed TV service formerly known as DirecTV Now
6. AT&T Is Restoring Its Bullshit Broadband Caps Because Apparently The COVID Crisis Is Over
7. Jared Mauch didn’t have good broadband—so he built his own fiber ISP
8. 6G Hype Is Already Getting Stupid, When 5G Hype Hasn’t Even Finished Disappointing Us Yet 
9. A Few Reminders Before The Tired Net Neutrality Debate Is Rekindled
10. Report: Tencent and Alibaba may get blacklisted by the Trump administration
11. Radio, Radio: FM Radio Licenses Soon to be Available to Educational Institutions 
12. Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation – Legal compliance reminder for mobile app industry 
13. Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation – 2020 Year in Review

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

1. Eleventh Circuit Says Netflix Series Does Not Infringe Copyrighted Memoir
2. Ninth Circuit Holds Dr. Seuss-Star Trek Mashup an Infringement, Not a Parody
3. This Mashup Is Not a Place You’ll Go – Seuss Copyright Will ‘Live Long and Prosper’
4. Copyright Troll Richard Liebowitz Helps Protect Free Speech & Fair Use By Losing Yet Another Case
5. Dickinson v. Ryan Seacrest Enterprises, Inc. (USCA, Ninth Circuit, Dec. 21, 2020): Dismissal of claims by Janice Dickinson over allegedly false portrayal of her in reality television series. 
6. Copyright Royalty Board Announces SoundExchange Audits of Royalty Payments for Webcasters (Including Broadcast Simulcasts) and Other Digital Music Services
7. Digital Collections: Reflections on copyright 
8. Copyright Office Begins Review of Changes in Satellite Television Statutory License for Carriage of Local Television Stations
9. Is 2021 the year for artists to sell their music catalogues? 
10. Art law – Recent developments January 2021 
11. Use My Likeness? Over My Dead Body! 
12. Canadian Madrid Applications: Practice Note for Foreign Agents 
13. Trademark litigation: a global guide 2021 – Canada 
14. Louisville Courier-Journal Wins ‘Derby Pie’ Trademark Dispute
15. USPTO v Booking.com: Whether a “.com” can transform a generic mark into a registrable trademark under the Lanham Act 
16. The Trademark Modernization Act Establishes New Trademark Cancellation Procedures 
17. United States: Key considerations in parallel criminal and civil trade secrets cases 
18. Ten Trade Secret Resolutions to Keep for 2021 and Beyond 
19. Court Rejects Attempt to “Stretch” Patent Claim Language 
20. Watch What You Say! Prosecution History Estoppel in Canada 
21. Election Ballot Verification – A Patent Subject Matter Eligibility Analysis 
22. Patent Owner’s ex parte communications with members of Congress, the president, and PTAB APJs are sanctionable and the Board may craft its own reasonable sanctions 
23. Patent protection in the time of COVID-19
24. Why standard essential patents are now essential to you
25. The Right to Repair in Massachusetts Rolls Forward 
26. Not Patent Misuse to License U.S. Patents in Foreign Jurisdictions for “Administrative Convenience” 
27. 10 Patent Prosecution, Litigation Practice Trends From 2020 
28. What Was Old Is New Again In IP Litigation — Thanks To Suspected Russian State-Sponsored Hack
29. What Were the Top Intellectual Property Stories in 2020? 
30. Cloud computing: overview of IP issues
31. The EU / UK Trade Agreement: Three myths busted – Intellectual property

PRIVACY

1. Trends to watch in 2021 – Privacy: issues in a hyper-connected world
2. Privacy and Our New Virtual World
3. Internet-Connected Chastity Cages Hit By Bitcoin Ransom Hack
4. DOJ, US Court System Latest To Announce They’re Victims Of The Massive Solarwinds Hack
5. Proactive Steps to Address the Issues Raised after Cyberattack on U.S. Federal Judiciary’s Electronic Filing System
6. The SolarWinds hack is stunning. Here’s what should be done
7. FTC Settles With Photo App Over Use of Facial Recognition Technology
8. New York and Others Settle with CafePress Over 2019 Data Breach
9. Cops Love Body Camera Footage… When It Clears Officers Of Any Wrongdoing
10. Fifth Circuit Tosses Child Porn Conviction Predicated On Unconstitutional Searches Of Three Cellphones
11. Five Key Developments in the Privacy and Data Security Sector in 2020 and Five Predictions for 2021

Jon

GAMES

1. The Sinking City returns to stores as legal dispute over publishing rights continues
2. CD Projekt gearing up for ‘vigorous action’ against investor lawsuit
3. Apple removes 39,000 games from the App Store in China
4. Apple removes 39,000 games from China store in biggest single-day takedown
5. Microsoft calls for Xbox drift lawsuit to be handled by arbitration
6. Koei Tecmo’s sites offline following cyber attack
7. Netflix producer, Yoozoo Games CEO Lin Qi dead at 39 amid poisoning probe.
8. Washington ALJ Rules Video Game Developer’s Attendance at Trade Show Created Substantial Nexus
9. A closer look at Raw Fury’s publishing contract
10. Tencent and Huawei resolve revenue share dispute
11. Minecraft Earth shutting down
12. Minecraft Earth is going dark at the end of June
13. Saving video gaming’s source code treasures before it’s too late
14. The SpongeBob SquarePants effect: Why THQ Nordic is doubling down on licenses
15. Where do we go from here? Analysts give 2021 predictions
16. Analysing the major mobile game design and feature trends of 2020
17. 2020’s most disappointing games, as led by Blizzard’s WarCraft III: Reforged
18. Quantifying the Xmas day video game sales bump
19. Call of Duty: Mobile makes $14m in first week in China
20. Football Manager 2021 has sold over 1 million copies in record time
21. Animal Crossing: New Horizons ends 2020 at the top | UK Boxed Charts
22. Fall Guys, Doom and Cyberpunk represent 2020 in Steam’s top earners of the year
23. Polygon’s 50 most anticipated games of 2021
24. The SpongeBob SquarePants effect: Why THQ Nordic is doubling down on licenses
25. Ubisoft’s game subscription service now supports Google Stadia for free.
26. Sony discontinues all but one PS4 model in Japan
27. PS4 Pro and most other models discontinued in Japan
28. Sony Pictures Developing 3 Movies, 7 TV Shows Based On PlayStation Games
29. Tenet director Christopher Nolan is ‘definitely interested’ in adapting his films into games.
30. Nintendo’s Power-Up Band—a physical key to Japan’s upcoming Super Nintendo World
31. Nintendo acquires Next Level Games
32. Nintendo acquires Luigi’s Mansion 3 developer Next Level Games
33. Xbox once pitched an acquisition of Nintendo, and was met with laughter
34. The SpongeBob SquarePants effect: Why THQ Nordic is doubling down on licenses
35. Niantic acquires community gaming platform Mayhem
36. Pokemon Go maker Niantic acquires community platform Mayhem
37. Epic Games acquires shopping mall for new headquarters
38. Spotify is the first nongaming app on the Epic Games Store, and Epic says it won’t be the last.
39. Honor of Kings foresees a borderless, mobile future
40. How Riot Games is gunning for its second big esports with Valorant.
41. Blog: How I wasted time and money developing a game that earned $30
42. Blog: Historians discuss Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War
43. Blog: An empathy-driven way to design games
44. Video: Clint Hocking’s 2011 game design keynote
45. Gamasutra’s Best of 2020: The top 10 game developers of the year

DIGITAL

1. Bucking Trump, NSA and FBI say Russia was “likely” behind SolarWinds hack
2. DoJ says SolarWinds hackers breached its Office 365 system and read email
3. Pro-Trump reporter gloats over access to fleeing Hill staffer’s computer
4. Court says Uber can’t hold users to terms they probably didn’t read
5. Ticketmaster admits it hacked rival company before it went out of business
6. Laura Loomer Loses Another Lawsuit Related to Her Twitter Ban–Illoominate v. CAIR (Eric Goldman)
7. Defamation Law Can Slow the Plague of Fake News: Challenging falsehoods about voting machines is a good place to start. (Cass Sunstein)
8. Cass Sunstein’s No Good, Horrible, Very Bad Idea For Using Defamation To Fight ‘Fake News’
9. Study: Folklore structure reveals how conspiracy theories emerge, fall apart
10. Women’s victimization by online hate impedes their democratic participation: LEAF
11. Activist hedge fund advises Intel to outsource CPU manufacturing
12. Why don’t PCs use error correcting RAM? “Because Intel,” says Linus
13. 60 Minutes Episode Is Pure Misleading Moral Panic About Section 230; Blames Unrelated Issues On It
14. Parler, Desperate For Attention, Pretends It Doesn’t Need Section 230
15. Content Moderation Case Study: Dealing With Controversial & Sexual Fan Fiction (May 2007)
16. WhatsApp gives users an ultimatum: Share data with Facebook or stop using the app
17. Google and Facebook Sued for Antitrust Violations in the U.S
18. Too big not to fail? Google’s antitrust woes
19. Google employees announce union open to all Alphabet workers
20. Google employees kick off union membership drive for 120,000 workers
21. Amazon promises $2B for affordable housing projects near its corporate offices
22. European Commission Unveils Sweeping Proposals to Regulate the Digital Sector
23. Regulating the Internet, at Last? The Digital Markets Act and the Digital Services Act
24. Use of fake identities found deceitful in commercial email — why not elsewhere on the Internet?
25. UK blocks Assange extradition due to suicide risk, poor US jail conditions
26. Judge Refuses To Extradite Julian Assange, Citing US Prison Conditions & Assange’s Mental Health
27. Logan Paul Sued By Production Company Over Fallout From Aokigahara Video
28. Top 50 Most Viewed US YouTube Channels • Week Of 12/28/2020
29. Top 50 Most Viewed YouTube Channels Worldwide • Week Of 12/28/2020
30. Ars Technica’s 2021 Deathwatch—2020 was just the beginning
31. After Months of Deadlock, Congress Extends Lifeline for the Arts and Entertainment Industry through the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant Program
32. ASA publishes 12 month review of gender stereotyping rule in advertising
33. Cryptocurrency stealer for Windows, macOS, and Linux went undetected for a year
34. United States President’s Working Group on Financial Markets Releases Statement on Regulatory and Supervisory Considerations for Stablecoin Arrangements
35. Synchronized violin players reveal uniqueness of human networks
36. Seven Years Ago, CERN Gave Open Access A Huge Boost; Now It’s Doing The Same For Open Data
37. 2H 2020 Quick Links, Part 4 (FOSTA) (Eric Goldman)

A.I.

1. House of Lords Committee publishes new report “AI in the UK: No Room for Complacency”
2. AI Council publishes roadmap for UK AI strategy
3. When AI goes wrong, how will the courts determine why?
4. Facial Recognition Technology Involves More Than Meets the Eye
5. Artificial intelligence and transparency in the public sector
6. How Smart Software And AI Helped Networks Thrive For Consumers During The Pandemic
7. Waymo CEO: Building safe driverless cars is harder than rocket science
8. Birds of a feather flock together, but patterns change with the mission
9. You can’t unsee Tedlexa, the Internet of Things/AI bear of your nightmares 

COMMUNICATIONS

1. Broadband Infrastructure Companies Ripe for M&A, Experts Say
2. Pudding-Brained 5G Conspiracies Somehow Get Even Dumber 
3. FCC Issues Ruling Limiting Call Volumes Permitted Under TCPA Exemptions
4. FCC issues voluntary caller id authentication best practices for Voice service providers
5. FCC Takes A Break From Not Caring About Consumers To Hassle Some Landlords Over Pirate Radio
6. ViaSat Asks FCC To Investigate Space X For Space Pollution
7. President Trump Issues Executive Order Banning Transactions Involving Eight Chinese Software Applications
8. Comcast data cap blasted by lawmakers as it expands into 12 more states
9. Lawmakers Complain About Comcast’s Bullshit Expanded Usage Caps
10. Frontier agrees to fiber-network expansion in plan to exit bankruptcy
11. Last-minute Brexit deal extends free flow of personal data to UK with 6 months

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

1. The Copyright Board Begins 2021 with Less Transparency and More Potentially Dysfunctional Delays
2. UK Music Rights Group Demands Payment From A Pub That Isn’t Playing Any Music Because It’s Closed Due To COVID
3. U.S. Amends the Copyright Act to Establish Copyright Small Claims Tribunal 
4. Why You Should Be Cautious of the New Copyright Small Claims Court
5. Dr. Seuss Enterprises, L.P. v. ComicMix LLC (USCA, 9th, 12.18.20): Unauthorized Dr. Seuss & Star Trek mash-up “Oh, the Places You’ll Boldly Go!” was not fair use of copyrights because the book did not parody or critique
6. A New CJEU Judgment on Copyright-Related Geoblocking – One Step Forward or One Step Back in the EU Commission’s Fight Against Geoblocking? (Eric Goldman)
7. 1925 Was an Annus Mirabilis for Culture
8. Ferrari‘s Testarossa passes the “Test of Genuine Use” before CJEU 
9. Battle of the Bentleys: Bentley Motors loses trade mark appeal against Bentley Clothing
10. USA: 25% Fee hike for Trademark Applications via Madrid Protocol 
11. US Trademark Modernization Act Provides New Relief to Trademark Owners
12. Trademark Modernization Act of 2020 – Use It or Lose It 
13. What to Know About the Trademark Modernization Act of 2020
14. 2H 2020 Quick Links, Part 3 (Trademarks) (Eric Goldman) 
15. Battle of the ballet shoes: UK court finds infringement of registered community design
16. Software and Business Method Patents – How to Improve Your Chances?
17. Court Interprets Purported Contour Lines in Design Patent Drawings as Claimed Features 
18. No Simulating Alice Requirements: Application of Abstract Ideas Alone Cannot Transform Patent Ineligible Subject Matter 
19. Twelve Cannabis Plant Patents and Counting 
20. Looking for a patent database? Need a little Inspire-ation?
21. Patent Licensors Can Prevent Challenges to Patent Validity
22. 2021 Intellectual Property Primer: Cases to Watch this Year 

PRIVACY

1. Child’s Play: Federal Judge Shuts Down Privacy Litigation Brought Against Tech and Toy Companies Alleging They Violated Kids’ Privacy Rights
2. Government Users of Facial Recognition Software Sued by Plaintiff Alleging Wrongful Imprisonment Over Case of Mistaken Identity
3. FBI Warns Assholes Are Now Combining Compromised IoT Devices With Swatting Because That’s The Hell We Now Live In
4. Telegram feature exposes your precise address to hackers
5. FTC Focuses on Privacy Practices of Social Media and Video Streaming Companies
6. FTC’s Confusing Guidance on How Merchants Should Manage Their Consumer Reviews (Eric Goldman)
7. Update on global privacy expectations of Video Teleconferencing companies
8. Global Privacy Roundup: The World Beyond Europe and California
9. Data Breach Litigation Without a Data Breach? Not So Fast Walmart Says…
10. Federal Court Grants Preliminary Approval of First CCPA Settlement
11. Portland’s Ban on Facial-Recognition Technology Takes Effect
12. New York Temporarily Bans Facial Recognition Technology in Schools
13. En Banc First Circuit Will Decide Whether Government Needs a Warrant to Put Pole Camera Outside Your Home
14. Obscure Analytics Tool Helps Cops Make Sense Of All That Location Data They’re Grabbing Without A Warrant
15. COVID-19 contact-tracing data is fair game for police, Singapore says
16. Surprise! Singapore Backtracks On Privacy Pledge And Opens Contact Tracing Data To Police
17. What the heck is a token, and is it considered personal information in California and Europe?
18. 10 Areas Of Privacy Law That Look Ripe For Change In 2021

Jon

GAMES

1. CD Projekt Red investors sue company over Cyberpunk 2077 debacle
2. Apple reportedly warns devs of more app takedowns in Chinese App Store
3. What makes for a good game publishing contract?
4. Nier: Automata surpasses 5 million shipped
5. Steam’s end of year bonanza gets ‘experimental’
6. Blackstone makes big investment in mobile ad firm Liftoff
7. Parents Who Gift Quest 2 to Kids Under 13 Years Old are in for an Unfortunate Surprise
8. Games of the Year 2020 | Xbox Game Pass
9. Moving Out | Games of the Year 2020
10. Gamasutra’s Best of 2020: Kris Graft’s top 5 games (+1)
11. Gamasutra’s Best of 2020: The top 10 games of the year

DIGITAL

1. Ninth Circuit Says Amazon Isn’t “Seller” of Marketplace Items–State Farm v. Amazon (Eric Goldman)
2. Amazon Acquires Podcast Network Wondery In Reported $300 Million Deal
3. Amazon still hasn’t fixed its problem with bait-and-switch reviews
4. European Union Rules: Facebook Hopes Limits on Apple, Too
5. Facebook Isn’t a Constructive Public Trust–Cameron Atkinson v. Facebook (Eric Goldman)
6. Chinese Government Sentences Journalist To Four Years In Jail For Reporting On The Spread Of The Coronavirus
7. Reddit clone Voat, home to hate speech and QAnon, has shut down
8. Computer repairman suing Twitter for defamation, seeks $500 million
9. Repair Shop Owner Who Supposedly Had Hunter Biden’s Laptop Sues Twitter For Defamation… Has Lawsuit Tossed The Same Day
10. Private party app pulled from App Store by Apple
11. Ushering in a new age of accountability for big tech- UK government response to Online Harms White Paper consultation
12. EU turns the screw on Big Tech: The Digital Services Act Package
13. Revamp image rights to fight deepfakes (Andres Guadamuz)
14. Washington State Attorney General’s Office Announces $65,000 Settlement with Online Retailer for Illegal Online Tobacco Sales
15. Unimpressed Judge Tosses One Of Devin Nunes’ SLAPP Suits Against The Washington Post
16. When You Can’t Innovate, You Litigate: Oracle Gleefully Takes Credit For Attacks On Section 230 And Google
17. House overrides Trump veto, defying demand to repeal Section 230
18. McConnell introduces bill tying $2K stimulus checks to Section 230 repeal
19. Mitch McConnell Using Section 230 Repeal As A Poison Pill To Avoid $2k Stimulus Checks
20. Coalition Of Internet Companies Who Are Decidedly Not ‘Big Tech’ Raise Their Voices About The Importance Of Section 230
21. Who’s responsible for content posted on the Internet? Section 230, explained
22. Section 230 Isn’t A Subsidy; It’s A Rule Of Civil Procedure
23. 2H 2020 Quick Links, Part 2 (Section 230) (Eric Goldman)
24. Content Moderation Case Study: Profanity Filter Causes Problems At Paleontology Conference (October 2020)
25. Content Moderation Case Study: Understanding Cultural Context To Detect Satire (2020)
26. Elsevier Wants To Stop Indian Medics, Students And Academics Accessing Knowledge The Only Way Most Of Them Can Afford: Via Sci-Hub And Libgen
27. After 2020’s Crucial Role In Our Lives, Social Media Will Face A Far More Critical 2021
28. Discord Raises $100 Million, Rolls Out Much-Requested Feature Amid Boom In User Acquisition
29. WW1984 lassos solid box office return, record downloads for HBO Max
30. TikTokers’ Collaborative ‘Ratatouille’ Musical To Star Wayne Brady, Tituss Burgess, Adam Lambert
31. Google Is Testing A Search Feature That Exclusively Serves Short Videos From TikTok, Instagram
32. MrBeast, Jimmy Fallon, MatPat, And More Join YouTube’s NYE Special ‘Hello 2021’
33. ‘Wonder Woman 1984’ Was Watched By “Nearly Half” Of HBO Max Subscribers On Christmas Day
34. TikTok Taps Brittany Broski, Lil Yachty To Host Live New Year’s Eve Festivities
35. Ontario Amends Rules of Civil Procedure to Embrace Virtual Proceedings and Electronic Processes
36. All I want for Christmas is an awesome new curriculum
37. Divers recover a WWII Enigma Machine from the Baltic Sea

A.I.

1. Google develops an AI that can learn both chess and Pac-Man
2. House of Lords Committee publishes new report “AI in the UK: No Room for Complacency”
3. Facial Recognition Helps New Jersey Cops Jail The Wrong Man For Ten Days
4. 2020 In Review: An AI Roundup
5. Why AI is so power-hungry

COMMUNICATIONS

1. FCC Seeks Input on FM Booster “Zonecasting” Proposal 
2. FCC Threatens Large Fines Against Landlords Who Allow Pirate Radio Broadcasts on Their Property 
3. Congress Appropriates $7 Billion to Fund Broadband Initiatives
4. Impact of Section 889’s Telecommunications and Video Surveillance Equipment Prohibitions on Federal Grant and Loan Recipients
5. Verizon’s Latest 5G Innovation: A 5G ‘DSS’ Network That’s Slower Than 4G
6. Comcast’s Pandemic Price Hike Bonanza Continues
7. FAA finally sets rules for piloting small drones

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

1. Ninth Circuit Provides Holiday Win to Copyright Owners with Fair Use Decision
2. Neoprene Tote Bags: Watertight Not Copyright
3. Corellium notches partial victory in Apple iOS copyright case 
4. The Man With The Tiger Tattoo Prances Forward*
5. Copyright Claims Board To Be Established; Criminal Streaming Law 
6. Substantial similarity in copyright: It matters where you sue
7. EUIPO report on online copyright infringement of film, TV and music – so what’s popular?
8. 2H 2020 Quick Links, Part 1 (Copyright) (Eric Goldman)
9. US Trademark and Copyright Reforms Accompany COVID-19 Relief 
10. A brand story: Santa and Coca-Cola 
11. Girl Scouts Continuing To Fight Boy Scouts Of America Over Trademarks, Branding 
12. Congress Passes the Trademark Modernization Act
13. Avoid New Trademark Email Scams
14. Brexit – Are you prepared? Pending UK Trade Mark proceedings: 3 key points to remember 
15. UDRP: hydroquébec.com 
16. Design disputes: combatting copycats with a collection of IP rights – Freddy SPA v Hugz Clothing Ltd 
17. Snapshot: procedure for design registration in USA
18. Quebec Court finds price and revenue calculation provisions of amended PMPRB Regulations unconstitutional 
19. Federal Circuit Finds Video Signal Conversion Claims Patent Ineligible 
20. Senators Tell The USPTO To Remove The Arbitrary Obstacles Preventing Inventors (Especially Women Inventors) From Getting Patents 
21. Why Everyone Is Patenting Software Inventions 
22. Inventions behind the music: From Eddie Van Halen to Michael Jackson and beyond 
23. Towards a Better Patent System for Europe: The Unified Patent Court (UPC)
24. Chinese Court Rules that It Can Set Patent License Terms outside China 
25. The Wuhan Submarine surfaces at Christmas, to be met by a Texan TRO
26. Lewis Hamilton’s IP struggles highlight some important issues
27. Cloud computing: A brief overview of intellectual property issues “in the cloud” 

PRIVACY

1. Responding to the SolarWinds Breach: Compliance and Oversight Considerations
2. ICO issues statement on potential data breaches resulting from the recent SolarWinds Orion cyber-attack
3. United Kingdom: Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) issues statement on SolarWinds Orion compromise
4. Five Things to Do in Response to SolarWinds Compromise
5. Marriott and BA fined a combined £38.4m for data security failures
6. Tweeting Tardy: Twitter fined $500,000 for GDPR breach
7. Canada: Watch out, GDPR – Canada proposes strict new privacy law framework backed by significant fines
8. Brexit Deal Keeps EU-UK Data Flows Open as Parties Pursue Mutual Adequacy
9. The Deal is There! EU-UK Trade Agreement Facilitates Data Transfers
10. Brexit Deal Copied And Pasted Recommendations For Netscape, Outdated Encryption
11. How your digital trails wind up in the hands of the police
12. How Sweepstakes Compliance Can Save Your Reputation
13. Can a litigant use an access request as a means of obtaining quasi-discovery?
14. Still Not ‘Going Dark:’ Device Encryption Still Contains Plenty Of Exploitable Flaws
15. 2020 had its share of memorable hacks and breaches. Here are the top 10
16. The decade-long quest to stop “Spamford” Wallace

Jon

GAMES

1. Games Are Now Making More Than Movies And Sports Combined: Gaming sales are up to almost $180 billion per year.
2. GamesIndustry.biz presents… The Year in Numbers 2020
3. Digital gaming just had its best revenue month ever in November
4. 31% of young UK gamers struggle to track spending on loot boxes: New report from Gambling Health Alliance says one in four gamers spend over £100 on randomised in-game items
5. Blizzard Sued for “Wiretapping” World of Warcraft Website Visitors
6. World of Warcraft Maker Hit with Privacy Invasion Class Action Lawsuit
7. Gearbox reaches settlement with Bobby Prince over Duke Nukem music
8. Jury Will Decide If Videogame Character Infringes a Wrestling Persona–GI Bro v. Call of Duty (Eric Goldman)
9. Investors reportedly considering class action lawsuit against CD Projekt Red
10. Sony removes Cyberpunk 2077 from PlayStation Store, promises refunds
11. Sony Removes Cyberpunk 2077 from PS Store, Will Offer Refunds to PlayStation Players Who Already Bought It
12. Sony pulls Cyberpunk 2077 from PlayStation Store
13. Sony delists PlayStation version of Cyberpunk 2077, offers refunds to all owners
14. Cyberpunk 2077 troubles cost CD Projekt founders more than $1bn
15. Xbox offering full refunds for Cyberpunk 2077 but isn’t removing it from sale 
16. Cyberpunk 2077 has sold over 13m copies
17. Cyberpunk 2077 sales climb to 13 million copies despite launch issues
18. Microsoft granting full refunds to anyone who purchased Cyberpunk 2077 digitally
19. CD Projekt hasn’t discussed removing Cyberpunk from Xbox platforms
20. CD Projekt Red Heaps Bullshit Via Tweet After Removing Game To Appease China
21. CD Projekt now pledges to help refund retail copies of Cyberpunk 2077
22. Red Candle Games announces launch of Devotion on GOG; GOG says it won’t list it
23. Raw Fury publicly shares publishing agreement
24. Read Raw Fury’s publishing terms (without signing your soul away first)
25. Assassin’s Creed Valhalla takes Christmas No.1 as Cyberpunk 2077 falls to third | UK Boxed Charts
26. Microsoft Flight Simulator has amassed over 2 million players in four months
27. Nintendo and Sony share prices rise to record highs
28. Miyamoto leads fans through Super Nintendo World—and it looks incredible
29. BuzzFeed Launches First Mobile Game — A Mental Health-Inspired Endless Runner
30. China introduces new age rating system
31. An insider’s perspective on China’s new age ratings | Opinion
32. “Simp,” “incel” part of newly banned insults on Twitch
33. These People Helped Shape Video Game Culture in 2020: Designers, competitors, streamers, voice actors and labor activists have been working to make gaming more inclusive.
34. Lost Sega arcade classics born anew in cute, $130 Astro City Mini
35. 2020: Games boomed, but the industry was treading water | Opinion
36. 2020: A year of success and responsibility
37. Four takeaways from the GI 100 Game Changers | Opinion
38. The Gaming Industry Generated 2 Million Sponsored Posts From 400,000 Creators This Year, Report Finds
39. The Game Awards sets new viewership record with 83m livestreams
40. Monster Hunter movie makes $2.2m in US opening weekend
41. Human: Fall Flat sells 2m in China
42. IP licensing for games: How to profit from brand injections
43. Discord valued at $7bn as it raises $100m
44. MAG Interactive acquired word game specialist Apprope
45. MAG Interactive acquires mobile studio Apprope for $6 million
46. Eneba raises $8m for online gaming marketplace
47. Distributed computing startup Salad raises $3.2m
48. Suikoden successor Eiyuden Chronicle was top video games Kickstarter of 2020
49. Nordisk Games buys 40% of MercurySteam
50. TikTok owner reportedly in talks to buy stake in Chinese mobile games publisher
51. Tencent officially acquires Splash Damage parent Leyou in $1.5 billion deal
52. Warframe studio “expects no changes” under Tencent ownership
53. Microids announces in-house distribution arm
54. Keywords acquires PR company Indigo Pearl and recording studio Jinglebell
55. Unity partners with Snap to extend reach of Unity Ads and deliver Snap Kit integration
56. Opinion: Game company acquisitions & the ‘growth stock bubble’
57. Mass market, mystery boxes and metric-driven design: The legacy of FarmVille
58. Making weirdness work: The sun-drenched horror of Paradise Killer
59. Esports to debut as medal event at Asian Games 2022
60. Esports Milestone: Esports Becomes A Medal Event At The Asian Games
61. Esports Milestone: The Philadelphia Eagles Become The First NFL Team To Dive Into Esports
62. Skillz goes public: Mobile esports platform is trading up 7% during its first day on the New York Stock Exchange
63. NRG Esports Unveils New ‘Full Squad’ Content Brand Targeting Casual Gamers
64. Twitch Signs Swedish ‘Fortnite’ Streamer Loeya To Exclusive Two-Year Deal
65. Rebecca Zamolo Launches $8 Video Subscription Service Inside Of Her Mobile Game
66. Microsoft Flight Simulator in VR: A turbulent start for wide-open skies
67. A rare look at the compassionate game design of Shigeru Miyamoto
68. Who’s playing what on PlayStation 5?
69. Ars Technica’s best games of 2020
70. Blog: 5 technical lessons learned making Art Sort in VRChat 
71. Blog: Hands on – Predicting players’ thinking
72. Blog: Developing Raji: An Ancient Epic and crossing the finish line
73. Blog: A postmortem of Cogmind’s 2020 ARG
74. Blog: Torchlight 3 – Data fixup war stories
75. Best of 2020: Breaking linear character progression with Outer Worlds’ flaw system
76. Best of 2020: How System Era overcame creative paralysis to fix Astroneer’s crafting system
77. Best of 2020: The trends and events that defined the year for game devs
78. Best of 2020: Level Design Analysis – Oxenfurt level in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
79. Best of 2020: How Jackbox CEO Mike Bilder is grappling with quarantine-driven success
80. Gamasutra’s Best of 2020: Bryant Francis’ top 10 games
81. Gamasutra’s Best of 2020: Chris Kerr’s top 5 games
82. Gamasutra’s Best of 2020: Alissa McAloon’s top 6(ish) games
83. Animal Crossing: New Horizons | Games of the Year 2020
84. The Last of Us Part 2 | Games of the Year 2020
85. Yakuza: Like a Dragon | Games of the Year 2020
86. 1997 – 2002 | Games of the Year 2020

DIGITAL

1. SolarWinds hack that breached gov networks poses a “grave risk” to the nation
2. Microsoft is reportedly added to the growing list of victims in SolarWinds hack
3. Microsoft president calls SolarWinds hack an “act of recklessness”
4. A Cybersecurity Storm and Winds of Change: NY DFS requires all New York financial institutions to report effects of SolarWinds hack
5. SolarWinds Fallout Warrants Vendor Pulse Check
6. Russia’s hacking frenzy is a reckoning
7. The Urgent Need to Assess and Respond to Russian Supply Chain Attacks
8. Secret Agents Implicated In The Poisoning Of Opposition Leader Alexey Navalny Identified Thanks To Russia’s Black Market In Everybody’s Personal Data
9. After riots, iPhone manufacturer says it “deeply regrets” exploiting workers
10. Google Isn’t Liable for Allegedly Problematic Search Results–Diez v. Google (Eric Goldman)
11. Google committed “antitrust evils,” colluded with Facebook, new lawsuit says
12. Embarrassing: New Antitrust Suit Against Google Confuses WhatsApp Encrypted Backup Option With Giving Google A Backdoor
13. Another Day, Another Antitrust Lawsuit For Google:
14. Czech Search Engine Seznam Joins In the ‘Let’s Sue Google’ Fun, Seeks $417 Million in Damages
15. Google kills Android Things, its IoT OS, in January
16. Google, Facebook reportedly agreed to work together to fight antitrust probes
17. FTC Seeks Information from Nine Social Media and Video Streaming Companies Regarding Their Data Collection, Use, and Advertising Practices
18. FTC orders social media and video streaming companies to provide data on privacy practices
19. TikTok Bars Content Promoting Multi-Level Marketing, Pyramid And Ponzi Schemes
20. Alibaba Says It’s Not Going After Uighurs (At Least Not Yet)
21. CDT Lacks Standing to Challenge Trump’s Anti-230 Executive Order (Eric Goldman)
22. Americans For Prosperity Sue Commerce Department To Find Out Who Was Influencing NTIA’s Attack On Section 230
23. Trump vetoes $740B defense bill, citing “failure to terminate” Section 230
24. Apparently Trump Refuses To Allow The Government To Do Anything At All Until The Open Internet Is Destroyed
25. Once Again, Section 230’s Authors Feel The Need To Tell Everyone That Section 230 Is Not The Evil You Think It Is
26. Content Moderation Case Studies: Copyright Claims On White Noise (2018)
27. Content Moderation Case Study: Using Copyright To Take Down A Transformative Criticism Video (2019)
28. Twitter repeals retweet roadblocks, Facebook follows suit
29. Dutch Prosecutors Say One Man Got Into Trump’s Twitter Account With ‘MAGA2020!’ Password
30. Apple is allegedly working on a passenger car, breakthrough battery tech
31. Musk says Apple passed on Tesla acquisition three years ago
32. 2021 Predictions For YouTube, feat. D’Angelo Wallace, Rebecca Zamolo, And Hank Green
33. NikkieTutorials To Lift Veil On Personal Turmoil, Triumphs In New YouTube Docuseries
34. MrBeast Launches Nationwide, Delivery-Only Burger Chain
35. Latest Drop From Creator-Focused Startup ‘Stir’ Will Help Nascent Vlogger Airrack Reach 1 Million Subs
36. David Dobrik To Host ‘Peace Out 2020’ Year-End Special On Facebook Watch
37. Emma Chamberlain Named Global Ambassador For New ‘Bad Habit’ Skin Care Brand
38. 2HYPE’s ‘Jesser’ Drops Limited Edition Sneaker Collab With Champs Sports, Puma
39. Scotty Sire Signs With Indie Rock Label Fearless Records, Drops Christmas Track
40. The D’Amelio Family’s Eight-Episode Reality Series To Arrive On Hulu Next Year
41. Netflix Testing Audio-Only Mode, Enabling Background Content Consumption
42. Vice Becomes First Publisher To Launch Verified OnlyFans Account For Its ‘Munchies’ Brand
43. Tesla Cybertruck Hot Wheels toy ships late—just like real Tesla cars
44. How an obscure British PC maker invented ARM and changed the world
45. Art, Technology and the Law: Capture by Paolo Cirio

A.I.

1. Copyright and Privacy Legal Issues Resulting from the Rising Popularity of Artificial Intelligence Use
2. AI Hospital Startup Olive Valued at $1.5B After Latest Funding Round
3. Video: Building better AI sensory systems

COMMUNICATIONS

1. BILL C-10: An Act to amend the Broadcasting Act and to make related and consequential amendments to other Acts
2. The Broadcasting Act Blunder, Day 19: The Misleading Comparison to the European Union (Michael Geist)
3. The Broadcasting Act Blunder, Day 20: The Case Against Bill C-10 (Michael Geist)
4. Early Warnings: Canada’s Regulators Issue Warning Letters to Mobile App Companies
5. We Had To Pass A Law To Stop Telecom Monopolies From Charging You ‘Rental Fees’ For Things You Already Own 
6. Lawmakers Question Why FCC Is Throwing Taxpayer Money At Incompetent Telcos With History Of Fraud
7. FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr Again Misrepresents The Debate Over Section 230 
8. FCC Seeks Comment on Modernized Equipment Marketing Rules
9. With Terrible Federal Broadband Data, States Are Taking Matters Into Their Own Hands 
10. New COVID Bill Includes Billions To Shore Up Broadband Access. But… 
11. Next Generation Broadcast TV Services Promoted in ATSC 3.0 Order
12. Big Changes Coming to Calling & Texting Legal Landscape? TCPA Update
13. AT&T Pisses Off Everybody (Especially Christopher Nolan) For Launching Movies Straight To Streaming
14. AT&T reportedly struggling to sell DirecTV at anything but a huge loss
15. AT&T Is Sad Because Nobody Wants To Overpay For DirecTV
16. Wonder Woman Forces AT&T & Roku To End Their Petty Squabbles
17. Law banning “rental” fees for customer-owned routers takes effect Sunday
18. Funding Europe’s broadband ambitions 
19. UK Government Plans for an Online Safety Bill
20. EU Publishes Proposal For Digital Services Act
21. US government bans tech exports to top drone maker DJI

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

1. Fair Use Permits Newspaper to Republish Photo Taken By Drone–Castle v. Kingsport Publishing (Eric Goldman)
2. Dr. Seuss/Star Trek Mash-Up Not Fair Use, Ninth Circuit Rules
3. The Mystery Of The Copyright On Sherlock Holmes’ Emotions Goes Unsolved Due To Settlement 
4. The Copyright Office Will Not Weigh in on Philadelphia Phillies’ Copyright Dispute
5. US COVID-19 relief bill would punish streaming of copyrighted content
6. Congress (Once Again) Sells Out To Hollywood: Sneaks CASE Act And Felony Streaming Bill Into Government Funding Omnibus
7. Senator Tillis Releases Massive Unconstitutional Plan To Reshape The Internet In Hollywood’s Image
8. Congress creates new copyright court that could make trolling easier
9. States can invoke sovereign immunity against claims of copyright infringement 
10. To Die For – New York Recognizes Publicity Rights of Deceased Performers. 
11. ‘Imagine’ This: John Lennon Would Have Received Post-Mortem Right to Publicity in New York
12. Jackson v. Netflix, Inc. (California Central District, December 9, 2020): Dismissal of trademark & copyright claims. “Tiger King” marks in popular Tiger King series is protected by First Amendment.
13. Fifth Circuit Says No Preliminary Injunction in Boozy Beverage Trademark Fight
14. Cerverceria Modelo SA de CV v Marcon.
15. Lemonade Beats Deutsche Telekom In French Court Over Use Of The Color Magenta
16. The Court of Appeal Adds a Few More Shades to Canada’s Grey Market
17. Brand protection: A comparison of U.S. and Canadian trademark systems 
18. New Year, New Trademark Fees 
19. US trade mark costs rise and Madrid Protocol grows
20. Domain Name Lawsuits Are Stupid (and the Initial Interest Confusion Doctrine Is Too)–Wooster Floral v. Green Thumb (Eric Goldman)
21. A Tale of Two Cookies: Third Circuit Dunks Cookie Stick Trade Dress Claims
22. 4 Mass. Trade Secret Litigation Tips From Facebook Ruling
23. Court Battle Between India’s SaaS Industry Leaders Being Fought in California 
24. What to expect from Canada’s new examination guidelines for patentable subject matter – interview 
25. Secret prior art: a trap for the unwary?
26. US Courts Can Compel Parties to Transfer Ownership of Foreign Patents

PRIVACY

1. C-11 – An Act to enact the Consumer Privacy Protection Act: Five top measures to get ready
2. Where Things Stand: Update on the Digital Charter Implementation Act, 2020
3. Making Connected Devices? Federal Privacy Commissioner Publishes Guidance for Manufacturers of Internet of Things Devices
4. Pornhub squarely targeted in bipartisan bill to regulate sex work online
5. A Major Wireless Network Flaw Is Still Being Exploited To Track User Locations
6. Zero-click iMessage zero-day used to hack the iPhones of 36 journalists
7. A New Antitrust Class Action Threat: Anticompetitive Invasion of Privacy
8. Cyber litigation will be the new battleground in 2021
9. Tracking the privacy issues stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic
10. Schools Are Using Phone-Cracking Tech To Access The Contents Of Students’ Devices
11. A Little Gloom for the Zoom Boom: FTC Settlement for Unfair and Deceptive Security Practices
12. FTC Issues Orders to Nine Social Media and Video Streaming Service Companies Regarding Privacy Practices
13. You Can’t Get There from Here: Did the EU Just Outlaw Almost All Transfers of Personal Data to the U.S.?
14. Kazakhstan spies on citizens’ HTTPS traffic; browser-makers fight back
15. The California Consumer Privacy Act (“CCPA”) – 2020 Year in Review
16. Does a business have to provide a privacy policy directly to a consumer if it obtains the consumer’s data from a third party (i.e., purchases it)?
17. Use of facial recognition technology increasing

J0n

GAMES

1. Nintendo Hates You: DMCA Takedowns Of Game Music Continue While Nintendo Offers No Legit Way To Listen
2. Germany Opens Legal Action Against Facebook Account Requirement for Oculus Headsets
3. GOG backtracks on Devotion re-launch hours after it was announced
4. The Strong Museum now includes decades of files from the LGBTQ Game Archive
5. Copyright law is bricking your game console. Time to fix that
6. British MPs want console scalping made illegal, call for more consumer protection
7. UK Members of Parliament call for ban on bulk buying consoles
8. Major Gaming Company Sued for Making Games Too Challenging
9. Microsoft, Nintendo, and Sony unite to create safer online spaces
10. Microsoft, Nintendo, Sony release joint commitment to online safety
11. Microsoft delays launch of EA Play on Game Pass Ultimate for PC until 2021
12. CD Projekt offering refunds to Cyberpunk players on consoles after shaky launch
13. Amid massive bugs, CDPR offers refunds for Cyberpunk 2077 on consoles
14. CD Projekt: Polarizing Cyberpunk 2077 launch ‘the wrong approach’
15. CDPR admits it “ignored the signals” of Cyberpunk 2077’s console issues
16. Cyberpunk 2077 developers were “updating the last-gen version until the very last minute”
17. Requests for refunds on Cyberpunk 2077 met with inconsistent response
18. PC version of Cyberpunk 2077 now features an epilepsy warning
19. Cyberpunk 2077’s Stream-Safe Setting Option For Its Music Failed To Keep Streamers Safe
20. Cyberpunk 2077 launches with some real dystopia in tow | Opinion
21. CD Projekt Red stock falls 29% in run-up to Cyberpunk 2077 launch
22. Cyberpunk 2077 racked up 8m pre-orders, 74% were digital
23. Cyberpunk 2077 already passed 1m concurrent users on Steam
24. CD Projekt Red boasts 8 million preorders for Cyberpunk 2077
25. CDPR estimates Cyberpunk 2077 has recouped development, marketing costs
26. Cyberpunk 2077 developers promised full bonuses despite declining review scores
27. CD Projekt Red apologises for not showing last-gen Cyberpunk 2077, offers refunds
28. Cyberpunk 2077 is the second biggest retail launch of the year | UK Boxed Charts
29. EA agrees $1.2 billion acquisition of Codemasters
30. EA set to pay $1.2 billion for Codemasters and its stable of racing games
31. Sky News reports EA has gatecrashed Take-Two’s Codemasters takeover
32. EA outbids Take-Two to buy Codemasters Group for $1.2 billion
33. EA to acquire Dirt developer Codemasters, scuppering Take-Two deal
34. Publicity on the Pitch? Football Superstars vs EA Sports
35. Keywords acquires High Voltage Software for $50m
36. New Unity updates target programming, graphics, quality of life improvements 
37. Steam gets ‘experimental’ with discovery
38. Valve’s latest Steam Labs experiment is an expansive discoverability overhaul
39. Valve upgrades News Hub from experiment to full-fledged Steam feature
40. Inside ‘Browsing Steam’: the biggest change to Steam Discovery in recent history
41. Steam breaks concurrent users record at nearly 25m
42. Streamloots launches mental health support program for streamers
43. Facebook Gaming creators have earned $50m in Stars in 2020
44. 2020 has shown our lack of leadership | Opinion
45. Maximizing the 2020 holidays for mobile user acquisition
46. The Last of Us Part 2 dominates at The Game Awards
47. Tilting Point pens $40 million UA team up with Gunship Battle: Total Warfare dev Joycity
48. Five mobile games topped $1b in revenue this year – Sensor Tower
49. Nintendo Switch is the best-selling console in Canada for 25 straight months
50. Switch cracks down (further) on extreme discounting
51. “Mass Effect Will Return:” Teaser trailer sets a new (old) direction for the sequel
52. UK games industry made record $3.84 billion economic contribution in 2019
53. Developers and publishers contributed £2.91bn to UK economy last year
54. US games spending breaks November records at $7bn
55. Report: PlayStation 5 breaks unit and dollar sales records for a new console launch month (NPD)
56. PS5 makes its mark but Nintendo Switch holds No.1 in huge November for video games | EMEAA Charts
57. The Nintendo Switch sold over 1.3m units in China this year
58. Nintendo Switch was the best-selling console in November in the US, despite next-gen launches
59. The Super-est SuperFX: An unmodified SNES, revved up with ray tracing [Updated]
60. Subscription library Ubisoft+ is now on Google Stadia
61. Stadia is now on iOS, but not through the App Store
62. Dr. Seuss gets serious about games
63. Ark Survival Evolved gets an animated series: David Tennant, Russell Crowe, Vin Diesel, Elliot Page among the cast of show coming in 2022
64. Vin Diesel joins Studio Wildcard as executive producer on Ark
65. Unity acquires 3D content creator RestAR
66. Tilting Point invests up to $40m in UA funding for Gunship Battle: Total Warfare
67. Steam introduces new discovery tools
68. Rollic acquires matching game Onnect for $6m
69. Zynga’s Rollic fully acquires Onnect from Chef Game Studio
70. Zynga-owned Rollic acquires Onnect from dev Chef Game Studio for $6 million
71. SteelSeries acquires KontrolFreek
72. Fnatic raises over £2m in crowdfunding
73. Roblox purchases digital avatar firm Loom.ai
74. Roblox delays IPO to 2021
75. Leyou shareholders approve Tencent takeover
76. Bad Robot Games’ first in-house dev studio will create ‘cross-medium’ franchises
77. J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot Games Forms In-House Studio Led by Gaming Vet Mike Booth
78. Control has surpassed 2 million sales 15 months after launch
79. Pocket Mortys developer Big Pixel Studios is shutting down 
80. Big Pixel Studios shuts down, impacting about 40
81. Fortnite focuses in on boosting playability on lower-powered PCs
82. Talent Firm Loaded Signs 16-Year-Old Fortnite Pro BenjyFishy
83. Philadelphia Eagles Reach Multi-Year Deal with Esports Entertainment Group to Become NFL’s First Esports Tournament Club Provider
84. Facebook Slashes Price of Oculus Rift S to $300
85. Zynga veterans launch VR gaming company ForeVR
86. VR Destination ‘Sandbox VR’ Emerges from Chapter 11 Bankruptcy After Reorganization
87. Leaked Photos Reveal Possible Lenovo AR Glasses Ahead of CES 2021
88. Niantic donated a total of $7m in 2020 to Black Lives Matter charities
89. Make Way – ‘Medal of Honor: Above and Beyond’ Needs 180GB and Recommends Demanding Specs
90. ‘Medal of Honor: Above and Beyond’ Review – War Never Felt so Bland
91. We have a winner in the world’s first quantum chess tournament
92. How Watch Dogs: Legion’s ‘play as anyone’ simulation works
93. “No adaptation without interpretation” — turning Animal Farm into a game
94. The Last of Us Part II dominates The Game Awards 2020
95. The Game Awards’ Future Class highlights 50 people shaping the future of the game industry
96. How beautiful voxels laid the way for Teardown’s heist-y framework 
97. Blog: The not-so-secrets to success in the games industry
98. Blog: Integrating Joustus in Shovel Knight: King of Cards – Part 3
99. Blog: How to make a decent game trailer for less than $100 
100. Blog: A postmortem of asynchronous 1v1 horror title Antithesis
101. Blog: Softening polygon intersections in Blightbound 
102. Blog: A BioShock Infinite level design analysis 
103. Blog: Zen and the art of retro level design in Kudzu
104. Blog: A look at the revenue, expenses and statistics of Starlight X-2
105. Blog: What every game designer should know about human psychology
106. Blog: A developmental look at game aesthetics
107. Video: How embedded QA can improve games accessibility
108. Video: Telling location-based stories in games
109. Don’t Miss: From The Witcher 3 to Cyberpunk – The evolution of CD Projekt’s quest design
110. Best of 2020: Nintendo Switch Game Sales – The Three Biggest Misconceptions
111. Best of 2020: Creating the ever-improvising text adventures of AI Dungeon 2
112. Best of 2020: How Dishonored and Assassin’s Creed designers craft iconic stealthy encounters
113. Best of 2020: A look back at the 5-year development of Eastshade
114. Best of 2020: How Blizzard, Ubisoft, and other studios went remote in the time of COVID-19

DIGITAL

1. Russian hackers hit US government using widespread supply chain attack
2. ~18,000 organizations downloaded backdoor planted by Cozy Bear hackers
3. DHS Cyber Warriors Issue Warning About Massive Hacking Campaign, Disclose They’ve Been Hacked A Day Later
4. Security Researcher Reveals Solarwinds’ Update Server Was ‘Secured’ With The Password ‘solarwinds123’
5. US diplomats’ brain injuries may be from covert microwave attack, experts say: Data from Russian experiments on pulsed RF energy offers best explanation.
6. Fireeye victim of “state-sponsored” hacking
7. Oracle joins Silicon Valley’s Texas exodus
8. Huawei Is Crafting Facial Recognition Tech That Will Make It Easier For The Chinese Government To Target Citizens It Doesn’t Like
9. Apple’s app store is an illegal monopoly, rival Cydia claims in suit
10. Apple introduces privacy labels to make data mining transparent
11. iPhone factory workers say they haven’t been paid, cause millions in damages
12. Uber defends sexual assault victims’ privacy, gets fined $59 million
13. Google and Amazon made to Toe the French Line? Oui!
14. Digital regulation 2.0: UK and EU announce details of major reforms
15. The Digital Services Act and Digital Markets Act: A new era for online regulation within Europe
16. Pinterest agrees to $22.5 million settlement in discrimination lawsuit
17. Digital platforms – let the games begin!
18. US law proposal could make streaming copyrighted material a felony
19. Not This Again: Senator Tillis Tries To Slide Dangerous Felony Streaming Bill Into Must Pass Government Funding Bill
20. Tillis Release Details Of His Felony Streaming Bill; A Weird Gift To Hollywood At The Expense Of Taxpayers
21. Reddit Buys TikTok Competitor Dubsmash, Will Integrate App’s Video Creation Tools
22. TikTok Introduces Extensive Policies Against Sexual Harassment, Dangerous Pranks
23. The Christchurch shooter and YouTube’s radicalization trap
24. Report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Terrorist Attack on Christchurch Mosques on 15 March 2019
25. People affiliated with French military used Facebook to meddle in Africa
26. FTC Launches Investigation Into Facebook, Twitter, and Other Social Media Sites
27. FTC kicks off sweeping privacy probe of nine major social media firms
28. Facebook Violated Antitrust Laws, Say FTC and More than 40 States
29. FTC’s Misses Opportunity To Understand Social Media; Instead Goes For Weird Fishing Expedition Against Odd Grouping Of Companies
30. New Facebook advertising terms, new Apple iOS 14 privacy rules and updated cookie guidance: help!
31. EU warns that it may break up Big Tech companies
32. The Peril of Persuasion in the Big Tech Age
33. NLRB Finds Executive’s Joking Tweet Violated Federal Labor Law
34. AZ GOP Goes Full Bullshit: Claims It took Down Violence-Inciting Tweet Over Copyright Concerns
35. ICE Withdraws Demand For Journalists’ Sources After Having Its Unconstitutional Demand Outed By BuzzFeed
36. Facebook says hackers backed by Vietnam’s government are linked to IT firm
37. People affiliated with French military used Facebook to meddle in Africa: It’s the first time Facebook has identified people affiliated with a Western government for sanction
38. Facebook Testing ‘Super’, Which Lets Fans Pay To Interact With Their Favorite Creators On Stream
39. Pornhub Purges 80% Of User-Uploaded Videos After Allegations Of Child Exploitation, Rape Content
40. Millions of videos purged from Pornhub amid crackdown on user content
41. Visa and MasterCard ban Pornhub over abusive videos
42. 40 GirlsDoPorn victims sue Pornhub for hosting “sex trafficking” videos
43. China fines Alibaba, Tencent unit under anti-monopoly laws
44. Twitter To Sunset Periscope App In March After Years Of Declining Usage
45. Disney+ drops Andor teaser, announces gazillion other Star Wars projects
46. More Disney 2021 plans: Kate McKinnon as Elizabeth Holmes, Y: The Last Man on FX
47. We’ve got our first real look at Loki as Disney drops lengthy teaser trailer
48. Op-Ed: Social Media Companies Should Permanently Ban Political Advertising (Eric Goldman)
49. Justice Thomas’ Anti-Section 230 Statement Doesn’t Support Reconsideration–JB v. Craigslist (Eric Goldman)
50. As A Parting Shot, Tulsi Gabbard Teams Up With Paul Gosar To Introduce Yet Another Unconstitutional Attack On Section 230
51. USA Today Publishes Yet Another Bogus OpEd Against 230, Completely Misrepresents The Law
52. District Court Rejects CDT’s Challenge Of Trump’s Ridiculous Executive Order On Section 230
53. Trump Appoints Unqualified Guy Who Hates Section 230 To Top Justice Department Role
54. Smaller Internet Companies Say They’re Open To 230 Reform… To Keep Facebook From Being The Only Voice In The Room
55. Lindsey Graham’s Latest Attack On Section 230: Reform It By 2023, Or We Take It Away
56. Content Moderation Case Study: Facebook’s AI Continues To Struggle With Identifying Nudity (2020)
57. Content Moderation Case Study: Vimeo Moderates Uploads Of ‘Commercial-Use’ Videos Using Unclear Guidelines (2009)
58. Sony-Owned Anime Streamer Funimation To Buy Crunchyroll For $1.2 Billion
59. Can Influencers’ Failure to Disclose Sponsorship Constitute False Advertising?–EIS v. WOW Tech
60. YouTube Will Enable Viewers To Toggle Out Of Ads For Alcohol And Gambling
61. After 6 Years, YouTube Supergroup O2L Reunites In The Name Of Charity
62. R.I.P. Henri, le Chat Noir, angst-ridden feline YouTube star for the ages
63. The D’Amelios, Marques Brownlee, Demi Lovato To Headline YouTube’s New Year’s Eve Special ‘Hello 2021’
64. Helping your child make the best use of time online
65. YouTube Greenlights ‘Creator Spotlights’ Docuseries, An Intimate Glimpse Into The Lives Of Top Stars
66. David Dobrik’s Latest Venture, ‘The Hundred Thousand Dollar Puzzle,’ Sells 17,000 Units In One Hour
67. Liza Koshy Signs Overall Deal With Jada And Will Smith-Founded Westbrook Inc.
68. Walmart Looking To Turn Salaried Employees Into Social Influencers With Nascent ‘Spotlight’ Program
69. Meghan Markle, Prince Harry, And Their New Podcast Company ‘Archewell Audio’ Sign Exclusive Deal With Spotify
70. Google sees major services outages two days in a row
71. The Google Home Max is dead—Google shuts down production
72. Instagram Makes ‘Reels’ Shoppable, Bringing Ecommerce To Every Format On The App
73. Giving by Taking Away: Big Tech, Data Colonialism and the Reconfiguration of Social Good
74. 2021 NewFronts Will Stay Virtual, Be Immediately Followed By Podcast Upfronts
75. Here Are Your 2020 Streamy Award Winners
76. CentOS Linux is dead—and Red Hat says Stream is “not a replacement”
77. Where do I go now that CentOS Linux is gone? Check our list
78. VR meetings are weird, but they beat our current reality
79. Stroll down memory lane with this 1996 instruction video on How To Internet

A.I.

1. Arendt’s Algorithm: AI’s Disenfranchising Effect on Refugees as Examined through China’s Uighur Population (Gideon Salutin)
2. How our data encodes systematic racism
3. CDEI publishes review into bias in algorithmic decision-making
4. From whistleblower laws to unions: How Google’s AI ethics meltdown could shape policy
5. White House Finalizes AI Regulatory Framework and Directs Agencies to Develop Plans for AI Regulation and “Non-Regulation”
6. Why CD Projekt used AI to localise Cyberpunk 2077
7. Bias in algorithmic decision-making: recommendations from the UK’s Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation 

COMMUNICATIONS

1. The Broadcasting Act Blunder, Day 15: Mandated Confidential Data Disclosures May Keep Companies Out of Canada (Michael Geist)
2. The Broadcasting Act Blunder, Day 16: Mandated Payments and a Reality Check on Guilbeault’s Billion Dollar Claim (Michael Geist)
3. The Broadcasting Act Blunder, Day 17: The Uncertain Policy Directive (Michael Geist)
4. The Broadcasting Act Blunder, Day 18: The USMCA Trade Threat That Could Lead to Billions in Retaliatory Tariffs (Michael Geist)
5. FCC Accused Of Falsely Inflating U.S. Gigabit Broadband Availability
6. Deep Dive Shows FCC’s Covid Response Was Largely Theatrical Nonsense
7. SpaceX won “rural” FCC funding in surprising places, like major airports
8. Space X Gets $886 Million From FCC To Put Very Small Dent In U.S. Broadband Gaps
9. Senator tries to block Frontier’s FCC funding, citing ISP’s various failures
10. Consumer Groups Say The FCC Just Blew $9 Billion To Deliver Broadband To Already Served Rich People
11. The Cost Of Broadband Is Too Damned High
12. Can Broadband Policy Help Create A More Equitable And inclusive Economy And Society Instead Of The Reverse?
13. Stupid Cable TV Retrans Feuds And Blackouts Make Their Way To Streaming TV
14. AT&T sells Crunchyroll to Sony for $1.2B amid “streamlining” efforts
15. Untouchable No More: Reinforcements Arrive for TCPA Defendants Battling the FCC’s Aggressive Expansion of the Statute
16. The other shoe drops: court holds SCOTUS didn’t find TCPA unconstitutional after all
17. The FCC Reverses Course—Finds Government Contractors Subject to the TCPA
18. Georgia executive order requires telework, virtual conduct of business

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

1.  Eve of destruction: Moral rights infringement and destroying works of art
2. Two Turntables, No Microphone: Using Technical Diagram Is Not Copyright Infringement
3. Brophy v. Belcalis Almanzar (California, Southern District 12.4.20): In lawsuit against Cardi B for using plaintiff’s back tattoo on cover of her album, court holds that transformative fair use is question for jury.
4. Atlantic Recording Corp. v. Spinrilla, LLC (Georgia ND, 10.30.20): Court finds that streaming constitutes “public performance” under Copyright Act and that defendant did not qualify for safe harbor protections under DMCA.
5. Lego’s copyright victory against Lepin in China
6. Ancestry.com Sued Over Yearbook Pic Database
7. Copyright Trolling/SEO Scam, Changing The Photo Credits On Wikimedia Commons
8. Is Your Company Accidentally Granting Implied Copyright Licenses?
9. House Passes PACER Bill As Budget Office Says It Will Cost Less Than $1 Million A Year To Provide Free Access To Court Documents
10. US House passes bill to tear down judiciary’s paywall 
11. APIs front and centre in age of digital interconnectivity 
12. Why Canadian trademark owners should consider whether international registration is right for them 
13. Trademarks Office to allow expedited examination for COVID-related goods and services 
14. The Swiss Shield: A Trademark Registration Is a Defence to Damages Even if Later Invalidated 
15. French Film Company Somehow Trademarks ‘Planet’, Goes After Environmental NGOs For Using The Word 
16. A Rare Case of a Judge Relying on the Initial Interest Confusion Doctrine (Boo)–Nike v. Warren Lotas (Eric Goldman)
17. Battling Bubbles: Beverage Behemoth Coors Defeats Upstart Future Proof’s Motion for a Preliminary Injunction
18. Dishonest Abe? Trademark Battle erupts over THE LINCOLN PROJECT
19. Trade mark rights IN THE RED!
20. Owner of ‘Derby Pie’ Trademark Sues Newspaper For Using The Term, Publishing Recipe 
21. Tasty Trademarks: An Analysis of the Canadian Trademark Applications Covering Taste
22. Trademarks: 1 registration for 107 member states and 123 territories: trinidad and tobago has joined the international trademark system
23. Judge Upholds “Willful and Malicious” Trade-Secret Misappropriation Verdict in Produce Preservation Case
24. Judge Rakoff Sanctions Patentee for Sharing Confidential Documents with Counsel in Overseas Trade Secret Case 
25. Recently Filed Lawsuit by Trinseo Highlights the Potential for the Rapid Spread of Misappropriated Trade Secrets 
26. Ontario Court Affirms the Enforceability of Patent No-Challenge Clauses 
27. Federal Circuit Compels Transfer of Ownership of Japanese Patent Applications
28. Today’s No Patent Challenge Provisions in License Agreements 
29. What are the rules around software patents?
30. The Unified patent court and unitary patent – Introduction
31. Top Section 101 Patent Eligibility Stories of 2020
32. The UK Supreme Court, patent infringement, and the challenges of judging IP cases: In conversation with Lord Neuberger
33. World Trade Organization Considers IP Rights for Covid Vaccines
34. Software development intellectual property joint ventures
35. Intellectual property infringement on the rise

PRIVACY

1. Oh, Canada! Government Proposes New Federal Privacy Law with Enhanced Individual Rights and Hefty Fines
2. Privacy Limits on Employee Background Checks in Ontario
3. What’s “So” Important: Computer Fraud and Abuse Act Gets a Close Look from SCOTUS
4. Supreme Court Says Muslim Men Can Sue The FBI For Placing Them On The No-Fly List For Refusing To Become Informants
5. Apple, Cloudflare Join Forces To Encrypt DNS
6. New Report Shows Cellphone Encryption Isn’t Really Stopping Cops From Searching Phones
7. Up to 3 million devices infected by malware-laced Chrome and Edge add-ons
8. Brave browser-maker launches privacy-friendly news reader
9. 4 major browsers are getting hit in widespread malware attacks 
10. Regulatory Crackdown on Ransomware
11. IoT Goes Federal under Newly Signed Law
12. Yes, data privacy regulations apply to IoT devices too
13. As Voice Recognition Technology Market Surges, Organizations Face Privacy and Cybersecurity Concerns
14. RCMP commits to changes in how it collects, uses information about protesters
15. Home Depot’s Agrees to Multistate Settlement Related to 2014 Breach – The Cost: $17.5 Million and Updated Cybersecurity Requirements
16. Augmented reality and e-commerce: IP implications of a powerful alliance
17. Biden Faces Early Test on Digital Trade With EU Privacy Talks
18. Schrems II is a Board / CEO-Level issue because
19. Top 5 Privacy Developments in 2020 and 5 More to Prepare for in 2021

Jon

GAMES

1. Activision lawsuit accuses Netflix of poaching CFO 
2. Activision sues Netflix for poaching former CFO: Suit alleges Netflix incited Spencer Neumann to break his contract to become CFO of Netflix
3. Consumer rights groups launch joint investigation into Nintendo Switch Joy-Con drift
4. Nintendo Plays ‘Control Inception’, Cancelling Splatoon Broadcast After Teams Protest Canceling Smash Bros. Tourney
5. Ubisoft names VP of global diversity and inclusion to improve workplace culture
6. Bale and Ibrahimovic’s responses to FIFA 21 echoes the complications of sports person’s image rights
7. Cyberpunk 2077 features epileptic triggers
8. Cyberpunk 2077 under fire for epileptic triggers
9. Cyberpunk 2077 could trigger seizures in photosensitive players
10. CD Projekt adding seizure warning to Cyberpunk after reporter finds multiple triggers
11. Cyberpunk 2077 is equal parts beautiful and messy
12. Highlights from the Foreign Investment Review Committee’s Town Hall with the Investment Review Division and Cultural Sector Investment Review
13. Newsflash: Update on Epic Games’ dispute with Apple
14. Epic Games is ditching in-person Fortnite events in 2021
15. Twitch harassment policy update aims to focus less on intent, more on impact
16. Twitch revises hateful conduct and harassment policy
17. Twitch Institutes Sweeping Changes To ‘Harassment And Hateful Conduct’ Policies, Beginning Jan. 22
18. Twitch removes ‘blind playthrough’ tag after feedback over ableist language
19. BioWare studio GM and Dragon Age lead are both leaving company
20. GM Casey Hudson, Dragon Age executive producer Mark Darrah depart BioWare
21. Next-gen consoles helped raise GameStop’s November store sales by 16.5%
22. GameStop has closed 462 stores so far this year, 783 in last two years
23. Did Genshin Impact swipe an opportunity from under Nintendo’s nose? | Opinion
24. Small developers and creators can now use FMOD Studio for free
25. Modio raises $4 million to grow its cross-platform modding service
26. Destiny 2 will open up cross-platform play in 2021
27. Platform share, platform share, platform share!
28. SIE head pushes back against claims that PlayStation is deprioritizing Japan
29. How Young Horses leveraged PS5’s unique features in Bugsnax
30. Xbox to expand cloud gaming beta to iOS and PC in 2021
31. Xbox cloud gaming service hits iOS, Windows PCs in spring 2021
32. Xbox Game Pass cloud streaming arrives for iOS, PC next spring
33. Stadia expands to 8 more European countries
34. Analyst: Research reveals 4 in 5 consumers don’t know what cloud gaming can offer
35. Facebook launches Black Gaming Creator Program
36. Ubisoft appoints former Uber D&I head as VP of global diversity and inclusion
37. 72% of all 2020 mobile revenue generated by games at $81bn
38. Digital Black Friday sales jump almost 50% over 2019 l UK Download Charts
39. Honor of Kings once again tops mobile game spending charts in November
40. World of Warcraft: Shadowlands sells 3.7 million copies in 24 hours
41. Call of Duty has brought in $3 billion in past year
42. Call of Duty made $3 billion for Activision in 12 months
43. Fashion x Gaming: Fashion Catches the Gaming Bug
44. Lumikai invests $1m in Bombay Play
45. MTG acquires Hutch for an expected $375 million
46. MTG acquires UK mobile studio Hutch Games for initial $275 million
47. Kalypso Media fully acquires Realmforge Studios
48. MyGames grabs minority stakes in three mobile studios
49. Control has sold more than 2m units
50. Aglet raises $4.5m for location-based sneaker game
51. Tencent invests in Wizard Games
52. ZeniMax Online Studios forms new satellite studio in San Diego
53. Gfinity acquires Epicstream as it seeks growth amid financial troubles
54. Starbreeze has paid off most of its creditors
55. Payday maker Starbreeze settles debts with majority of creditors
56. A word from a Destiny 2 acolyte | Why I Love
57. A look back at the storied history of action RPG Torchlight
58. Metal Gear Solid film reportedly will star Oscar Isaac
59. FIFA 21 holds No.1 during Cyber Monday sales week | UK Boxed Charts
60. Halo Infinite delayed to Fall of 2021
61. Halo Infinite gets new fall 2021 release date
62. Minecraft tops YouTube’s list of most watched games of 2020
63. Not all Steam wishlists are created equal: GameDiscoverCo’s Simon Carless explores why developers are seeing wildly different conversion rates of wishlists after launch
64. Manticore bolsters Core platform with ‘creator-friendly’ Perks monetization
65. Manticore announces a 50% revenue share for users of its Core game creation platform
66. Facebook Launches ‘Black Gaming Creator Program’ With Monthly Pay, Other Perks
67. More Than 350 Gaming Creators Hit 10 Million Subscribers In 2020, YouTube Says
68. Wendy’s Teams With Tfue, Myth, Flight23white, itsHafu, And xChocoBars For ‘Never Stop Gaming’ Menu
69. Epic won’t hold in-person Fortnite events in 2021
70. FaZe Clan Launches ‘FaZe Academy’ Talent Incubator, Through Which All Future Recruits Must Pass
71. FTC Sues Facebook Over Alleged Monopolization – What it Could Mean for Oculus
72. Wacom Unveils VR Pen Built for “the next creative future”
73. A deep dive into the making of King of Cards’ Joustus mini-game
74. Case study: making Core Defense a solo dev success
75. Blog: Six mistakes that’ll drain the ‘Juice’ out of your game
76. Blog: Understanding pain points in game design
77. Blog: Using luck to your advantage in marketing
78. Blog: Building a mono profiler for Unity
79. Video: The cost of doing nothing about trolls
80. Video: The efficient art direction of Tooth and Tail
81. Best of 2020: How a new wave of developers are using voxels to create jaw-dropping worlds
82. Best of 2020: Iran video games timeline – from 1970 to 2019
83. Best of 2020: Leveraging physical animation to sell Force powers in Jedi: Fallen Order
84. Best of 2020: How deeply personal RPG The Wagadu Chronicles explores new realms of Afrofantasy

DIGITAL

1. The FTC, 48 Attorneys General File Antitrust Lawsuits Against Facebook
2. FTC, 47 states file suits to break up Instagram and WhatsApp from Facebook
3. Feds say Facebook broke US law offering permanent jobs to H-1B workers
4. Open Season: FTC & 48 Attorneys General File Separate Antitrust Lawsuits Against Facebook
5. The tech industry needs regulation for its systemically important companies
6. Trump Doubles Down On Threat To Defund Military Because People Are Mean To Him Online; Republicans Threaten To Override His Veto
7. Trump Makes It Official: He’s Going To Pull Military Funding, Because Congress Won’t Kill The Open Internet
8. Senator Tillis Is Mad That Twitter Won’t Testify About Copyright Infringement; Since When Is Twitter A Piracy Problem?
9. Dead Celebrities and Digital Doppelgangers: New York Expands Its Right of Publicity Statute and Tackles Sexually Explicit Deepfakes
10. Rebekah Vardy v Coleen Rooney: What next in the war of the WAGs?
11. Court Again Enjoins Anti-TikTok Executive Order–TikTok v. US (Eric Goldman)
12. Google parts with top AI researcher after blocking paper, faces blowback
13. Google illegally spied on and retaliated against workers, feds say
14. YouTube bans videos claiming Trump won
15. Google and YouTube Aren’t “Censoring” Breitbart Comments–Belknap v. Alphabet (Eric Goldman)
16. It’s Meshugenah to Operate a Streaming Mixtape Site–Atlantic v. Spinrilla (Eric Goldman)
17. Section 230 Protects Amazon from Manufacturer’s Ad Copy–Brodie v. Amazon (Eric Goldman)
18. CRM Software Vendor Didn’t Qualify for Section 230–Tan v. Konnektive (Eric Goldman)
19. Biden’s Top Tech Advisor Trots Out Dangerous Ideas For ‘Reforming’ Section 230
20. Content Moderation Case Study: Google’s Photo App Tags Photos Of Black People As ‘Gorillas’ (2015)
21. Content Moderation Case Study: Scammers Targeting Scrabble Chat (2020)
22. Reform The DMCA? OK, But Only If It’s Done Really, Really Carefully
23. Pornhub under investigation by Visa, MasterCard amid abuse allegations
24. Pornhub blocks uploads and downloads in crackdown on child-sexual-abuse videos
25. Social media bet on labels to combat election misinformation. Trump proved it’s not enough
26. Tackling misinformation: What researchers could do with social media data
27. Toward a Digital Economy That’s Truly Collaborative, Not Exploitative
28. 2021 predictions: increased regulation of online platforms
29. Debate: Is open scholarship even possible with Zoom?
30. After years of fighting it, Nest will work with Samsung’s SmartThings
31. Amazon Sues Social Media Influencers for Promoting Counterfeit Goods
32. Amazon and U.S. IPR Center announce “Operation Fulfilled Action”
33. YouTube Finally Bans Content Endorsing Election Conspiracies
34. YouTube Will Now Support ‘High Dynamic Range’ Video Quality For Live Streams
35. YouTube Wants To Use Creators’ Data To See If Its Algorithms Target Marginalized People
36. Influencer marketing Q&A
37. Logan Paul Will Fight Floyd Mayweather In An Exhibition Match On February 20
38. Juanpa Zurita, Kyle Exum, NikkieTutorials, More To Bestow First-Ever ‘Streamys Creator Honors’
39. Charli D’Amelio Invests In Teen-Targeted Banking Startup ‘Step,’ Which Just Raised $50 Million
40. How Much More Money Do Creators Make During the Holidays?
41. Loren Gray, TikTok’s Fourth Biggest Creator, Debuts ‘&Always’ Jewelry Brand
42. For Its Latest Drop, Startup ‘Stir’ Blindly Paired Creators To Collab On Custom Face Masks
43. Brands Taking Stands: Six Non-Negotiable Tenets For 2021
44. Where Netflix goes, the world follows – BBFC suggests that all streaming sites should introduce age-ratings in the UK
45. AT&T, HBO Put Another Bullet In Antiquated Theatrical Release Windows
46. Warner Bros. will release entire 2021 film slate in theaters and on HBO Max
47. Georgia Court Streams Ridiculous ‘Kraken’ Lawsuit Hearing On YouTube; Then Tells People They Can’t Repost Recordings
48. Federal Court System Pushes Back Against Free Access To Court Documents
49. Trial by Webex, but Not Zoom?
50. In narrow ruling, law firm escapes liability for not thwarting real estate cyber-scam
51. B.C. Technology Sector Makes the Grade – But Not Yet Top of the Class
52. Apple’s new AirPods Max over-ear headphones cost $549
53. Apple’s Failure To Ensure Backwards Compatibility In Big Sur Leaves Developers Quite Sour
54. Enrollment opens for Apple’s fee-reducing Small Business Program
55. Google promises “spectacular” city GPS improvement with 3D building data
56. New RISC-V CPU claims recordbreaking performance per watt
57. Quantum device performs 2.6 billion years of computation in 4 minutes
58. Google’s secretive Fuchsia OS is open for contributions
59. Lidar startup goes public, makes founder a billionaire
60. “A damn stupid thing to do”—the origins of C
61. Grand theft GPU: $340,000 worth of RTX 3090s “fell off a truck” in China

A.I.

1. Is Canada on the Brink of AI and Diagnostics Patent Rush?
2. Use of patents in artificial intelligence: What does the new CIPO report say?
3. Intellectual property rights to AI works: The EP proposal
4. Artificial Intelligence and Creativity: Why We’re Against Copyright Protection for AI-Generated Output (Creative Commons)
5. New York Schools Putting Students In The Crosshairs Of Tech That Targets Minorities, Thinks Broom Handles Are Guns
6. Executive Order 13960 Establishes Government-wide Principles for its Use of AI
7. AI Update: New Executive Order on Promoting the Use of Artificial Intelligence in Federal Agencies Pushes Developing Public Trust for Future Expansion
8. Shining a Headlight on AI Blindspots
9. Guidance on artificial intelligence and data protection
10. This Arizona college student has taken over 60 driverless Waymo rides
11. Uber abandons dreams of self-driving domination, sells self-driving unit
12. The A.I. behind unique ‘interactive reality TV’ game Rival Peak
13. Looking ahead to 2021: AI – A brave new world?

COMMUNICATIONS

1. The Broadcasting Act Blunder, Day 11: The “Regulate Everything” Approach – Licence or Registration Required (Michael Geist)
2. The Broadcasting Act Blunder, Day 12: The “Regulate Everything” Approach – The CRTC Conditions (Michael Geist)
3. The Broadcasting Act Blunder, Day 13: The “Regulate Everything” Approach – Targeting Individual Services (Michael Geist)
4. The Broadcasting Act Blunder, Day 14: The Risk to Canadian Ownership of Intellectual Property (Michael Geist)
5. Broadcast Reform Bill Could Spell the End of Canadian Ownership Requirements (Michael Geist)
6. The Trump FCC Has Failed To Protect Low-Income Americans During A Health Crisis
7. GOP Confirms Unqualified Simington to FCC With Eye On Crippling Biden FCC
8. GOP clinches 2-2 deadlock for Biden FCC as Senate approves Trump nominee
9. With Simington Vote, The GOP And Big Telecom Maneuver To Cripple The Biden FCC
10. McConnell pushes Trump nominee toward vote that would deadlock Biden FCC
11. A New White House, a New FCC
12. $125,000 FCC Penalty to Broadcaster for Tower Structure and Contest Rule Violations – Including Violation of Rule Against Broadcasting Seemingly Live Recorded Programming Without Informing Listeners
13. FCC Starts Rulemaking on Possible Adoption of GeoBroadcast Solutions Zonecasting Proposal to Allow FM Boosters to Originate Limited Amounts of Programming
14. FCC Terminates Proceeding to Dedicate TV Channel in Each Market to Unlicensed Wireless Use
15. FCC acts on blocking one-ring scam calls
16. SpaceX gets $886 million from FCC to subsidize Starlink in 35 states
17. The FCC, 2.5 GHz Spectrum, And The Tribal Priority Window: Something Positive Amid The COVID-19 Pandemic
18. Facing Massive Subscriber Defections AT&T Chooses: Rate Hikes & New, Bogus Fees
19. Somehow, 5G Paranoia Is Only Getting Dumber
20. Largest Auction for 5G Spectrum Starts Today! 
21. What’s New in 5G – December 2020
22. U.S. Broadband Speeds Jumped 90% in 2020. But No, It Had Nothing To Do With Killing Net Neutrality.
23. Benton Study Again Shows How ‘Open Access’ Broadband Networks Can Drive Competition, Improve Service
24. Colorado’s Broadband Internet Doesn’t Have to Be Rocky
25. Insurer Can’t Mute TV Station’s Recovery for $25 Million Malpractice Claim
26. Verizon has been leaking customers’ personal information for days (at least)
27. Samsung finally starts its Android 11 rollout, three months after release 
28. UK Government proposes laws to implement Huawei equipment ban and stricter telecommunications security controls
29. A good day for UltraHD: HBO Max, The Lord of the Rings will stream in 4K HDR

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

1. Linking and Copyright Law in the European Union – Where do we go from here?
2. Another Court Says Embedding Instagram Photos May Be Fair Use–Boesen v. United Sports (Eric Goldman)
3. 576 German Artists Want EU Copyright Directive Made Worse, With No Exceptions For Memes Or Mashups
4. Nancy Pelosi Sells Out The Public: Agrees To Put Massive Copyright Reform In ‘Must Pass’ Spending Bill
5. ACLU Tells Congress: Do Not Add Copyright Trolling Bill To Government Funding Bill
6. Legendary MC5 Guitarist Wayne Kramer Doesn’t Like the Smell of Proctor & Gamble’s “Guitar Solo” Body Wash 
7. Taking down copycat websites and defending against cybersquatting
8. GSK v Teva – The Federal Circuit’s First Look at Skinny Labels and 35 U.S.C. 271(b)
9. Deus ex Machina Motorcycles Pty. Ltd. v. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. (Cal., 10.23.20): Dismissal of trademark claims of Australian motorcycle brand against MGM for use of mark in The Sun Is Also a Star.
10. The Bentley Clothing and Bentley Motors trade mark dispute: Take 2
11. Can a Company Own ‘Enby’? Sex Toy Company Sues Black/Trans-Owned Company for Trademark Infringement 
12. “Too many cooks… ‘Fit Kitchen’ trade mark infringed”
13. “Naked” at the Federal Circuit 
14. General Liability Insurer Must Defend Trademark and Other IP Claims 
15. Tips When Using the Madrid Protocol to Register a Trademark in Canada
16. Global brand expansion: Why Canadian trademark owners should consider whether international registration is right for them
17. First Circuit Reversal Highlights Importance of Satisfying Trade Secret Definition
18. Protecting trade secrets in the era of remote working 
19. Patent Term Extension in Canada: an Overview of Certificates of Supplemental Protection
20. 2020: A year of clarity for Canadian life sciences and software patents
21. Canadian Intellectual Property Office issues new guidelines for reviewing patent applications
22. Federal Court of Appeal clarifies standard for granting leave in NOC cases
23. Employment Law and Patent Law Collide: Federal Circuit Rules that California’s Non-Compete Restrictions Also Limit the Scope of Patent and Invention Assignment Clauses
24. Patent-Eligible Subject Matter in Biotech Should Recite More Than a “Telescope”
25. Deciding Whether Your Software Is Patentable
26. The UK Retains the Doctrine of Exhaustion of IP Rights After the Transition Period
27. IP Litigation Quarterly Update: Q3 2020

PRIVACY

1. A year featuring a flurry of Canadian privacy legislative reform
2. CPPA: identifying the inscrutable meaning and policy behind the de-identifying provisions
3. Long-awaited privacy reform welcomed by lawyers, could help bring national consistency
4. ICE Sends Subpoena To BuzzFeed, Hoping To Force It To Turn Over Its Sources
5. Patriot Act Used By The FBI To Collect Internet Browsing Data, Contradicting Claims Made To Oversight
6. Florida State Police Raid Home Of COVID Whistleblower, Point Guns At Her & Her Family, Seize All Her Computer Equipment
7. Nation-state backed hackers going after COVID vaccine supply chain
8. COVID-19 vaccine data has been unlawfully accessed in hack of EU regulator
9. Premiere security firm FireEye says it was breached by nation-state hackers
10. NSA says Russian state hackers are using a VMware flaw to ransack networks
11. Feds logged website visitors in 2019, citing Patriot Act authority
12. Massachusetts Poised To Become The Next State To (Temporarily) Ban Facial Recognition Tech
13. Federal Court Says Sanctions Are On The Way For Portland PD Over Violations Of Protest Restraining Orders
14. CBP’s warrantless use of cell phone location data is under investigation
15. After Being Notified Of Info It Should Have Already Been Aware Of, LAPD Bans Clearview Use By Investigators
16. Provision Added To Defense Bill That Would Make Federal Officers Policing Protests Identify Themselves
17. Cloudflare, Apple, and others back a new way to make the Internet more private
18. New Privacy Requirements for App Developers Using the Apple App Store
19. Settlement with App Developers Requires Limits on Collection and Use of Children’s Personal Information
20. Zoom’s FTC Settlement a Good Guidepost to Avoiding Data Security Missteps
21. FireEye cybersecurity tools compromised in state-sponsored attack
22. Is an IP address considered personal information?
23. Cyberattacks Discovered on Vaccine Distribution Operations
24. German Court Orders Encrypted Email Service Tutanota To Backdoor One Account
25. Lack of Standing: The Gift That Keeps on Giving for Defendants in Data Privacy Litigation
26. FTC “Zooms” Into Settlement Agreement with Communications Company Over Concerns with its Security Practices
27. Home Depot Enters Into Multistate $17.4 Million Settlement With State AGs Concerning Data Breach
28. Satellite company to pay over $200 million for telemarketing violations
29. International Data Transfers Post Schrems II: A Dance of Six Steps
30. Are law firms considered “processors” or “controllers” of the personal data that they collect from third parties as part of a representation of a client? 
31. Are barristers and solicitors “separate controllers” or “joint controllers?”
32. Solutionism, Surveillance, Borders and Infrastructures in the “Datafied Pandemic” 
33. Privacy in 2021: The Big Picture

Jon

GAMES

1. Twin Galaxies attacks Billy Mitchell as a fraud in new legal claims
2. Nicalis issues DMCA against free Cave Story games
3. Subverse developer under fire for partnering with racist YouTuber Arch
4. Supercell cancels Hay Day Pop
5. Supercell shutting down Hay Day Pop after less than a year 
6. ‘As abstract as killing people in a video game,’ doctor says of Alek Minassian’s mind
7. The Legality of Loot Boxes: A Primer
8. Fortnite’s Nexus War event could expose Twitch streamers to DMCA problems
9. Travis Scott reportedly grossed roughly $20m for Fortnite concert appearance
10. Fortnite’s Season 4 finale attracted a record 15.3 million concurrent players
11. Marvel finale was Fortnite’s biggest event ever at 15.3m concurrent users
12. Wallace & Gromit maker Aardman partners with Bandai Namco on new game franchise
13. What are the biggest changes impacting the games industry?
14. Survey finds gaming by Americans over 45 has spiked in 2020
15. Remote work is here to stay — but it won’t be cheap or easy
16. How meditation and cooperation shaped Vela Games
17. The Witcher 3 is the bedrock of CD Projekt Red’s financials one last time
18. Fall Guys developer Mediatonic opens new UK studio
19. How ‘buoyant’ Sega Europe is helping Sega Sammy stay afloat
20. EG7 acquires Daybreak
21. MechWarrior developer Piranha Games acquired by EG7 for $24.2 million
22. EG7 pens deal to acquire EverQuest and H1Z1 dev Daybreak for $300 million
23. Uri Geller retracts 20-year ban on Kadabra Pokémon trading cards
24. Super Nintendo World now opening in February
25. Universal Studios Japan will open Super Nintendo World in February
26. The PlayStation 5’s ‘Activities’ quick-select is Sony’s answer to common single player woes
27. PS5 comes out top in massive month for console sales | UK Monthly Charts
28. UK mobile game spending reaches new single-day record on Black Friday
29. Black Friday physical game sales drop 20% over 2019 l UK Boxed Sales
30. Worldwide digital games spending down 10% between Black Friday and Cyber Monday
31. Console remains largest employer of development staff in the UK
32. GTA5: A Living World Eyeing A Decade Of Rabid Play Instead Of Just A ‘Game’
33. TinyBuild invests $3m in Secret Neighbor developer Hologryph
34. Tinybuild sinks $3 million into Secret Neighbor developer Hologryph
35. Saudi Arabian charity Misk acquires 33.3% stake in SNK
36. Phoenix Labs expands to Montreal and LA
37. Dauntless dev Phoenix Labs opens two new studios to support growth
38. Remnant: From the Ashes tops 1.7 million base game sales in just over a year
39. Marvel’s Avengers fails to meet Square Enix sales targets
40. Playco charts a course to the billion-player mobile game
41. Krafton to consolidate Pnix and Delusion Studio into new studio, RisingWings
42. Was Activision Blizzard right to ignore mobile? | 10 Years Ago This Month
43. Cyberpunk 2077 pre-orders “visibly higher” than any Witcher title
44. CDPR will take down Cyberpunk 2077 streams & let’s plays aired before launch
45. Dead Cells sells over 3.5m copies
46. Dead Cells surpasses 3.5 million sold ahead of second DLC announce
47. Genshin Impact made almost $400m in two months on mobile
48. Genshin Impact wins iPhone Game of the Year
49. Apple picks Genshin Impact as its iPhone Game of the Year 
50. Google names Genshin Impact its best game of 2020
51. Bigger Games raises $6 million for casual puzzle games
52. Immortals: Fenyx Rising | Critical Consensus
53. Sonic The Hedgehog 2 movie expected to start production in March
54. That time Roger Ebert said games will never be as worthy as movies
55. ‘Interactive reality TV’ project Rival Peak launches on Facebook
56. We test Herman Miller’s $1,499 gaming chair: All business—to a fault
57. The Game Theorists Raise Staggering $3 Million For St. Jude During 9-Hour YouTube Stream
58. Food Publishers Surprisingly Didn’t Lean On Thanksgiving Video Content This Year
59. Sega unveils never-before-seen prototype ‘Venus’ handheld
60. BBTV Signs 5 International Gamers Who Count 23 Million Collective Subscribers
61. Esports platform Smashgg acquired by Microsoft
62. AR Mario Kart anchors Universal’s Super Nintendo World in February
63. VR spending to pass $1bn in 2020
64. Analyst: 2020 will see 6.4 million consumer VR headsets sold, spending surpass $1bn 
65. Blog: A pre-postmortem about marketing
66. Blog: Key ingredients for compelling video game characters 
67. Q&A: Hand-painting the watercolor world of Dordogne
68. Video: A look at Insomniac Games’ cache simulator
69. Video: Lessons from Sony Interactive Entertainment’s localization process
70. Don’t Miss: Using procedural destruction to unleash chaos in Control
71. Don’t Miss: Why do devs love Slack, and how do they get the most out of it?
72. Best of 2020: Rebuilding a classic in Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition
73. Best of 2020: Behind the dizzying ride to the top for Among Us

DIGITAL

1. Increased Web Page Accessibility Requirements for Private and Non-Profit Organizations in Ontario Come into Effect in 2021 and AODA Accessibility Report Due Date Extended
2. Utter Insanity: Trump Lawyer Suggests Former Trump Cybersecurity Official Should Be ‘Taken Out And Shot’ For Saying The Election Was Secure
3. Just As #DiaperDon Starts Trending, Trump Claims That Twitter Uses ‘Fake’ Trends, Calls For ‘Termination’ Of Section 230
4. Trump Promises To Defund The Entire Military, If Congress Won’t Let Him Punish The Internet For Being Mean To Him
5. Trump to Congress: Repeal Section 230 or I’ll veto military funding
6. White House Still Pushing To Slip Section 230 Repeal Into ‘Must Pass’ Military Spending Bill
7. Congress Decides To Ignore Trump’s Ridiculous Veto Threat If Military Authorization Doesn’t Wipe Out Section 230
8. New Ebook on Zeran v. AOL, the Most Important Section 230 Case (Eric Goldman)
9. Twitter To Relaunch Account Verification In 2021
10. Pinterest shareholders sue firm over rampant gender, race discrimination
11. Federal Court Strikes Down California’s Ban On ‘Offensive’ License Plates
12. European regulator hits Apple with a fine over iPhone water-resistance claims
13. Amazon to roll out tools to monitor factory workers and machines
14. Amazon Web Services adds macOS on bare metal to EC2
15. Amazon to pay employee bonus amid threat of Black Friday strikes
16. Oracle vulnerability that executes malicious code is under active attack
17. Cases against Facebook are reportedly coming… when FTC decides how
18. Facebook Gaming Introduces Non-Gaming Content Hub For Partners Called ‘Hanging Out’
19. Facebook’s libra currency to launch next year in limited format
20. Lilly Singh, Liza Koshy, More Hosted Instagram Live Fundraisers For ‘Giving Tuesday’
21. The Material Conditions of Platforms: Monopolization Through Decentralization
22. 512(f) Claim Against Robo-Notice Sender Can Proceed–Enttech v. Okularity (Eric Goldman)
23. Content Moderation Case Study: Reclaiming A Hashtag (2020)
24. Is Free Speech Online About To Get A Lot Less Free?
25. Salesforces buys Slack for $27.7bn
26. Salesforce to acquire Slack in $27.7 billion deal
27. Salesforce strikes deal to acquire Slack for $27.7 billion
28. Snapchat Taps Michael Le, Dytto To Host Interactive Dance Series, With Potential For Viewers To Monetize (Trailer)
29. How to restore moral and technical order in a time of misinformation
30. As a Service | Selling to consumers using a subscription model
31. Platform Regulation Should Focus on Transparency, Not Content
32. New Tech Regulation for the UK? Sounds familiEUr…
33. New York Passes Wide-Ranging Automatic Renewal (Subscription Model) Law
34. The risks and rewards of influencer marketing
35. Influencer Philanthropy and Social Media – What are the Rules, What are Best Practices?
36. Bella Poarch, The #YouHaveTo Hashtag, “Savage Love” Top TikTok’s Biggest Trends Of 2020
37. TikTok Users Can Now Auto-Skip Videos That Might Trigger Photosensitive Epilepsy
38. TikTok Is Reportedly Testing 3-Minute Videos
39. I Turn My Camera on. Notes on the Aesthetics of Tiktok
40. YouTube Suspends ‘OANN’ From Monetization, Strikes Channel For Repeated COVID Misinformation
41. YouTube Teams With British Vogue For ‘Masterclass’ Series Starring Fashion Experts, Influencers, More
42. How old, ambient Japanese music became a smash hit on YouTube
43. Creators Can Now Host Live Pre-Shows, Embed Trailers Ahead Of Their YouTube Video ‘Premieres’
44. Top 50 Most Viewed US YouTube Channels • Week Of 11/30/2020
45. Top 50 Most Viewed YouTube Channels Worldwide • Week Of 11/30/2020
46. YouTube’s Latest Original Is A Charitable ‘Secret Santa’ Exchange With AsapSCIENCE, Molly Burke, More
47. Jake Paul Says He’s In Talks To Fight UFC Champ Conor McGregor
48. Washington considers digital advertising tax
49. Big Tech’s carbon problem: Energy-guzzling data centres and supply chains mean our online lives leave a heavy environmental footprint.
50. Google, the Media Patron: How the Digital Giant Ensnares Journalism
51. Is Google Really the Borg?
52. ‘The Queen’s Gambit’ Becomes Netflix’s Most-Watched Limited Scripted Series, 4th Biggest TV Show Overall
53. Taylor Swift Re-Teams With Disney+ For ‘Folkore’ Concert Documentary
54. As organizations accelerate their digital transformation initiatives, they are increasingly embracing the power, affordability and versatility of open source software.
55. Perpetually Missing from Tech Policy: ISPs And The IoT
56. Choose your movies and also their endings!

A.I.

1. DeepMind AI handles protein folding, which humbled previous software
2. Amazon inquiry after Alexa accused of antisemitism
3. Amazon’s Alexa accused of sharing anti-Semitic conspiracies, Holocaust denial
4. The Time Has Come for International Regulation on Artificial Intelligence’
5. A robot’s muse: when AI creates art
6. AI inventors? Why should we care?
7. Thinking outside the black box: explainable AI is coming into focus
8. Artificial Intelligence and Recruitment – how to address the pitfalls
9. Artificial intelligence, robotics and automation: The best or the worst thing to ever happen to humanity?
10. The use of artificial intelligence: interesting technological developments in the legal and accountancy sectors
11. AI can run your work meetings now
12. The Full Automation Fallacy
13. Speaking to algorithms? Rhetorical political analysis as technological analysis
14. Deciding what’s fair
15. A “Light Touch” Regulatory Framework for AI – Transparency at the Heart of AI Regulation
16. Machines as Manifestations of Global Systems: Steps toward a Sociometabolic Ontology of Technology
17. Artificial Intelligence, Aesthetics, and Future of Culture
18. AI did it My Way

COMMUNICATIONS

1. The Broadcasting Act Blunder, Day Six: The Beginning of the End of Canadian Broadcast Ownership and Control Requirements (Michael Geist)
2. The Broadcasting Act Blunder, Day Seven: Beware Bill C-10’s Unintended Consequences (Michael Geist)
3. The Broadcasting Act Blunder, Day 8: The Unnecessary Discoverability Requirements (Michael Geist)
4. The Broadcasting Act Blunder, Day 9: Why Use Cross-Subsidies When the Government is Rolling Out Tech Tax Policies? (Michael Geist)
5. The Broadcasting Act Blunder, Day 10: Downgrading the Role of Canadians in their Own Programming (Michael Geist)
6. Ajit Pai announces departure from FCC after four-year deregulatory blitz
7. Ajit Pai, Easily The Most Controversial FCC Boss In History, Will Step Down January 20
8. Senate rushes to confirm Trump FCC nominee in order to hinder Biden admin
9. FCC agenda meeting to evaluate items of interest for manufacturers and operators of radiofrequency equipment 
10. FCC Makes More Spectrum Available in 5.9 GHz Band for Unlicensed Use 
11. President-Elect Biden Announces FCC Transition Team 
12. FCC Proposes $20,000 Fine for TV Station Program-Length Commercial in Children’s Programming
13. FCC Adopts New Program Carriage Complaint Procedures
14. Comcast Increases Prices And Bogus Fees In The Middle Of A Pandemic 
15. Verizon, NYC Settle Lawsuit Over Verizon’s Empty Fiber Promises
16. Verizon wiring up 500K homes with FiOS to settle years-long fight with NYC 
17. In the Conversion to NextGen TV, Who is Responsible for the Content of the Simulcast Streams?
18. More Subsidies Alone Won’t Fix What Ails U.S. Broadband
19. Broadband and the UK’s National Infrastructure Strategy

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

1.  Nicki Minaj Safeguards the Right for Artists to Experiment with Unlicensed Work
2. Skateboard Graphic Artist Sues Jack Black, Tony Hawk, and The Berrics for Copyright Infringement of Skateboard Graphic Design
3. PewDiePie’s “My Heart Will Go On”: A Case Study in the DMCA and YouTube’s Copyright Dispute Process (Part I)
4. Peace does not get a chance
5. Supermodel Sues for Alleged Unauthorized Use of Her Likeness 
6. The EU Commission better get its skates on when it comes to copyright
7. World’s Worst Copyright Troll, Richard Liebowitz, Suspended From Practicing Law
8. ‘Tis The Season: Congress Looks To Sneak In Unconstitutional Copyright Reform Bill Into ‘Must Pass’ Spending Bill
9. Circumventing technological protection measures and website blocking orders: An EU perspective
10. Ferrari Wins Legal Case Against Designer Philipp Plein’s Use Of Its Supercars, But He Says It’s Not Over
11. Philipp Plein Loses Court Battle Against Ferrari Over Illegal Use of Its Brand
12. How the Freddy copycat fashion case opens up new options for designers
13. Nevermind: Who Really Owns Nirvana’s Iconic Smiley Face Design? 
14. From football stadiums to railway stations…covering the bigger picture with registered designs
15. When Trademarks Get Messi: Likelihood of Confusion and Leo Messi’s Big European Trademark Win 
16. Deus ex Machina Motorcycles Pty. Ltd. v. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc.
17. AMERICAN EAGLE found to infringe EAGLE RARE trade mark in the UK
18. EUIPO: What’s in the name…………… Hamilton!
19. A Butler cannot be Royal!
20. Minimalist trademarks: trend to follow or end of the road for uniqueness?
21. The Burberry case: influencers, rappers and VIPs, watch out for improper use and associations to reputed brands
22. A guide to trade mark revocation for legacy brands
23. Snap Removal in Trade Secret Cases
24. Risks and rewards of trade secrets in Europe
25. Patenting antibody-based biologics in Canada
26. Federal Circuit Confirms That “Magnetic Fuzz” Is Too Fuzzy for a Patent Claim 
27. Working from home — does it affect patent ownership for employee inventions?
28. It’s a Date – Twitter Reply Proves Prior Art Publication Date 
29. Effectively using experts in IP litigation part two: practice 
30. (S)he´s making a list, (S)he´s checking it twice: An IP due diligence checklist for the holidays – or any time 

PRIVACY

1.  Proposed Canadian Privacy Bill Introduces Fines and New Requirements for Private Organizations
2. Understanding the Draft Consumer Privacy Protection Act: A Summary of the Key Changes Proposed
3. French Gov’t Walks Back Proposal To Make Publishing Images Of Police Officers Illegal After Massive Protests Erupt Across The Nation
4. Once more unto the breach: The Supreme Court weighs in on a circuit split on what constitutes a hack 
5. New Orleans PD Finally Admits It Uses Facial Recognition Tech After Denying It For Years 
6. Autonomous vehicles and big data: Managing the personal information deluge 
7. Canada Re-enters the International Ring with Bold New Privacy Law Including Significant Fines
8. Post-Schrems II: European Data Protection Board’s Recommendations Bring Further Clarity and Practical Steps Regarding International Data Flows
9. Does Tor provide more benefit or harm? New paper says it depends
10. The Supreme Court will finally rule on controversial US hacking law

Jon

GAMES

1. Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Gareth Bale question use of likeness in FIFA
2. Mine, Mine, Mine! Nintendo Neuters The Cool Ways People, Groups Are Using ‘Animal Crossing’
3. Nintendo axes fan-run Smash tournament over online play mod
4. Nintendo orders cancellation of Smash Bros tournament over mod use: The Big House’s first online competition scrapped due to modified Melee that enables smoother online play
5. Nintendo lawsuit takes aim at yet another Nintendo Switch hack seller
6. Nintendo suing yet another Switch hack reseller: Amazon seller taken to court in platform holder’s ongoing fight against “serious, worsening international problem” of piracy
7. Super Mario Maker Wii U to be delisted, lose some online features in early 2021
8. Nintendo issues new Animal Crossing guidelines to keep politics out of the game
9. Nintendo publishes Animal Crossing guidelines for businesses: The platform holder asked organisations to “refrain from bringing politics” into New Horizons
10. Next-gen consoles have few answers to Argentina’s longstanding reliance on piracy: Argentina’s gamers approach next-gen with uncertainty, due to rising prices and the difficulty of turning to the black market
11. Bossa Studios confirms layoffs amid complaints against management
12. Game Workers Unite UK rebrands to IWGB Game Workers
13. Can game studios radically transform how they hire?
14. Does Apple’s 15% platform cut change the game?
15. Tim Sweeney on Apple’s 15% cut: “We’re not fighting for a lower commission” – Epic Games CEO says 30% commission “is not wrongful, it’s just a bad deal”
16. Epic adds a subscription service to Fortnite
17. Epic Games launches ‘Fortnite Crew’ monthly subscription plan
18. Epic Games’ MegaGrants program surpasses $60m in financial support
19. 100 Thieves Becomes First Brand To Take Over Fortnite’s Creative Hub
20. Twitch’s No Good, Very Bad Time Continues: Part 2
21. Twitch Co-Founder Kevin Lin Departs Company After 12 Years: “I Will Build Again”
22. The New York Times Is Broadcasting Collaborative Crosswords On Twitch
23. This Streamer Took The Sims’ Lack Of Diversity Into Her Own Hands — And Then Became An Advisor To EA
24. EA publishes first annual Impact Report: Report includes company demographic breakdown; 50% of EA Studios leadership is female
25. GamesIndustry.biz writer Rebekah Valentine wins Journalist of the Year at GameHERs Awards: First year of the GameHERs recognises “women in all aspects of gaming”
26. Harassment costs this industry too much | Opinion: From dollars to basic human decency, the status quo of online multiplayer gaming is taking a heavy toll
27. Square Enix confirms Avengers missed expectations
28. Square Enix to implement permanent work-from-home program in December
29. Square Enix shifts all eligible staff to permanent remote working
30. Pokémon Go restores social distancing benefits to the game
31. The $70 AAA price point — it’s about time | Opinion: No consumer is going to be enthused about a price rise, but 15 years of $60 has done no favours to either gamers or creators
32. Bandai Namco invests $3m in avatars creator Genies
33. The ultimate guide to selling your indie game: Network N’s James Binns laid out the strategy and tactics indies should follow to sell more games
34. 5 years below minimum wage: the financial history of Awesomenauts dev Ronimo 
35. Roblox files for IPO: Kid-focused, user-generated content platform has not yet turned a profit despite skyrocketing DAUs, bookings
36. Lightfox Games raises $3.3m: March Gaming leads seed round to fund more accessible midcore games
37. Seattle mobile studio Lightfox nets $3.3 million to bring debut title to market
38. Report: Activision Blizzard laying off staff at Asia-Pacific offices
39. More layoffs expected at Activision-Blizzard, this time at APAC offices: Company confirms around 30 employees face redundancy following announcement it needed to hire over 2,000
40. Netease Q3 strengthened by multiple mobile game releases in China
41. Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War was the real No.1 last week | UK Digital Charts: Assassin’s Creed enjoyed one of its biggest weeks to-date
42. Hitman developer IO Interactive teases Project 007: James Bond licence emerges from stealth and will be used to tell a brand new origin story
43. Red Dead Online gets a stand-alone release
44. Rockstar is turning Red Dead Online into a standalone game
45. Crowded field of racers drives Codemasters revenues up
46. Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity ships 3 million
47. Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin tops 500,000 digital sales and shipments
48. Genshin Impact leads October digital game spending
49. Piranha Games acquired by Enad Global 7
50. Learning platform Kahoot acquires language game dev Drops for $50 million
51. Keywords Studios acquires marketing agency G-Net Media
52. Supercell invests $2.8m in 2UP Games
53. As World of Warcraft enters the Shadowlands: “Why should it ever end?”: John Hight and Morgan Day share how the World of Warcraft team is still building on its MMORPG 16 years after launch
54. Yakuza: Like a Dragon’s turn-based combat came from an April Fools joke that went too well
55. Aiming to curb DMCAs, CDPR builds copyrighted music toggle into Cyberpunk 2077
56. ‘Cyberpunk 2077’ Has A Built-In Mode For Content Creators That Disables Copyrighted Music
57. Ridiculous: ‘Cyberpunk 2077’ Will Ship With A Mode Just To Help Streamers Avoid DMCA Notices
58. The bulk of CD Projekt’s $27.9 million in Q3 revenue came from The Witcher 3
59. Nvidia developed a radically different way to compress video calls
60. Nvidia sidesteps the App Store to bring GeForce Now game streaming to iOS
61. Analysis: Nvidia GeForce Now cloud gaming service comes to iOS
62. Stadia plans to bypass App Store with web app iOS launch
63. Google Stadia begins public iOS test in a few weeks: With Apple blocking games streaming via apps, Google moves Stadia to Safari as a web app
64. Controller use on Steam has doubled in past two years
65. Controller use on Steam has ‘more than doubled’ since 2018
66. Steam beefs up DualSense support with LED, rumble, and more
67. The anatomy of a Steam sale
68. “The time is right to re-evaluate open worlds. We can do better”
69. Unknown 9’s multimedia awakening
70. The forgotten Flash Website movement (when websites were ‘the new emerging artform’)
71. GeForce Now arrives on iOS via Safari: Nvidia gets around App Store’s game streaming policies with a beta version of browser-based offering, will soon add support for GOG storefront titles
72. PS5 is biggest console launch in history
73. PlayStation 5 delivers ‘biggest console launch ever’ for Sony
74. PlayStation 5 sold almost six times as many units as Xbox Series X|S in Japan: Sony’s consoles sold 118,085 units in four days, while Microsoft’s machines sold 20,534 in six days
75. Spider-Man: Miles Morales is PS5’s biggest launch game as Call of Duty grabs No.1 | UK Boxed Charts
76. Scalpers and bots reportedly driving PS5 shortages
77. Xbox Series X/S vs. PlayStation 5: Our launch-month verdict
78. Microsoft: Bethesda Games Will Be ‘First, Best’ On Xbox, PC
79. Xbox experimenting with how to pay studios for Game Pass “because we don’t think we have it figured out
80. What agreements land games on Game Pass? Xbox head says they’re ‘all over the place’
81. How to turn your Xbox Series X/S into an emulation powerhouse
82. How one developer is sneaking emulators through a hole in the Xbox Store
83. The Winner of the Console Wars is…Light Beer?
84. JoJo Siwa, Loren Gray To Host 2-Day ‘Among Us’ Event
85. TikTok developer launches publishing arm and casual gaming platform
86. COVID-19 expected to boost investment in esports: But esports activity won’t go back to pre-pandemic levels for another year, some execs believe
87. Esports company Blast receives £1.7m in funding from Edge Investments
88. Insert Coin, the arcade documentary worth feeding all your quarters into 
89. OpenBCI Announces Brain-Computer Interface Designed Specifically for VR/AR Headsets
90. Video: Making compelling character interactions for VR NPCs
91. Lost “Sega VR” game unearthed, made playable on modern VR headsets
92. Veteran VR Studio of ‘Waltz of the Wizard’ Pausing PSVR Development Until Sony Addresses PS5 Roadmap
93. Warner Music: “If artists want to be in the next James Bond, they should want to be in the next AAA game”
94. Don’t Miss: How GoldenEye 007 set a new standard for video game AI
95. Don’t Miss: Defining direction, writing, art and music on Yakuza 4
96. Don’t Miss: The story behind Remedy’s viral dog mocap star
97. Don’t Miss: Mapping out the subtle social cues throughout Hitman’s level design
98. Don’t Miss: A PC game for consoles – Remaking Divinity: Original Sin
99. Video: Bugsnax’s devs discuss launching on the PS5 
100. Video: A deep dive into Ubisoft’s VR escape rooms
101. Video: Breaking down the making of Teardown
102. Video: The world generation tech behind Far Cry 5
103. Blog: Is Apple’s platform fee reduction a PR move or sound investment?
104. Blog: General tips for ‘Games as a Service’ indie games
105. Blog: Power of storytelling in blockbuster casual games?
106. Blog: The art of compelling quest design in Ghost of Tsushima
107. Blog: The Impact of video game criticism
108. Blog: Historians discuss Assassin’s Creed Valhalla
109. Blog: Four hyper-casual prototype best practices
110. Deep Dive: Evolving the UX/UI of A Total War Story: Troy using user testing & feedback
111. Hugo Awards adds video game category for 2021
112. Patenting video games in Europe – The EPO’s Board of Appeal decide in favour of Nintendo (T1504/17)
113. U.S. Patent No. 10,532,290: Sharing recorded gameplay to a social graph

DIGITAL

1. Twitter, Facebook Plan For Post-Trump Era
2. Why it’s easy to hate Facebook but hard to leave
3. Facebook AI catches 95% of hate speech; company still wants mods back in office
4. Facebook Could See Antitrust Charges From Nearly 40 States Over Acquisitions Of Instagram, WhatsApp
5. Advertisers Challenge Facebook’s Representations on Audience Targeting and Fraudulent Traffic
6. Facebook Says Ads for Giving Tuesday Are OK, So Long as They Aren’t About Social Issues
7. Disappointing: Netflix Decides To Settle With Chooseco LLC Over ‘Bandersnatch’ Lawsuit
8. Instagram Adds Branded Content Tags To ‘Reels’, ‘Live’, Unveils Several Updates To ‘Branded Content Ads’ Format
9. Age Gating on Instagram is Now a Bit Easier
10. David Attenborough Departs Instagram Mere Months After Record-Breaking Foray
11. White House Offers To Allow Renaming Confederate Bases… In Exchange For Getting Rid Of Section 230
12. Content Moderation Case Study: Facebook Attracts International Attention When It Removes A Historic Vietnam War Photo Posted By The Editor-in-Chief Of Norway’s Biggest Newspaper (2016)
13. Bad Analogy: Comparing Social Media To Guns
14. AMD laptops have a hidden 10-second performance delay. Here’s why
15. Apple security chief maintains innocence after bribery charges
16. Apple moving forward with plan to limit “creepy” user tracking
17. “We are giddy”—interviewing Apple about its Mac silicon revolution
18. Mac mini and Apple Silicon M1 review: Not so crazy after all
19. Snapchat Giving $1 Million Per Day To “Top” Creators With New Short Video Platform ‘Spotlight’
20. BuzzFeed Acquires HuffPost In Stock Deal As Part Of Larger Pact With Its Parent, Verizon Media
21. Creator-To-Consumer Vendor Gumroad Launches Monthly Memberships
22. Wonder What’s Ahead For Film? Watch What WarnerMedia Does
23. Nvidia developed a radically different way to compress video calls
24. Will Parler Users Treat Its ‘Glitch’ That Hid Georgia Election Content The Same Way They Treated A Twitter Glitch?
25. YouTube Defeats Lawsuit Over Cryptocurrency Scam–Ripple v. YouTube (Eric Goldman)
26. After Quitting YouTube, Ingrid Nilsen To Launch Fragrance Studio ‘The New Savant’
27. As Billie Eilish Hits 1 Billion Views, YouTube Unveils ‘Infinite Music Video’ Concept For “Bad Guy”
28. Top 50 Most Viewed YouTube Channels Worldwide Last Week
29. Top 50 Most Viewed US YouTube Channels Last Week
30. Snapchat Giving $1 Million Per Day To “Top” Creators With New Short Video Platform ‘Spotlight’
31. Is Food The New Merch For Creators? And Are Ghost Kitchens The Next Frontier?
32. MrBeast Launches New Channel, ‘Beast Philanthropy,’ To Raise Money For His Food Bank
33. Inconceivable: TikToker Who Made Paint Mixing Very, Very Cool… Is Fired From Sherwin-Williams For Doing So
34. Charli D’Amelio Has Amassed 100 Million TikTok Followers In One-And-A-Half Years
35. A general introduction to the regulation of virtual currencies in USA

A.I.

1. USPTO Releases Public Comments on AI
2. Artificial Intelligence and Intellectual Property: Transatlantic Approaches
3. Intellectual property strategies for data and artificial intelligence – ThinkHouse
4. Florida Sheriff’s Pre-Crime Software Says D-Students And Victims Of Domestic Violence Are Potential Criminals
5. AI & cybersecurity: reflections on a multidimensional relationship
6. When AI sees a man, it thinks “official.” A woman? “Smile”
7. AI Trends Part 1: IoT privacy and security risks
8. AI in the boardroom: opportunities and challenges
9. Robots invade the construction site 

COMMUNICATIONS

1. Canadian Government introduces legislation that would fundamentally transform the broadcasting ‎system
2. The Broadcasting Act Blunder, Day One: Why There is No Canadian Content Crisis (Michael Geist)
3. The Broadcasting Act Blunder, Day Two: What the Government Doesn’t Say About Creating a “Level Playing Field” (Michael Geist)
4. The Broadcasting Act Blunder, Day Three: Minister Guilbeault Says Bill C-10 Contains Economic Thresholds That Limit Internet Regulation. It Doesn’t. (Michael Geist)
5. The Broadcasting Act Blunder, Day Four: Why Many News Sites Are Captured by Bill C-10 (Michael Geist)
6. The Broadcasting Act Blunder, Day Five: The Narrow Exclusion of User Generated Content Services (Michael Geist)
7. 10 Years Of U.S. Broadband Policy Has Been A Colossal Failure 
8. ‘Activist’ Investor Elliott Management Sells Stake In AT&T After Encouraging Mass Firings
9. AT&T raises DirecTV prices again amid customer losses and possible sale
10. More Evidence FCC Claims That Killing Net Neutrality Would Boost Broadband Investment Were Bullshit
11. FCC reallocates transportation safety spectrum for Wi-Fi use, endorses C-V2X for auto safety
12. Ajit Pai’s FCC Does Something Good, Frees Wireless Spectrum The Auto Industry Had Done Little With
13. Trump’s FCC Nominee Asked Fox News To Help Destroy Section 230 To Help Elect More Republicans
14. Comcast raising TV and Internet prices, including a big hike to hidden fees
15. UK government buys chunk of bankrupt Starlink competitor, OneWeb
16. OneWeb exits bankruptcy and is ready to launch more broadband satellites

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

1.  Using music in your business? Copyright fees proposed to increase
2. Disney (Disney!) Accused Of Trying To Lawyer Its Way Out Of Paying Royalties To Alan Dean Foster
3. Who Owns Vacation Photos of You? Probably Not You–Hubay v. Mendez (Eric Goldman)
4. Hyperlinking: more control for copyright owners
5. “Cultural misinterpretation” or designer’s freedom?
6. Due diligence of copyright is key when purchasing a record label business
7. Poland’s Bid To Get Upload Filters Taken Out Of The EU Copyright Directive Suddenly Looks Much More Hopeful
8. Brexit and copyright: 6 key things to know
9. Good News: Academics Can Make Their Articles Published In Top Journal Nature Freely Available As Open Access. Bad News: They Must Pay $11,000 For Each One 
10. Bricks and mortar or is online in order? Federal Court of Appeal checks in to trademark use and hotel services
11. UK High Court finds EAGLE RARE infringed by AMERICAN EAGLE
12. Puma v Nike Footwear brands dispute FOOTWARE
13. The Lord Chamberlain v Grant Harrold – British Queen blocks Royal Butler trade mark 
14. Taiwanese Semiconductor Pleads Guilty, To Pay $60 Million Fine for Criminal Trade Secret Theft 
15. Understanding compulsory licensing: a global overview 
16. Recent Patent Developments in the Autonomous Vehicle Market 
17. Common Patent Misconceptions – Myth #5 – Provisional Applications
18. Printed Matter Is Patentable If It’s Functional, Not Just Communicative 

PRIVACY

1. Canada Proposes Federal Privacy Law Overhaul – Key Takeaways 
2. The dawn of Canadian Privacy Law 2.0: The Consumer Privacy Protection Act introduced 
3. Attention, mall shoppers: your data is being collected!
4. ‘You Have Zero Privacy’ Say RCMP Social Media Surveillance Documents Before Going On To Demonstrate Why
5. US Military Is Buying Location Data From Data Brokers, Including Data Pulled From US App Users
6. Portland, Maine Passes Facial Recognition Ban That Says The City Can Fire Employees For Violating It
7. Seattle PD Detective Took Clearview Facial Recognition Tech For A Spin, Possibly Violating Local Laws
8. Very Little Stands Between the U.S. and a Technological Panopticon
9. Court Sends Wyze Labs Privacy Suit to Arbitration (Eric Goldman)
10. Google is testing end-to-end encryption in Android Messages
11. Make the Web Great Again (Andres Guadamuz) 

CREATIVITY

1. Cryptocurrency Giant Binance Sues Forbes, Driving New Attention To Article About Binance’s Corporate Structuring

Jon

GAMES

1. Nintendo faces yet another Joy-Con drift lawsuit: An expert analysis noted that the drift is caused by “extensive wear on the pad surface on the interior of the Joy-Con”
2. The dance-off ends: a (partial) resolution to Fortnite’s slurry of copyright lawsuits.
3. Oxford University study finds playing games can positively impact emotional well-being
4. Oxford University study shows video games can benefit well-being and mental health: But researchers call for more studies into this field, following its success in collaborating with EA and Nintendo­­­
5. Pokémon Go raises its level cap for the first time in over four years
6. Video game play is positively correlated with well-being (Niklas Johannes, Matti Vuorre, Andrew K. Przybylski)
7. Court Upholds Gaming App’s Clickthrough TOS–Ball v. Skillz (Eric Goldman)
8. Survey finds growing harassment among US gamers: ADL-Newzoo poll finds 68% of online multiplayer games experienced severe harassment in past six months, 22% said it made them quit playing certain games entirely
9. Free to Play? Hate, Harassment and Positive Social Experience in Online Games 2020
10. Ubisoft Singapore MD stepping down after misconduct allegations
11. Ubisoft removes Singapore studio head: Hugues Ricour no longer leading Skull and Bones studio after report of sexual harassment, but remains with the publisher
12. Global Game Revenues Up an Extra $15 Billion This Year as Engagement Skyrockets
13. Judge dismisses Apple’s “theft” claims in Epic Games lawsuit
14. Apple will halve App Store platform fees for smaller developers in 2021
15. Apple drops its cut of App Store revenues from 30% to 15% for some developers
16. Apple to cut down App Store share to 15% for small developers: The company’s new App Store Small Business Program means studios earning less than $1m a year in proceeds will benefit from a reduced commission
17. Epic CEO: App Store changes offer ‘no relief to customers’ from ‘Apple Tax’
18. Epic Games files against Apple Australia: Fortnite firm claims battle royale’s removal breaches Australian consumer law
19. Apple settles with states for $113M over iPhone battery throttling
20. Streamers protest Twitch DMCA policy with homemade video game noises: Beep beep beep. Pow! Schooooo… po-pow!
21. Twitch eyes new tools, licensing deals after ‘understandably frustrating’ DMCA takedowns
22. Twitch streamers report DMCA takedowns for in-game sound effects: Content creators report flags on sounds such as clock chimes, police sirens, bird noises, and wind
23. Twitch Continues To Trip Over Itself In Response To DMCA Apocalypse
24. Twitch’s No Good, Very Bad Time Continues: Part 1
25. xQcOW, Pokimane Are Twitch’s Top-Earning Streamers Of 2020
26. Twitch sees record viewership in October – Report: StreamElements and Arsenal find 1.6 billion hours watched on the platform last month, nearly doubling previous October
27. EA launching FIFA spend-tracking tool: FIFA Playtime gives players an overview of how much time and money they’ve spent on FIFA 21, ability to set spending and Ultimate Team limits
28. EA has loot boxed itself in with FIFA Ultimate Team | Opinion: Publisher is in the position of having to fix its gambling problem without admitting there’s a problem to fix
29. EA must reconsider its FIFA goals | Podcast: The team discusses EA’s reluctance to acknowledge the resemblances of Ultimate Team to gambling, and the consequences that could bring
30. FIFA 21 debuts at No.1 in the US for October in a first for the franchise: Nintendo Switch hardware sets a new dollar sales record for the month, surpassing the Wii in 2008
31. Is a Tattoo Protected by Copyright? Is it Infringed if it Appears in a Computer Game? 
32. Star Trek’s Space-Traveling Tardigrades Live Long and Prosper After Second Circuit Affirms Non-Infringement of Video Game Copyright
33. Capcom says personal details of 350,000 potentially compromised after recent hack
34. Capcom: Up to 350,000 people could be affected by ransomware leak
35. Capcom confirms it was the victim of a ransomware attack: Employee personal information, sales reports, and other financial information was compromised
36. Playrix: gameplay footage must be representative of the gaming experience
37. Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla sees the franchise’s best launch sales so far: It sold more copies at launch than any other Assassin’s Creed game, and set a new record for Ubisoft PC launch sales
38. Assassin’s Creed Valhalla beats Call of Duty in race for No.1 | UK Boxed Charts: It’s a massive, massive week for UK game sales
39. Genshin Impact was the top-grossing mobile game worldwide in October: It brought in nearly $239m in player spending, beating out Honor of Kings
40. Graffiti Games leaders launch Indie Game Coach: Alex Josef and Alex Van Lepp to provide free and low-cost resources, coaching, and consulting for new, independent developers
41. How a Guilty Gear project contributed to the collapse of Skullgirls dev Lab Zero
42. Epic releases thousands of What Remains of Edith Finch assets for free
43. Epic Games acquires real-time animation firm Hyprsense: The company will collaborate closely with 3Lateral and Cubic Motion to “make content production more accessible”
44. Half of US and UK players want more diverse characters in games: Research conducted by Newzoo shows that gamers want publishers to take an “active stance” on societal issues
45. Respawn emphasises its no crunch policy: Accused of being too slow with content, Apex Legends game director says the studio “refuses to crunch the team”
46. Animal Jam data breach exposes personal info of approximately 46m accounts: Emails, usernames, encrypted passwords, billing addresses, and real names were posted on public hacker forum
47. Ubisoft Montreal staffers barricade on roof, escorted out by police
48. Police operation underway at Ubisoft Montreal: Reported hostage situation may have been a hoax, police begin evacuating building
49. Police say ‘hoax’ emergency call prompted Ubisoft Montreal studio scare
50. The challenge and promise of DualSense | Opinion: PlayStation 5’s advanced haptic system is arguably the most interesting innovation of the new generation, but it creates a tricky marketing conundrum
51. Discovery takeaways from the new PlayStation 5 store?
52. Sony thinks cross-gen games will be ‘important’ for the next 3 years as players transition to PS5
53. Demon’s Souls PS5 review: A gorgeous game worth dying (repeatedly) for
54. Ghost of Tsushima passes 5m sold: Sucker Punch’s game is the fastest selling new IP for the PS4 from a Sony first-party studio
55. Xbox Series X and S deliver Microsoft’s biggest ever console launch
56. Xbox Series X|S is biggest console launch in Microsoft’s history: But Phil Spencer says platform holder still focused on player numbers of unit sales
57. How will the Xbox Series X|S and PlayStation 5 benefit indies?: We speak to indie studios and publishers about the possibilities afforded by the new consoles
58. Xbox Series S|X launch, big releases drive new records for UK broadband use: Service providers report new highs among Call of Duty updates and preloads, debuts of Destiny 2: Beyond Light and Assassin’s Creed Valhalla
59. Microsoft expects Xbox Series X and S to be in short supply until after holidays
60. Microsoft expects Xbox Series X|S shortages until Q2 2021: CFO Tim Stuart points to summer next year for “the supply profile meeting the demand profile”
61. Microsoft suggests higher AAA price-point is “warranted”: CFO Tim Stuart said that publishers need to “make the right decision for their content”
62. The Falconeer: An unexpected jewel in the Xbox launch line-up
63. Bethesda games will likely be “first or better” (not “only”) on Xbox
64. Microsoft to begin testing Project xCloud in new regions including Australia and Japan
65. Microsoft to roll out Project xCloud in four new markets: The cloud gaming beta is coming to Australia, Brazil, Japan, and Mexico this November
66. What next-gen consoles really mean for audio: Sumo Digital discusses the audio tools that could be a game changer for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S
67. Switch sets new October sales record in the U.S. as next-gen arrives
68. The Switch had the second-best October sales in the US of any console ever: At over 735,000 units sold, it was outpaced only by the Wii in 2008
69. Happy 20th Birthday To ‘No One Lives Forever’, The Classic PC Game That Can’t Be Sold Today Thanks To IP
70. Why are there no James Bond games?: In the absence of new film No Time To Die, we explore 007’s ongoing absence from video games and the challenge of developing with a licence
71. Assassin’s Creed Valhalla debuts with record launch week sales for the franchise
72. Assassin’s Creed Valhalla doubles Odyssey’s player count at launch: The latest entry in Ubisoft’s series also saw record viewership on Twitch and YouTube
73. Freshly founded Gunzilla Games aims to take on triple-A shooter development
74. Gunzilla Games enters AAA shooter market with $25m in funding: After helping Warface developer Blackwood spin out from Crytek, Vlad Korolev is looking to build a studio from scratch
75. The careful cultivation and localization of Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin: Edelweiss and XSeed discuss the historical Japanese roots of the in-depth rice farming sim, and the challenges of bringing it West
76. PUBG Corp is bringing a new version of banned PUBG Mobile to India
77. PUBG Corp. creating new PUBG Mobile for India to get around ban: Korean publisher establishes Indian subsidiary that will hire 100 people, pledges to invest $100 million into local gaming and entertainment industry
78. Fortnite mulls monthly paid subscription
79. New League of Legends character not based on real person, says Riot
80. Grubhub Taps Addison Rae, CrankGameplays, More For Virtual Friendsgiving Promo On ‘Animal Crossing’
81. Unity revenue up 53.3% year-over-year at close of first public quarter
82. Unity shares first earnings following IPO with $201 million in Q3 revenue: On earnings call, CEO John Riccitiello addresses price hikes, COVID-19 impacts, future investments, and finding a casual audience
83. Ghost of Tsushima has topped 5 million sales in under four months
84. Fall Guys has sold over 10 million copies on Steam
85. Fall Guys has sold more than 10 million copies on Steam alone
86. Data deep dive: What’s the ‘long tail’ like for Steam games?
87. Steam’s initial PS5 controller support doesn’t include the controller’s advanced haptics
88. Zynga opens Austin studio to work on upcoming Star Wars project
89. Zynga to open new studio in its Austin office: The new studio will focus on the development of NaturalMotion’s Star Wars game
90. Google and My.Games launch mobile accelerator program
91. My.Games launches cloud gaming service
92. Thunderful acquires long-time LittleBigPlanet collaborator Station Interactive
93. Thunderful acquires Station Interactive: Swedish development studio’s employees, IP, and assets will be incorporated into Thunderful Development
94. As lockdowns lift, Tencent gaming revenues continue to rise: Online games revenues up 45% year-over-year, 8% quarter-over-quarter thanks to Honour of Kings, Peacekeeper Elite
95. Paradox reports record quarterly revenues as Crusader Kings III sales top 1 million
96. Embracer acquires 13 studios including Shadow Warrior dev Flying Wild Hog
97. Embracer Group H1 sales up 132% to $524.2m: THQ Nordic and Koch Media parent reports growth across all divisions as it adds 13 new studios
98. Thunderful Group intends to go public to raise cash for further acquisitions
99. Thunderful Group prepares for IPO on NASDAQ First North Premier: Listing expected to raise close to $90 million for Swedish games firm, company valued at $395 million
100. Female-led Queens Gaming Collective raises $1.5m: Gaming lifestyle company launches after seed round led by Bitkraft Ventures
101. Mobile startup Lila Games raises $2.8m: Indian developer attracts investment from execs at Super Evil Megacorp and Machine Zone
102. Conversation as the crewmate: Understanding the rise of Among Us: Barbie Koelker from conversation analysis platform Spiketrap explores Among Us’ growing popularity
103. New toolbox shows teachers how to best use games in their classroom
104. Wiggin acquires games law firm Purewal & Partners: Founder Jas Purewal is joining as partner, alongside his team
105. All eyes on esports: staying ahead of the legal hurdles: As investment pours into the sector, legal firm Reed Smith offers advice to new companies seeking to avoid legal pitfalls
106. The pandemic-fuelled esports boom: legal and regulatory considerations for investors
107. NRG Esports Unveils Sprawling Content Creation “Castle” In Los Angeles
108. Valve adds extensive developer commentary to Half-Life: Alyx
109. Double win for Valve at 2020 VR Awards: Index headset won best hardware, while Half-Life: Alyx was crowned Game of the Year
110. VR dev Resolution Games kicks off push into publishing with Odd Raven deal
111. Resolution Games launches VR publishing arm: First partnership will bring Odd Raven Studio’s Carly and the Reaperman to Oculus Quest and Quest 2 next year
112. Video: Lessons in developing functional artificial intelligence using VR
113. Blog: The psychology of irresistible game offers
114. Blog: 12 misconceptions that hurt the player experience
115. Blog: Roguelike lessons horror games need to learn
116. Blog: Spilt Milk Devlog 06 – Fascism Fighters 4000 (Part 1)
117. Blog: What mechanics should you add to an Early Access game?
118. Video: Porting your game to Oculus Quest
119. Video: Why Survios builds new tech for games like Battlewake
120. Don’t Miss: Looking back to Mark Cerny’s 2013 tech breakdown of the then-next-gen PS4
121. Don’t Miss: Bad crediting hurts the game industry and muddles history
122. Don’t Miss: How games like Super Mario Galaxy and Demon’s Souls handle subjective difficulty
123. Don’t Miss: Inside the development of Supergiant Games’ Hades
124. Q&A: Why Assassin’s Creed Valhalla did away with side quests
125. The Last of Us Part 2, Hades dominate The Game Awards nominations: Sony received 22 nominations for its published games, including ten for The Last of Us Part 2
126. U.S. Patent No. 10,471,357: Systems and methods for simulating a particular user in an interactive computer system

DIGITAL

1. Amazon Sues Two TikTok, Instagram Influencers For Alleged Scheme To Sell Knockoff Designer Goods
2. The Case Against Holding Amazon Liable for Third-Party Merchants’ Sales in its Marketplace (Eric Goldman)
3. Massive, China-state-funded hack hits companies around the world, report says
4. Hackers sponsored by Russia and North Korea are targeting COVID-19 researchers
5. Russian Internet Research Agency Disinformation Activities on Tumblr: Identity, Privacy, and Ambivalence
6. WHO Is Blocking Commenters From Even Mentioning Taiwan On Its Facebook Page
7. Facebook Expands Access To ‘Rights Manager’ Video Copyright Tool, Rolls Out In-Stream Ads To 4 More Countries
8. Facebook Can Block Scraper (For Now)–Facebook v. BrandTotal (Eric Goldman)
9. Day After Senator Lindsey Graham Is Credibly Accused Of Trying To Undermine The Election, He Hosts Hearing Attacking Social Media For Undermining Election
10. Trump Fires US Cybersecurity Director Chris Krebs After Krebs Debunks Trump’s Claims Of Election Systems Fraud
11. US Cybersecurity Director Expecting To Be Fired After Refusing To Edit Page Debunking Election Hacking Myths
12. Trump Campaign Gets Laughed Out Of Court For Claiming A Bunch Of Unvetted Webform Submissions Is ‘Evidence’ Of Voter Fraud
13. Trump Campaign’s Ridiculous SLAPP Suit Against CNN Tossed Out Easily
14. After Trump tweets Defcon hacking video, voting security experts call BS: Dozens of computer scientists say there’s “no credible evidence” of election fraud.
15. Trump admin puts a hold on TikTok ban it seems to have forgotten about
16. Trumpland Apparently Just Forgot About Its Manufactured TikTok Hysteria
17. Commerce Department Remembers It Was Supposed To Ban TikTok; Says It Won’t Enforce For Now
18. Insights: Social Media In The Post-Trump Era Headed To Splitsville
19. The announcement of election results prompted the expected chorus of brands messaging about “unity,” but some opted to celebrate on social media.
20. Facebook Extends Political Advertising Ban for Another Month, Including Advertising for Run-Offs
21. Google to Extend Political Advertising Ban Through Year-End
22. Google Pay relaunch transforms it into a full-fledged financial service
23. Alphabet CEO: Plan to target EU commissioner was not “sanctioned” by me
24. UK Politician Demands The Impossible: Social Media Companies Must Not Take Down Political Speech, But Must Block Disinformation
25. Wish.com: sexually explicit in-app ads deemed offensive and inappropriately targeted
26. Upload Filters And The Internet Architecture: What’s There To Like?
27. Content Moderation Case Study: GoFundMe Addresses Controversial Fundraising Efforts (2020)
28. Counterfeit Merch Is A Big Problem For Creators, And It’s Even Worse Than You Think.
29. Markiplier, Ethan Nestor Bid Farewell To High-Concept ‘Unus Annus’ Channel — A Metaphor For Death
30. Hulu raises Live TV price to $65, matching YouTube TV’s latest price hike
31. Top 50 Most Viewed US YouTube Channels • Week Of 11/16/2020
32. Top 50 Most Viewed YouTube Channels Worldwide • Week Of 11/16/2020
33. YouTube Is Serving Young Viewers Age-Inappropriate Ads, Videos With Little Educational Value, Study Finds
34. YouTube Shelves Annual ‘Rewind’ Video Given Hardships, Heaviness Of 2020
35. YouTube Launches ‘Audio Ad’ Format To Capture Background Content Consumers
36. Steph Curry’s YouTube Series ‘5 Minutes From Home’ Is Becoming An Audible Original Podcast
37. Trump-Endorsed Right-wing YouTube Channels See Rise In Viewership
38. On The Podcast: Ninja Doesn’t Want To Be Called A ‘YouTuber’. Is He Right?
39. YouTube Will Now Serve Ads On Channels That Aren’t Eligible For Its Partner Program — Though Creators Won’t Earn A Cut
40. GitHub agrees RIAA claim is bunk, restores popular YouTube download tool
41. Teespring Teams Up With YouTubers For Merch-Selling Cyber Monday Live Streams
42. Audiovisual Media Services Directive – European Commission adopts guidelines on video-sharing platforms and the promotion of European works
43. BuzzFeed Seeking Next Social Video Star In IGTV Competition ‘Show Off’
44. ‘The Good Place,’ ‘Brooklyn Nine-Nine’ Developer Tracey Pakosta Is Netflix’s New Head Of Comedy
45. Instagram Gives Reels, Shop Permanent Spots On Nav Bar
46. Instagram Finally Adds Ability To Search Platform Via Keyword
47. TikTok’s ‘Hashtag Challenge Plus’ Ad Format Is Generating Billions Of Views For Brands
48. ICE Briefly Becomes A Stranded Minor: Loses Its Twitter Account For Being Too Young
49. Twitter Launches Stories-Like ‘Fleets’ Feature, With ‘Audio Spaces’ Soon To Follow
50. What is Parler, and why is everyone suddenly talking about it?
51. ‘Stop the Steal’ supporters, restrained by Facebook, turn to Parler to peddle false election claims
52. What If Cambridge Analytica Owned Its Own Social Network? CA Backer Rebekah Mercer Admits She’s A Co-Founder Of Parler
53. A history of Intel vs. AMD desktop performance, with CPU charts galore
54. Beyond Screen Time: Identity Development in the Digital Age
55. Nova Scotia’s eCourt platform is first online judicial dispute resolution service in Canada
56. Why Does Silicon Valley Want to Reengineer Humans?: Human beings are not the problem. We are the solution.
57. Japan-UK Trade Deal Shows How Controversial Digital Policies Can Be Slipped Through With Little Scrutiny Or Resistance

A.I.

1. IP Rights and AI-Generated Works
2. Amazon begins shifting Alexa’s cloud AI to its own silicon
3. Video: Using AI to create interactive digital actors
4. ICO publishes guidance on AI decision making
5. Artificial intelligence and gender discrimination
6. Artificial vision, white space and racial surveillance capitalism
7. Technology vs Ideology: How Far will Artificial Intelligence and Distributed Ledger Technology Transform Corporate Governance and Business?
8. AI revolution in medicine

COMMUNICATIONS

1. Law Bytes Episode 69: Bram Abramson on the Government’s Plan to Regulate Internet Streaming Services (Michael Geist)
2. Two Trump Defamation Claims Dismissed Including Claim Against TV Station for Political Attack Ad – What is the Relevance for Broadcasters? 
3. How the Presidential Transition Will Affect the FCC
4. Big TCPA News: Biden Announces FCC Transition Team that Includes Former Commissioner Clyburn 
5. FCC Boss Pai Urged To Accept Trump Loss, Pause Dumb Attack On Social Media
6. FCC takes spectrum from auto industry in plan to “supersize” Wi-Fi
7. Broadband power users explode, making data caps more profitable for ISPs
8. Digital Redlining: ISPs Widening The Digital Divide
9. How Our Biggest ISPs Are Failing Students During COVID-19
10. TV services head towards complex post-Brexit regulatory world
11. FTC Tries to Clean Out 25 Fake Disinfectant Websites

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

1. Boesen v. United Sports Publications, Ltd.: Court dismisses copyright claim, holding that publisher’s article that “embedded” Caroline Wozniacki’s Instagram post featuring plaintiff’s photograph constituted fair use. 
2. Flo & Eddie, Inc. v. Pandora Media, Inc.: Court denies anti-SLAPP motion by owners of pre-1972 sound recordings created by The Turtles, holding Pandora’s failure to pay for use of recordings was not a speech right
3. Artistic license and use of copyright in creative pursuits
4. The Pose Is Prologue
5. Despite RIAA’s Claim That YouTube-dl Is Infringing, Journalists Use It All The Time
6. GitHub, EFF Push Back Against RIAA, Reinstate Youtube-dl Repository
7. YouTube Seeks To Crack Down On COVID-19 Vaccine Conspiracies In Fact-Check Panels
8. Donald Trump Argues That Use Of ‘Electric Avenue’ In Campaign Video Was Transformative
9. Montgomery v. Holland: Second Circuit affirms dismissal of copyright infringement claim targeting 2014 television miniseries Rosemary’s Baby, holding it was not substantially similar to plaintiff’s short stories.
10. Is Software Patentable?
11. Scientific publishers propose installing spyware in university libraries to protect copyrights: The hypothetical plan to combat digital piracy called for the use of software to monitor those accessing academic material
12. Proctorio used DMCA to take down a student’s critical tweets: “This is really a textbook example of fair use”
13. Copyright rides to the rescue: Brompton Bicycle is protected by copyright
14. Copyright: Online platform operators’ liability for users illegally uploading copyright material
15. No Future for Copyright or Trade Dress Protection for Personal Planner Layout
16. The First Step to Protecting Your Brand in Canada 
17. EMPOWER-ing trademark infringement claims against public authorities
18. Four Seasons Total Landscaping: trademark lessons from a bizarre political event 
19. In a Galaxy Not So Far, Far Away: Millennial Falcon v. Millennium Falcon
20. Can Clickbait Cause Confusion? Purchasing AdWord Did Not Constitute Trademark Infringement or an Unfair Trade Practice
21. Will the growing second-hand market for fashion fuel trademark disputes?
22. Hugo Boss And Art Teacher Reach ‘Amicable Solution’ Over ‘Be Boss, Be Kind’ Trademark Application
23. Trademark everything: The not-so-secret world of celebrity IP
24. Why Don’t Conservatives Care About Copyright?
25. Food Industry Insight – The Trade Dress of a Cookie is Held to be Functional
26. Ninth Circuit Rules That the Identification of a Trade Secret May Be Developed Through Discovery 
27. Patent eligibility in Canada clarified with new Examination Guidelines
28. CIPO’s new guidelines on patentable subject matter explained
29. Presumed essential: CIPO clarifies its approach toward eligibility analysis following Federal Court decision 
30. Canadian Patent Office Issues Guidance to “Cooperate” With Inventors of Computer-Based Inventions 
31. Supreme Court to Decide Constitutionality of Patent Board 
32. Moderna’s covid vaccine is promising news, but IP issues may mean the financial windfall it enjoys are limited
33. Working with known materials in life sciences: Key patent considerations
34. Canadian courts show trend of awarding higher costs in IP litigation
35. Five things to know about protecting IP rights on Amazon 

PRIVACY

1. “Publicity Placing the Plaintiff in a False Light” is the Newest Privacy Tort in Ontario
2. Canada’s GDPR Moment: Why the Consumer Privacy Protection Act is Canada’s Biggest Privacy Overhaul in Decades (Michael Geist)
3. Privacy Pressure Points: A Closer Look at Ten Consumer Privacy Protection Act Concerns (Michael Geist)
4. Canada’s proposed new privacy law – Summary of business impacts
5. The Canadian Government Proposes Significant Changes to Privacy Law: Key Features include New Requirements, Orders, Penalties and a Private Right of Action 
6. Information privacy and security in a virtual learning world
7. Appeals Court Says Baltimore PD’s Aerial Surveillance Program Doesn’t Violate The Constitution
8. Federal Court Says State Regulation That Compels Production Of Code May Violate The First Amendment 
9. Barbash v. STX Financing, LLC: Court dismisses adult entertainment host’s invasion of privacy and defamation claims against producers and distributors of film Hustlers
10. How the U.S. Military Buys Location Data from Ordinary Apps: A Muslim prayer app with 98M downloads connects to a supply chain that sends people’s personal data to brokers, contractors & the military.
11. Zoom Gets An FTC Wrist Slap For Misleading Users On Security, Encryption 
12. Instructors And School Administrators Are Somehow Managing To Make Intrusive Testing Spyware Even Worse
13. EU Data Protection Regulators Issue Critical Draft Guidance on Personal Data Transfers 
14. Not Again! California Voters Enact California Privacy Rights Act: Now What?
15. FTC requires video conferencing provider to safeguard against security risks 
16. Election 2020: Looking Forward to What a Biden Presidency May Mean for Data Privacy and Data Privacy Litigation  
17. ICO Fines Ticketmaster £1.25 Million for Security Failures 
18. Marriott International, Inc. fined £18.4m for personal data breach by the UK ICO under the GDPR (reduced from £99.2m) 
19. H&M hit with €35.3m fine for GDPR employee breach
20. Resisting the rise of facial recognition
21. Five months after the Schrems II decision, the EDPB has added long awaited clarity to the CJEU’s language regarding ‘supplemental measures’
22. The iOS COVID-19 app ecosystem has become a privacy minefield
23. Information privacy and security in a virtual learning world
24. The Posthumous Privacy Paradox: Privacy preferences and Behavior Regarding Digital Remains

CREATIVITY

1. Court of Appeal rules on the confidentiality of live sports data
2. EU Court Backs Austrian Court, Says Local Libel Law Applies Everywhere In The World
3. Conspiracy theories masquerading as news may be the biggest threat to our democratic world
4. About Time: NY Governor Cuomo Signs Anti-SLAPP Law
5. Freedom of Speech Gets a Big Boost With New York’s Passage of Widely Expanded Anti-SLAPP Law
6. Devin Nunes Files Another SLAPP Suit; Sues The Washington Post Again
7. COVID-19: Court Dismisses MLB Ticket Purchasers’ Action for Reimbursement After Shortened Season

Jon

GAMES

1. Class action lawsuit accuses EA of changing game difficulty to push loot boxes
2. EA faces yet another class-action lawsuit connected to loot boxes: EA calls claims “baseless,” says they “misrepresent our games”
3. What’s Loot Got to do With It?
4. Judge dismisses Apple’s claim of theft in Epic case: Court says ongoing legal battle should focus on breach of contract and anti-trust claims
5. Judge says Apple isn’t entitled to extra monetary damages over Fortnite lawsuit
6. SAG-AFTRA extends video game voice acting contract to November 2022
7. Tommy Tallarico, Roblox come to agreement over “oof” sound effect: Popular death sound effect to be replaced in game, asset will be sold via Roblox store going forward
8. Ubisoft apologises for ableist description in Assassin’s Creed Valhalla: The publisher said it will address the issue in an upcoming update
9. Assassin’s Creed Valhalla review: A Viking quest worth sinking your axe into
10. Ubisoft removing UK journalist from Watch Dogs over “controversial remarks”: The Atlantic writer Helen Lewis voiced a character on an in-game podcast
11. MiHoYo reportedly discloses Genshin Impact players phone numbers: The studio said they took “immediate action to fix the problem,” which should now be resolved
12. EA renews UFC, NHL, NHLPA partnerships with fresh ‘multi-year’ deals
13. EA extends UFC, NHL licensing deals: Publisher will have exclusive rights to MMA league’s games through 2030 while hockey deal is a “multi-year renewal”
14. EA quarterly sales slide due to later FIFA, Madden launches: Full game sales for the second quarter halved but publisher still beats guidance, announces stock buyback and dividend plans
15. FIFA leads renewed mobile strategy at EA: CEO Andrew Wilson says “six new FIFA titles” are in development on mobile for “new genres and new markets”
16. EA: Apex Legends on track to become billion dollar franchise by March 2021
17. EA Play crosses 6.5 million paying subscribers
18. EA Play reaches 6.5 million paid subscribers, EA aims to double that within a year
19. EA looks to revamp its mobile biz to tap into an ‘unbelievable exponential opportunity’
20. Live games continue to lead at Take-Two as recurrent consumer spend jumps 56%
21. NBA 2K21 drives Take-Two earnings: Revenues and bookings flat but net income hops as CEO Zelnick reports pandemic-driven engagement boost hasn’t let up at all
22. Take-Two president “highly sceptical” about games subscriptions: Karl Slatoff tells investors services like Xbox Game Pass will become the primary way games are consumed
23. Take-Two in talks to acquire Dirt dev Codemasters
24. Take-Two confirms $994 million purchase of Dirt developer Codemasters
25. Take-Two in talks to buy Codemasters: Racing publisher says it has discussed a deal that would value it at nearly $1 billion
26. Take-Two bids to buy Dirt 5 publisher Codemasters for $973.8 million
27. Take-Two acquisition of Codemasters expected to go through in early 2021: Both publishers’ board of directors approve the proposed deal, valuing Codemasters at £726 million
28. Sega Sammy calls for 650 staff to voluntarily retire: Japanese publisher records extraordinary losses around structural reform
29. Sega Sammy struggling to weather the pandemic despite strong game sales
30. Sega Sammy raises forecasts, despite losses driven by COVID-19: Publisher expects structural reform and increased games sales to carry company through tough financial year
31. Mobile games set new quarterly revenue record at Konami
32. Grounded tops 5 million players in under six months
33. Nexon posts its best Q3 ever thanks to mobile revenue surge: Mobile revenue up 140% thanks to The Kingdom of the Winds Yeon, KartRider Rush+ and V4
34. ‘HD Games’ profit dips at Square Enix following Marvel’s Avengers launch
35. Capcom says customer information is secure following cyber attack
36. Ten risks associated with the new EU Digital Content Directive: Legal expert Sebastian Schwiddessen breaks down how buggy games at launch, shutting titles down early and more can violate consumers’ rights
37. Dontnod to embrace self-publishing for multiple future titles: CEO Oskar Guilbert says the studio wants to be “as independent as possible” going forward
38. Griffin Gaming Partners raises $235 million to invest in games
39. Griffin Gaming Partners raises $235m for gaming investments: Gaming-focused VC firm run by Philip Sanderson, Peter Levin, and Nick Tuosto already invested in Discord, Skillz and more
40. Enthusiast Gaming plans to list on NASDAQ: Parent behind The Escapist and Luminosity Gaming
41. First impressions: How are reviewers reacting to the PlayStation 5?
42. PlayStation 5 | Critical Consensus: Critics agree that Sony’s PS5 transcends on-paper comparisons to Xbox, and is the only new console that “feels” next-gen from the first moment
43. No day one stock for retail as Sony focuses PS5 launch sales online: Platform holder urges PlayStation fans to order through retail partners’ websites
44. The PlayStation 5 has a hidden Web browser; here’s how to find it
45. Sony debuts PS5 games ad as part of “memorable” launch efforts: Travis Scott returns alongside Spider-Man, Gran Turismo, Demon’s Souls, Horizon and more
46. Sony launches PS5 remote play app for the PS4 with next-gen looming
47. The PlayStation 5 was even larger in initial design concepts 
48. PlayStation 5 review: Not just a more-powerful PS4
49. PlayStation 5 forgoes day one in-store launch as a COVID-19 precaution
50. Sorry, you can’t move your discontinued copy of PT to the PS5
51. PlayStation exec: Dual support for PS4 and PS5 planned for 3 years
52. A tale of two consoles: Xbox Series X and S in review
53. Xbox Series X/S review: Beautiful, powerful—but whatcha gonna play?
54. If Xbox is Netflix, then PS5 is cinema | Console analysis: PlayStation’s new console is an extension of the games it makes
55. The Different Strategies Of Microsoft And Sony’s Next-Generation Consoles: Choosing between a console is a more philosophical choice this generation
56. First impressions of PS5 and Xbox Series X|S | Podcast: The team share their own experiences with the next-generation consoles on our latest episode, available to download now
57. The last great console leap? | Opinion: Microsoft and Sony have different strategies, but they’re both launching consoles that feel less like a “clean break” with the past generation
58. Xbox Series X|S | Critical Consensus: Reviewers like quality-of-life improvements on Microsoft’s new systems, but recommendations come with big caveats
59. Microsoft: Xbox Series S does not hold back the next generation, it advances it – Platform holder explains why it dropped Xbox One X, rather than maintaining it as a low-end console
60. Xbox: Next-gen battle will “not be a reflection of demand — it’ll be a reflection of supply” – Phil Spencer disregards tendency to declare ““a winner and… a loser” between sales of Xbox and PlayStation
61. Report: Microsoft holding acquisition talks with a number of Japanese developers
62. Spencer: Microsoft almost abandoned Xbox brand after the Xbox One launch
63. Dev-friendliness, scalability at top of mind for Xbox development chief
64. Some Amazon Xbox Series X pre-orders may not arrive until December: A Microsoft spokesperson said the company is “working tirelessly with retail partners to replenish Xbox hardware as quickly as possible”
65. Nintendo raises forecasts as H1 profits triple to $2.8bn: Full-year Switch sales predicted to reach 24 million, five million units higher than previously expected
66. Switch driving growth at Nintendo as console nears 70 million sales
67. Google Is Giving YouTube Premium Subscribers A Free Stadia Controller, Chromecast Ultra
68. Steam adds frictionless playtesting feature: The new tool will make playtests accessible directly from a title’s store page
69. BioWare confirms Mass Effect remaster in 2021, new Mass Effect later
70. Final Fantasy 7 Remake, Avengers push Square Enix H1 sales up 43%: Publisher’s HD Games division posts profits for the six-month period, but last quarter was in the red
71. FIFA 21 and Star Wars: Squadrons come out top in October | EMEAA Charts: Nintendo Switch console sales up 77% in October 2020 vs 2019
72. Watch Dogs: Legion knocks down FIFA 21 | UK Digital Charts: Ni No Kuni Wrath of the White Witch on Switch makes No.3
73. Slight jump in boxed game sales as lockdown returns | UK Boxed Charts: Nintendo Switch games post strong week-on-week increases
74. NPD says US consumers spent a record amount on games in Q3: $11.2 billion total for July-September span is up 24% on last year; market research firm expects Q4 to set records as well
75. Descenders has sold over 250,000 units: Nearly 3.5 million people have played the biking title across all platforms, thanks to its success on Xbox Game Pass
76. Hitman franchise crosses 70 million players in 20 years
77. Assassin’s Creed Valhalla | Critical Consensus: Critics agree that Valhalla is one of the very best Assassin’s Creed games, but its underlying themes are tainted by Ubisoft’s year of scandal
78. Spider-Man: Miles Morales review: New hero, same heroic gameplay
79. Why do some games just… keep selling?
80. The Game Developer’s Playlist: Full Throttle with Chandana Ekanayake | Outerloop Games co-founder shares how the 1995 biking adventure inspired him to get into games
81. Light Brick, the once and possibly future Lego studio: Builder’s Journey studio co-founders say they spun out to be more agile and independent, but Lego Ventures backed them with an eventual reunion in mind
82. Amber opens new studio in Montreal: New branch will focus on QA, localisation and engineering
83. Epic is gauging interest in a Fortnite monthly subscription plan
84. Epic Games gauging interest in monthly Fortnite subscription: If implemented, subscribers would receive Battle Pass, early access to free skins and regular V-Bucks
85. Which publishers are the game subscription believers?
86. Night Media Signs 6-Channel Family Gaming Empire FGTeeV
87. After Mixer Closed, Ninja Chose Twitch Over YouTube Because He Didn’t Want To Be Known As “A YouTuber”
88. Twitch Unveils Full Rundown For Saturday’s ‘GlitchCon’ — Its Virtual Reimagining Of TwitchCon
89. Twitch Apologizes To Creators Hit By Mass DMCAs And Content Deletions, Says It’s In Talks With Record Labels
90. Twitch explains confusing copyright crackdown, urges users to delete videos
91. Twitch apologizes for handling of mass copyright claims: Streaming platform apologizes for giving streamers unhelpful warnings, little notice in face of avalanche of DMCA claims from record labels
92. Esports brand Fnatic raises $10m: Also offering fans the chance to invest via $1.3m Crowdcube campaign
93. Esports platform Edge raises $1.5m: Investment will be used for recruitment and improving its tech, which simplifies esports contracts, payments and more
94. 100 Thieves To Enter Call Of Duty League With New Team, Los Angeles Thieves
95. ESPN Confirms Future Shut Down of Esports Editorial Operations
96. ESPN ends its daily esports coverage, laying off at least eight: Network to continue covering esports on a story-by-story basis following cost-cutting measures, layoffs
97. Original founder re-acquires OpTic Gaming: Hector Rodriguez takes esports organization back after Immortals Gaming Club acquisition last year
98. Fortnite reportedly returning to iOS via GeForce Now: An announcement from Nvidia is expected “before the winter holidays” the BBC reported
99. Lifting the VR veil: How PlayStation 5 works with Sony’s last-gen headset
100. It Took Just 5 Minutes Of Movement Data To Identify ‘Anonymous’ VR Users
101. Composing the blockbuster soundtrack of Ghost of Tsushima: Written to reflect the game’s historical setting, Ilan Eshkeri discusses the creative and practical process behind the PlayStation exclusive’s music
102. Video: Making great key art for your game’s front end
103. Video: How to wrangle inflation in your online game economy
104. Don’t Miss: A deep dive into Forza Horizon 3’s online co-op multiplayer
105. Don’t Miss: How Onrush harnesses the chaos of a racing battle
106. Don’t Miss: A 2013 snapshot of game developers’ motion control tips, lessons, and dreams
107. Don’t Miss: Translating the humor & tone of the Yakuza games for the West
108. Don’t Miss: What was it like programming Skyrim?
109. Blog: How spreadsheets power civilian AI in Watch Dogs 2
110. Blog: The argument for simpler games
111. Blog: Combining 2D and 3D effects in Blightbound
112. Blog: How to run offers in free-to-play (and avoid backlashes)
113. Blog: Developing a tabletop game
114. Analyst: The next-gen console race is Sony’s to lose
115. U.S. Patent No. 10,478,735: Video game system with spectator mode hud
116. U.S. Patent No. 10,509,461: Augmented reality video game systems

DIGITAL

1. Amazon’s use of marketplace data breaks competition law, EU charges
2. Antitrust: Commission sends Statement of Objections to Amazon for the use of non-public independent seller data and opens second investigation into its e-commerce business practices
3. Facebook and Twitter struggle with online fury from Trump supporters
4. Microsoft engineer gets nine years for stealing $10M from Microsoft
5. QAnon Conspiracy Theorists Can’t Force YouTube to Carry Their Videos–Doe v. Google (Eric Goldman)
6. United States v Google: A Re-Found Willingness to Regulate Technology Monopolies?
7. Bot or Not? Authenticating Social Media Evidence at Trial in the Age of Internet Fakery
8. Facebook’s latest attempt to slow disinformation means probation for groups
9. YouTube Election Loophole Lets Some False Trump-Win Videos Spread
10. How Well Did Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube Handle Election Misinformation?
11. YouTube Touted Its Handling Of Election Misinformation. But Now It Says Videos Spreading Vote Tabulation Conspiracies, False Win Claims Are Fine.
12. Google Photos is the latest “Unlimited” plan to impose hard limits
13. Google Photos will end its free unlimited storage on June 1st, 2021: After 15 gigs, you’ll need to pony up for Google One
14. Netflix files copyright claims against tweets criticizing movie, trailer
15. Netflix Targets Critical ‘Cuties’ Tweets With Copyright Takedown Requests
16. Netflix Gets Cute Using DMCA Notices To Take Down Tweets Critical Of ‘Cuties’
17. Netflix Testing Pre-Programmed, Linear TV-Style Channel Called ‘Direct’ In France
18. FCC General Counsel Issues Guidance on the Agency’s Section 230 Authority
19. Section 230 Faces the Heat
20. Content Moderation Case Study: Google Refuses A Law Enforcement Agency Demand To Remove A Video Depicting Police Brutality (2011)
21. Content Moderation Case Study: Using Fact Checkers To Create A Misogynist Meme (2019)
22. Ten Common Mistakes When Conducting Sweepstakes or Contest Promotions on Social Media
23. If You Want an Enforceable Online Contract, You Better Keep a Good Chain of Evidence–Snow v. Eventbrite Eric Goldman)
24. Emojis & The Law: An Interview with Professor Eric Goldman
25. The Latest Influencer Hotspot Is An Abandoned California Ghost Town
26. UK Wing Of TikTok Swears It Isn’t Helping The Chinese Government Oppress Uighur Muslims
27. UK Advertising Regulator makes first ever ruling on disclosures required for commercial marketing via a TikTok video
28. TikTok Predicted To Hit 1 Billion Users In 2021
29. TikTok users troll Trump “voter fraud” reporting hotline en masse
30. TikTok says it’s been waiting weeks for a Trump response on US ban
31. Fullscreen To Be Dramatically Affected By WarnerMedia Layoffs
32. Vimeo Raises $150 Million Amid Record Revenue Growth, Eyes Spinoff From Parent IAC
33. Spotify May Be Eyeing Podcast-Only Subscription Tiers
34. In Biggest Podcast Purchase Yet, Spotify Acquires Ad And Publishing Platform ‘Megaphone’ For $235 Million
35. Patreon, Acast Partner To Help Podcasters Distribute Paywalled Content More Broadly
36. Intel SGX defeated yet again—this time thanks to on-chip power meter
37. Apple dishes details on its new M1 chip
38. First ARM-based Mac laptops: MacBook Air and 13-inch MacBook Pro
39. Update! Apple Announces New Privacy Disclosures Required Starting December 8
40. Apple, Sony Reportedly Eyeing $300-$400 Million Acquisition Of Podcast Network Wondery
41. Apple supplier Pegatron found using illegal student labor in China
42. After IPO, BBTV Signs Parkour Athlete Nick Pro, Lifestyle Vlogger Francesca Farago, More
43. Reebok Sits Down With Hit YouTube Franchise ‘Hot Ones’ For Footwear, Apparel Collaboration
44. Top 50 Most Viewed US YouTube Channels • Week Of 11/09/2020
45. Top 50 Most Viewed YouTube Channels Worldwide • Week Of 11/09/2020
46. The anatomy of Zoom fatigue
47. Key Takeaways from New Cryptocurrency Enforcement Framework by US Department of Justice
48. The feds just seized Silk Road’s $1 billion stash of bitcoin
49. US Seizes $1 Billion in Bitcoin Associated With Silk Road

A.I.

1.  Patenting Artificial Intelligence in Canada, the UK and Europe: A Primer
2. AI Application Examination: 5 Key trends
3. Understanding the AI Patent Landscape
4. Plans for new AI legal framework gather pace
5. A global legal standard for Artificial Intelligence? The European Parliament proposes legislation
6. AI and Climate Change: The Promise, the Perils and Pillars for Action 
7. The De-democratization of AI: Deep Learning and the Compute Divide in Artificial Intelligence Research 
8. Co-regulating algorithmic disclosure for digital platforms 
9. Extending the framework of algorithmic regulation. The Uber case
10. AI and health data: cracking the privacy code
11. James Corden is a snarky AI that might take out humanity in Superintelligence 

COMMUNICATIONS

1.  Cultural Uncertainty: A Closer Look at Heritage Minister Steven Guilbeault’s Timeline For Internet Regulation (Michael Geist)
2. Universal Broadband Fund and Telesat low Earth orbit capacity agreement (Government of Canada)
3. Merger ‘Synergies’ Force T-Mobile To Pay $200 Million Fine For Sprint Falsehoods
4. ESPN Lays Off 300 Staffers Amid Resource Shift Toward DTC, Digital Businesses
5. No Chips? No Worries. Ninth Circuit Rejects FTC’s Petition for En Banc Review of Decision Holding that Qualcomm Has No Antitrust Duty to Deal with Rivals
6. Fox News doubles down on calling Arizona for Biden
7. The moment Fox News projected Joe Biden will win 2020 presidential election – video
8. Ajit Pai urged to accept Trump loss and stop controversial rulemakings 
9. D.C. Circuit Rejects Petitions to Strike Down FCC’s 2019 Unbundling and Resale Forbearance Order 
10. FCC Opens Application Portal for $100 Million in Funding to Support Connected Care Services 
11. FCC Adopts Order Expanding Unlicensed Wireless Operations in TV White Spaces 
12. FCC Announces T-Mobile Will Pay $200 Million Penalty Resolving Sprint Lifeline Investigation
13. Wireless 5G Networks in 2021
14. There Is No ‘Race To 5G.’ And The U.S. Wouldn’t Be Winning Even If There Was
15. Alphabet delivers wireless Internet over light beams from 20km away
16. Improperly installed Ring doorbells are catching on fire
17. Your Slingbox Will Be A Useless Brick In A Few Years 
18. We Do Not Have the Internet We Deserve

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

1. Game, set, match: Sometimes the photo is the story
2. Federal Judge Rules Embedding of Instagram Post Containing Copyrighted Photo is Fair Use
3. Embedding in a State of Flux: New York Courts Challenge Decade Old Reasoning from the Ninth Circuit
4. Vallejo v. Narcos Productions LLC (USCA, Oct.27, 2020): Held that portions Netflix’s Narcos series are not substantially similar to journalist’s memoir regarding romantic relationship with Pablo Escobar
5. Capote Charity Claims Copyright
6. Anti-Cheat Student Software Proctorio Issuing DMCA Takedowns Of Fair Use Critiques Over Its Code
7. Copyright Plaintiffs Can’t Figure Out What Copyrights They Own, Court Says ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ (Eric Goldman)
8. Canada’s Forever Register: Newfoundland Trademark Registrations
9. Anita White Strikes Back With Second Trademark Suit
10. He May be Undefeated in the Ring, but Floyd Mayweather Got Knocked Out at the Trademark Office.
11. Augusta National Blazes a Trail to Registration of its Iconic Green Jacket
12. “I sense a disturbance in the force” When Star Wars universe meets Trademark law: Millennial Falcon v Millennium Falcon
13. Glossier’s Pink Pouch TM Registration Could Mean a Rosy Future for Non-Traditional Marks
14. Alleged bait-and-switch selling found not to constitute trade mark infringement
15. Aussie Brewer Keeps Digging Holes With Trademark Lawsuits, Now Owes Court Costs
16. Trademark protection on e-commerce platforms
17. Seeing Green – Post-Election Day 2020: State Trademarks for Cannabis Goods & Services
18. TTAB Refuses Registration of .SUCKS 
19. Trade Secret Strategies: Using Standstill Agreements to Resolve Disputes Out of Court
20. Sedona Conference Publishes Commentary on Proper Trade Secret Identification
21. Federal Court finds that discoverability principle applies to limitation periods under Section 55.01 of Patent Act
22. The Impact of CIPO’s New Guidance on the Prosecution of Patent Applications Directed to Diagnostic Methods
23. Canadian Intellectual Property Office issues Practice Notice regarding patentable subject matter
24. 2020 Brings Growing Trend of Patent Cases Decided by way of Summary Trial
25. Is the new toilet on the International Space Station patentable?
26. Augmented Reality/Virtual Reality Patent Prosecution Update: 2020 Q3 Prosecution Statistics
27. How to protect a user interface with a patent 
28. Massachusetts Voters Overwhelmingly Support Expanded ‘Right To Repair’ Law 
29. Proactive Protection: Intellectual Property Audits
30. Under President Biden, IP evolution is much more likely than revolution
31. WIPO Launches “WIPO Lex-Judgments” Database

PRIVACY

1. Anonymous video analytics’ future uncertain after Canadian privacy regulators’ investigation
2. Privacy Enforcement Update: Possible Collaboration Between the Competition Bureau and the Office of the Privacy Commissioner
3. Mall real estate company collected 5 million images of shoppers, say privacy watchdogs
4. Facial Recognition Company’s Employees Abused Tech To Sexually Harass Coworkers
5. Software snoops on students during exams
6. FTC Settles Complaint Against Zoom Regarding End-to-End Encryption
7. Zoom Settles with FTC Over Deceptive Security Claims
8. Zoom lied to users about end-to-end encryption for years, FTC says
9. California Court Says Wiretap Target Should Have Access To Wiretap Documents
10. Mississippi City Trying To Turn Residents’ Doorbell Cameras Into Law Enforcement Surveillance Network
11. San Diego’s spying streetlights stuck switched “on,” despite directive
12. EU Takes Another Small Step Towards Trying To Ban Encryption; New Paper Argues Tech Can Nerd Harder To Backdoor Encryption
13. Surprise: Latest Draft Of The EU’s Next Big Privacy Law Includes Some Improvements
14. Data Broker On The Hook For $5 Million After Abusing Its Access To North Carolina DMV Data
15. Portland’s Facial Recognition Ban Won’t Stop Private Citizens From Rolling Their Own Tech To ID Cops 
16. The DOJ Will Finally Allow Local Cops To Wear Body Cameras When Working With Federal Agencies
17. California Voters Adopt the California Privacy Rights Act 
18. California Ramps up Consumer Privacy Enforcement
19. California Privacy Rights Act Passes – Dramatically Altering the CCPA
20. Democratizing Platform Privacy
21. Michigan Voters Add Constitutional Protections for Electronic Data and Communications
22. Building a Robust Biometric Compliance Program in the US: A Five-Step Checklist
23. Schrems II: Court Orders the DPC to Pay Majority of Costs

CREATIVITY

1. Gun-Toting Couple Sues Photographer For Privacy Violation Over Photo They Used As Christmas Cards, After He Billed Them
2. Using hate speech as an excuse
3. China’s Hong Kong Protester-Targeting ‘See Something, Say Something’ Hotline Is A Big Success
4. How Should Social Media Handle Election Polls That Turned Out To Be Misinformation?
5. Xiaolu Guo: “The way we read has changed radically in the digital age” – The Chinese novelist on her book A Lover’s Discourse, her love of Roland Barthes, and why fragmented narratives best represent modern life.

Jon

GAMES

1. Bandai Namco, AtGames resolve legal dispute: Judge dismisses lawsuit over Ms. Pac-Man rights, clearing way for re-release of AtGames’ Namco arcade microconsole
2. EA fined €10m over loot boxes as Dutch court sides with gambling authority: District court unmoved by FIFA publisher’s defenses, denies its bid to keep fines from being made public
3. Dutch judge rules that EA should be fined €500k every week until it removes FIFA loot boxes: FUT Had Been Deemed In Violation Of Gambling Rules
4. Opening Pandora’s Loot Box? Canadian Class Action Lawsuit Over Loot Boxes May Provide Guidance On The Legality of Loot Boxes in Canada
5. Sony legal threat compels PS5 faceplate company to cancel all orders: CustomizeMyPlates also had to rebrand from PlateStation5 following complaints from platform holder
6. Judge rejects Google’s attempt to push Epic case to October 2022: Fortnite firm has suggested February 2021 as judge tells both companies to “get moving”
7. Amazon patents method of grouping toxic players together online: Patent filing suggests gamers would be able to specify preferences for the behaviours they would accept
8. Ubisoft investigating after ransomware group claims to have leaked Watch Dogs source code: 560GB code for Legion reportedly available online, could endanger anti-piracy measures
9. Reports of Watch Dogs Legion source code leak prompts Ubisoft investigation 
10. Take-Two Finds Less Success with Second Take on Copyright and Tattoos
11. Randy Orton’s Tattoos Divide Courts as Gamers Prepare for PS5 and Xbox Series X
12. 2020 is already a record year for games investment: $5.2 billion in investment in Q3 alone brings the year’s total to $9.9 billion so far
13. Scopely raises $340 million at $3.3 billion valuation as mobile games thrive during pandemic
14. Newzoo raises its annual games industry forecast for 2020 once again: COVID-19’s impact on the market expected to bring industry revenue to $174.9 billion this year
15. Billy Mitchell’s Defamation Case Against Twin Galaxies Over ‘Donkey Kong’ High Score Can Go Forward
16. Opportunity for Game Publishers & Developers: Over a Quarter of Western Lapsed Gamers Are Looking to Play Again
17. Lab Zero founder Mike Zaimont suspended from work on Guilty Gear update
18. Standing on the shoulders of Riot Grrrl: Story Juice and punk feminism in games: “When you can’t see your stories and perspectives in an industry, then you have to put them there,” says studio founder Dr Hannah Wood
19. Game developers have too much job security | 10 Years Ago This Month
20. Biden/Harris Campaign Deploys Custom ‘Fortnite’ Map To Teach Voters About Key Policies
21. Old School Runescape breaks concurrent player record during Leagues II event
22. Is the games industry open to working class people?
23. Black representation in games | Podcast
24. Twitch Marketing Promo Over Golden Emoji Goes Horribly Wrong After DMCA Nuclear Strike
25. Hasan Piker’s Twitch Stream Is the Future of Election Night Coverage: Last night’s Twitch stream was so thoroughly modern that I was actually able to calm down.
26. Elastic Audio announces Intonal, a new audio programming language for games: CEO Andrew Beck says Intonal would allow game sound design to be as reactive and adaptive as graphic design
27. Pokémon Go’s 2020 revenues estimated at $1bn so far: Niantic game on course to record its best year ever, third biggest mobile game globally
28. Digital and catalog sales continue to drive growth at Capcom
29. Capcom’s games business rescues six-month results: Total revenue and profits increased despite the impact of COVID-19 on arcades and amusement centres
30. Frostpunk board game raises over €2m on Kickstarter
31. Guild Wars 2 pauses Steam plans to focus on expansion development
32. Steam rolls out built-in playtest invite and management tool beta for devs
33. The Lego Group helps Builder’s Journey dev Light Brick go independent 
34. PUBG Mobile has ceased operations in India due to government ban: Tencent statement defends protection of user data — “we deeply regret this outcome”
35. Tencent shutting down PUBG Mobile in India following government ban
36. Tencent leads $25 million investment in Avakin Life dev Lockwood Publishing
37. Tencent invests in Lockwood Publishing: Chinese tech giant leads a $25 million investment round in the Avakin Life creator
38. Tencent-owned Honor of Kings is recording 100 million average daily active users
39. Sega Sammy sells off arcade business as COVID takes its toll
40. Sega Sammy sells arcade business Sega Entertainment to Genda Inc: Company says arcades suffered due to COVID-19; expects “extraordinary losses” for fiscal year related to the sale
41. Gfinity cuts costs, seeks stability following another year of losses: Operating loss for the year was £5.5 million as company ponders acquisitions, partnerships, or sale
42. Zynga posts record quarterly revenues, bookings: Social publisher sees even more acquisitions in its future as revenue, engagement metrics grow, but net loss remains
43. Stillfront acquires collectible card game developer Everguild for $1.37 million
44. Stillfront Group acquires Everguild for £1.06m: Studio collective expands into the CCG genre with Madrid-based developer
45. Curve Digital acquires For the King developer IronOak Games
46. Curve Digital acquires IronOak Games: Canadian studio behind For the King becomes Curve’s second studio acquisition
47. UK startup Sugar closes £1.5m pre-seed round: Passion Capital leads investment in new firm offering finance to games studios wishin to avoid equity funding
48. Phil Spencer: “Our motivation is not to turn everybody into a subscriber” – The Xbox chief renewed his commitment to retail and said Game Pass is not here to “take options away from people”
49. Phil Spencer calls for more diverse leaders in games: Having “visible leaders” should be the industry’s focus, Xbox chief said, addressing the role Microsoft has to play against racial inequity
50. Bethesda exec says an Xbox-exclusive Elder Scrolls is “hard to imagine”
51. Bethesda, Microsoft Make Conflicting Statements About Game Exclusivity After Studio Purchase
52. Microsoft tightens Xbox security to prevent DDOS attacks: Xbox players were being targeted through “random party invites” in multiplayer titles
53. Xbox Party Chat security is being improved to protect IP addresses
54. PlayStation boss prefers organic studio growth over ‘frenzied’ spending
55. PlayStation CEO Jim Ryan on making PS5 more successful than PS4: “I’ve done them all, and this has easily been the most extraordinary PlayStation launch of any of them.”
56. Sony expects PS5 to exceed PS4’s 7.6m launch sales this fiscal year: But CFO Hiro Totoki says each unit will make a “negative contribution to earnings for the time being”
57. The big boost – PlayStation Plus & Fall Guys’ success?
58. Does PlayStation need to buy more games studios? | Opinion: With Microsoft snapping up major studios and publishers in recent years, we consider the implications for Sony
59. Sony reportedly puts a stop to third-party PS5 faceplate plans
60. War Stories: How Nintendo sold the NES to a skeptical country
61. Bringing more franchises to mobile is Activision Blizzard’s biggest opportunity, says COO
62. Activision-Blizzard needs to hire 2,000 people to meet production demands: Publisher to beef up for franchise-focused strategy a year and a half after laying off 800
63. Activision Blizzard reports $1.95 billion in revenue
64. Activision Blizzard beats forecasts with $1.95 billion in Q3 net revenue
65. Call of Duty drives Activision Blizzard revenues up 52% year-over-year: Modern Warfare reboot sets franchise record for first-year premium sales as engagement dips for Blizzard, King
66. Far Cry 6, Rainbow 6 Quarantine delayed: Ubisoft pushes upcoming games into next fiscal year as it reports record profits for first half of year
67. Live games keep cash flow steady as Ubisoft readies for big launches
68. Some current-gen Ubisoft games are forward compatible on Xbox but not PlayStation
69. Ubisoft ‘undertook profound actions’ to address studio culture concerns, says CEO
70. Ubisoft’s strong earnings benefit from live service games and back catalog sales during pandemic
71. Facebook’s cloud isn’t for the birds | Opinion
72. CD Projekt Red’s stock fell 25% in two months amid Cyberpunk uncertainty: Negative stories about the production and release of Cyberpunk 2077 coincided with €2.5b decline in market cap
73. CD Projekt attributes new Cyberpunk delay to working with current-gen consoles: Co-CEO Adam Kiciński apologizes to staff for “demeaning and harmful” comments about crunch during investor call
74. CD Projekt: Cyberpunk crunch ‘not that bad’, ‘mostly’ hits QA, engineers, programmers
75. Developer talent representation evolving alongside the industry: CAA head of games Derek Douglas discusses how Hollywood agencies have handled gaming over his 15-year career
76. Friday the 13th: The Game winds down with final patch, end of dedicated servers
77. Skate 3 returns to top three ten years after release | UK Digital Charts: But FIFA 21 remains at the top
78. Soft opening week for Watch Dogs Legion and Pikmin 3 | UK Physical Charts: New Dark Pictures game breaks Top Ten
79. What could game publishers be doing better?
80. Gears Pop! to shut down as long-term support becomes unfeasible
81. Light Brick Studio splitting off from Lego: Builder’s Journey developer goes indie with investment from Lego Ventures, will continue to work on Lego games
82. Caspar Lee-Founded Fund Invests In Spanish Creator Monetization Startup ‘Streamloots’
83. Oculus Quest 2 pre-orders were five times higher than Oculus Quest: Mark Zuckerberg sets a target of “ten million active units” to make Facebook’s VR platform self-sustaining
84. PlayStation boss suggests the ‘meaningful’ future of VR is still years away
85. Jim Ryan: “We’re more than a few minutes from the future of VR” – PlayStation’s CEO said VR will not be “meaningful component of interactive entertainment” until at least 2022
86. Sony to give away adapters to allow VR use on PlayStation 5: PSVR is not compatible with the PS5 out of the box, but Sony will start shipping adapters for free from the end of October
87. The PlayStation 5 only supports PlayStation VR for PS4 games right now
88. Saved by Morrowind, striving for Starfield: Todd Howard and the story of Bethesda
89. Blog: Breaking down the level design of Die Young: Prologue
90. Blog: A study on modern mobile design
91. Blog: What I learned after making an Among Us-like game in 10 days
92. Blog: What is the Unity Asset Store and how to make money on it?
93. Video: Designing the robot dinosaurs of Horizon Zero Dawn 
94. Video: Creating Michelangelo’s David in VR
95. Don’t Miss: The six year journey to Donut County
96. Don’t Miss: Game dev advice for creating terrifying and memorable 2D monsters
97. Don’t Miss: Building the PvE features in World of Warcraft: Battle for Azeroth
98. Don’t Miss: Building a light-hearted puzzle game around Friday the 13th 
99. Don’t Miss: 6 techniques to make game narratives more dynamic
100. Video: Building a writer’s room for Life is Strange: Before the Storm
101. Mobile game sales deep dive: Meteorfall: Krumit’s Tale
102. Thanks To Fair Use, One Man Is Trying To Preserve Old School Video Game Manuals

DIGITAL

1. Facebook Charged Biden a Higher Price Than Trump for Campaign Ads: In swing states, Biden paid average ad rates of $34 compared with Trump’s average of $17 in July and August
2. The Trump Camp Has Bought YouTube’s Masthead Ad 20 Times This Election—Including On Election Day
3. What Twitter Did After Trump Said Democrats Are Trying to “STEAL” the Election
4. Trump’s campaign and family boost bogus conspiracy theories in a bid to undermine vote count: Campaign sent estimated 9 million texts according to anti-robocall firm, some seeking money to launch voting challenges
5. Court tosses constitutional challenge to Trump order on social media
6. Facebook targeted in U.K. legal action over Cambridge Analytica
7. Facebook sued by UK group over Cambridge Analytica breach
8. Insights: Social Media Platforms’ Election-Protection Plans A Start, But Not Nearly Enough Change For Long-Term
9. What The Election Means For Tech
10. While Social Media Was Quick To Highlight And Limit The Spread Of False Claims Of Election Victory, Traditional Media Just Let It Flow
11. Another Court Rejects Trump’s Censorial Anti-TikTok EO–Marland v. Trump (Eric Goldman)
12. Judge: Trump Admin‘s TikTok ban would cause “irreparable harm” to creators
13. Three TikTok Influencers Influenced A Judge To Block Trump’s TikTok Ban
14. TikTok Countersues Triller, Says Its Tech Doesn’t Violate Patent
15. TikTok Re-Ups Licensing Deal With Sony, Adding Marketing, Artist Discovery Components
16. Nixon Scandal Resulted In A Law To Prevent The Politicization Of Antitrust Cases; Meanwhile Trump Uses His Politicized Antitrust Effort In Campaign Ad
17. As Trump falsely claims victory, Twitter and Facebook counter misinformation
18. How Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Reddit are handling the election
19. Turkish President Sues Dutch Lawmaker Over A Bunch Of ‘Insulting’ Tweets
20. U.S. Department of Justice Sues Google for Antitrust Violations
21. Google Kills Nest Secure, Can’t Be Bothered To Explain Support Roadmap
22. Senate hauls Zuckerberg, Dorsey into hearing to yell at them about tweets
23. The Senate Snowflake Grievance Committee Quizzes Tech CEOs On Tweets & Employee Viewpoints
24. A Digital Tech New Deal to break up Big Tech: Antitrust efforts in the US are not enough to counter the global power of Big Tech.
25. NZ Supreme Court Gives A Mixed Bag Extradition Ruling To Kim Dotcom; Extradition Still Alive, But He Can Raise Procedural Issues
26. Transparency Is Important; Mandated Transparency Is Dangerous And Will Stifle Innovation And Competition
27. Constitutional Challenge to Trump’s Anti-230 EO Fails–Rock the Vote v. Trump (Eric Goldman)
28. Free Market Advocate Switches Sides, Calls For Direct Government Interference In Online Moderation Decisions
29. Trump campaign out $2.3 million after hack of Wisconsin GOP
30. Changing Section 230 Won’t Fix Politicians’ Issues With Section 230
31. Twitter, Facebook, Google Heads Testify on Section 230 and Local Journalism
32. Your Problem Is Not With Section 230, But The 1st Amendment
33. Snapchat Isn’t Liable for Its Speed Filter (Even if Section 230 Doesn’t Apply)–Maynard v. Snapchat (Eric Goldman)
34. Creators Are Starting To Make A Lot Of Money On Facebook
35. Facebook’s Handy Identity Crisis: Publisher or bulletin board? Can it really give up news sharing? Why the tech giant works hard to resist definition.
36. Facebook Takes Aim at NYU Web Scrapers
37. This microscopic 3D-printed Star Trek Voyager can move on its own
38. Apple One, Apple’s answer to Amazon Prime, is finally launching
39. On The Podcast: All The Reasons Why Quibi Didn’t Work
40. A Quick Bite Post Mortem For For Quibi: Hollywood Still Doesn’t Get The Internet
41. BEN Group Acquires YouTube Channel-Optimizing Browser Extension ‘TubeBuddy’
42. YouTube Hits $5 Billion In Ad Revenue, 30 Million Premium And Music Subscribers In Q3
43. YouTube Soundtracking Service Epidemic Sound Launches ‘Music Recommender’ Tool For Creators
44. Ryan Kaji Becomes First YouTuber To Be Featured In Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade In Roughly A Century
45. “Baby Shark” Overtakes “Despacito” To Become YouTube’s Most-Watched Video Of All Time
46. Tati Westbrook Sued By Former Business Partner In Her Halo Beauty Vitamin Venture
47. David Dobrik Links Up With Leonardo DiCaprio For Second Voter Registration Contest
48. Google says it’s “committed” to Nest Secure but won’t ship any new features
49. Senate hauls Zuckerberg, Dorsey into hearing to yell at them about tweets
50. Netflix Raises Subscription Prices In The U.S., Causing Shares To Jump 4%
51. Spotify CEO Says ‘The Joe Rogan Experience’ Is No. 1 English Podcast, Has “Outperformed Our Expectations”
52. Filtering feminisms: Emergent feminist visibilities on Instagra
53. Creator Community Standard Beefs Up In-House Video Production With Acquisition Of Studio Mighteor
54. The Ongoing Transformation of the Digital Public Sphere: Basic Considerations on a Moving Target
55. Decentralize the feedback infrastructure! (Pedro Garcia Lopez)
56. Revisiting the Black Box Society by rethinking the political economy of big data (Benedetta Brevini, Frank Pasquale)
57. Dark pools and data markets: an exploration of the regulatory challenges
58. The Janus faces of Silicon Valley
59. Freedom of Expression and Alternatives for Internet Governance: Prospects and Pitfalls (Emma Ricknell)
60. A Digital Tech New Deal: Digital Socialism, Decolonization, and Reparations for a Sustainable Global Economy (Michael Kwet)
61. California votes against granting Uber and Lyft drivers employee status
62. Who Needs to Tell the U.S. Internal Revenue Service About Their Cryptocurrency Activity?
63. US Bank Crypto Services Proceed, Crypto Debit Cards Launch in US and Mexico, Blockchain Enterprise Developments, and Crypto Enforcement Continues
64. Someone has transferred ~$1 billion from a bitcoin wallet quiet since 2015

A.I.

1. A new way to plug a human brain into a computer: Via veins
2. Acknowledging AI as an Inventor of IP – A Slippery Slope to Giving AI the Same Rights as Humans?
3. AI use in U.S. criminal justice reinforced racialized decision-making: Law Commission of Ontario
4. Racial Discrimination in Face Recognition Technology
5. Legal and Ethics Checklist for AI Systems
6. Draft Proposal for the Regulation of Ethical AI
7. Weak Ties: The Urban History of an Algorithm
8. Patent protection of machine learning and artificial intelligence inventions in Europe
9. “Oh Jeeeesus”: Drivers react to Tesla’s full self-driving beta release
10. Tesla raises “full self-driving” price from $8,000 to $10,000
11. Connected cars must be open to third parties, say Massachusetts voters
12. Content Moderation Case Study: Moderating An Anonymous Social Network (2015)
13. Content Moderation Case Studies: Using AI To Detect Problematic Edits On Wikipedia (2015)
14. Video: Character control with neural networks in Assassin’s Creed
15. More Than a Feeling: Emotion detection doesn’t work, but it will try to change your behavior anyway (Frank Pasquale)
16. No longer sci-fi: our bodies as computers 
17. Apply for UK Government funding for robotic AI by 20 November 2020 

COMMUNICATIONS

1. Altering the broadcasting landscape – Canada’s Broadcasting Act to be amended
2. Feds propose changes to Broadcasting Act that may raise $800 million from streamers: New regulations would ensure streaming platforms face same rules as traditional broadcasters
3. Broadcasting Act Amendments
4. The Government’s Internet Regulation Bill: Why Bill C-10 Will Mean a CRTC-Approved Netflix Service, Reduced Consumer Choice, and Less Investment in Canadian Culture (Michael Geist)
5. Heritage Minister Steven Guilbeault’s “Get Money from Web Giants” Internet Regulation Bill: An Unauthorized Backgrounder (Michael Geist)
6. What’s Another Way Supporters of Mandated Facebook Media Payments Promote Their Position? Paid Facebook Advertising (Michael Geist)
7. The tech antitrust problem no one is talking about: Americans pay more for broadband, have fewer choices than consumers in other countries.
8. Monopolistic U.S. ISPs Take Full Advantage Of The Covid Crisis
9. “Stay Home” robocalls to voters prompt FBI, FCC investigations
10. FCC forces T-Mobile to pay $200 million fine for subsidiary Sprint’s fraud
11. Time to Treat Broadband Like the Essential Service It Is
12. The Enormous Cost Of Digital Inequality 
13. Cable TV Execs Move Past Denial Stage, Now Fully Expect A ‘Cord Cutting’ Bloodbath
14. FCC Approves All-Digital AM Radio Broadcasts
15. FCC Establishes $9 Billion Fund to Support 5G Services in Rural America
16. FCC to Lift Freeze on TV Station Technical Improvement Applications
17. More on the FCC Rule Changes on Public Notice of Broadcast Applications and Required New Link on Station Homepages
18. Comcast Tells Customers They May Lose Access To Comcast Channels If Comcast Can’t Agree With Comcast 
19. What’s New in 5G – November 2020 
20. Audiovisual Media Services Regulations 2020 Made

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

1.  Use Your Illusion: Rights in posthumous holographic performance
2. Intellectual Property & Architecture – Copyright Protection in Focus
3. Tenth Circuit Breathes New Life into a Spooky Skeleton Copyright Dispute 
4. Protect Your Posts: New Group Copyright Registration Option for Online Blogs and Articles 
5. The US election: a vote on IP?
6. New Working Paper – Memes and Parasites: A discourse analysis of the Copyright in the Digital Single Market Directive 
7. Canada: Official marks can lead to damages for infringement of regular trademarks, according to Canada’s Federal Court of Appeal 
8. Procedures and strategies for anti-counterfeiting: Canada
9. Ninth Circuit: Likelihood of Confusion Required to Sustain TM Counterfeiting Claim 
10. Hallmark Win in Greeting Card Trademark Dispute: Court Finds Unauthorized Sale of Cards Meant for Destruction Infringing
11. Neat infringement claim leaves whiskey competitor’s trade mark on the rocks
12. Counterfeit luxury goods 
13. Brand protection in the digital world 
14. Distilling the value of corporate trademarks 
15. Descriptive Use of a Registered Trademark is not Infringement
16. Slogans as marks: when does a slogan function as a mark 
17. Trademark Cancellation Is Appropriate Sanction for Misconduct
18. Cookie Trade Dress Infringement Case Crumbles in Face of Functionality Challenge
19. A Clear Need: To Allege Misappropriation, Identify Trade Secret 
20. CIPO’s Patentable Subject-Matter Guidance – Same Code, Different Syntax 
21. The Canadian Patent Office Releases New Guidelines: The Diagnostic’s Industry Should Be Cautiously Optimistic 
22. Canadian Patents: What to Keep in Mind One Year After the Coming into Force of the New Rules? 
23. The Intersection between Drop-Shipping and Patent Infringement 
24. The Changing Patent Landscape in the Semiconductor Space 
25. Size Matters in Obviousness Analysis 
26. Marathon musings – Patenting running watch algorithms in Europe
27. Five Patents You Should Know About for Halloween 2020
28. Courtrooms and the America’s Cup – Patent infringement set to be the latest out-of-water battle 
29. A “Bitterly Divided” Federal Circuit Declines to Stay Decision Invalidating Car Driveshaft Patent
30. Clearing the 5G Patent Forest! 
31. People With Silly Patents Would Really Like It If It Was Harder To Cancel Them
32. Final PMPRB guidelines released 
33. “Zombie” Privacy & IP Rights: Protecting the Rights to an Individual’s Image after Death: Part 1 of 2
34. “Zombie” Privacy & IP Rights: Protecting the Rights to an Individual’s Image after Death: Part 2 of 2
35. How Might New Supreme Court Justice Barrett Rule on IP Cases?

PRIVACY

1. Alberta Court of Appeal rules that searches of electronic devices at the border are unconstitutional
2. Cybersecurity Among Factors Driving Privacy Law Reform in Canada
3. Use of Facial Recognition Software for Customer Analytics
4. California Voters Approve New Data Privacy Law
5. California Voters Pass Proposition 24 – the California Privacy Rights Act
6. California Passes Proposition 24: California Privacy Rights Act to Become Law
7. California Voters Approve Reworking of Landmark Consumer Privacy Law – What CCPA 2.0 Will Mean for Businesses and Consumers
8. Clearview Resurfaces To Make Some Empty Promises About Keeping Cops From Abusing Its Tech
9. Portland, Maine has voted to ban facial recognition
10. Risks and Compliance Under the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act: No Actual Harm Required for Private Cause of Action
11. One Clear Message From Voters This Election? More Privacy
12. Stanford Research Shows VR Users Can Be Identified Using Only 5 Minutes of Motion Data
13. How the Upcoming Election Could Change Privacy Law in the U.S.
14. Google’s Project Zero discloses Windows 0day that’s been under active exploit
15. EFF Asks Government To Dump DHS’s Plan To Massively Expand Its Biometric Collections
16. Senator Wyden Wants To Know If The NSA Is Still Demanding Tech Companies Build Backdoors Into Their Products
17. ICO fines Marriott 18.4 million pounds for failing to secure customer data 
18. A New Wave of Class Action Lawsuits is Targeting Online Customer Tracking
19. UK Privacy Regulator Dramatically Reduces Fine for British Airways’ GDPR Violations 
20. Swiss-U.S. Privacy Shield Invalidated by Swiss Commissioner
21. Dr. Strangenet—or, how I stopped worrying and embraced the WFH IT apocalypse

CREATIVITY

1. Trump Appointee Removes ‘Firewall’ Preventing Administration From Meddling In VOA Reporting
2. President-For-Life Hopeful Donald Trump Issues Executive Order Mandating ‘Patriotic’ Education For Kids
3. Johnny Depp loses high-risk libel trial against NGN and Dan Wootton
4. To Prevent Free, Frictionless Access To Human Knowledge, Publishers Want Librarians To Be Afraid, Very Afraid

Jon

NoW October 28, 2020 

GAMES

1. EA hit with class action lawsuit in Canada over loot box usage
2. EA Accused Of Running “Unlicensed, Illegal Gaming System”
3. Billy Mitchell’s Donkey Kong high-score case will move forward to trial
4. AOC’s Twitch stream is a milestone for games — and for politics | Opinion: Embarrassing copycats are inevitable, but Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez opened a new frontier by showing how to reach younger voters
5. Twitch Deletes Content for Copyright Infringement Without Warning
6. 2K Sports Could Have Avoided Its Un-Skippable Ads Backlash If The Ads Were Better Content
7. Music industry organisations slam Twitch in open letter: The streaming giant denied the claims that its Soundtrack service is not fully licensed
8. Epic refutes Apple’s theft claims as “implausible and deficient as a matter of law”: “Apple seeks to compare Epic’s conduct to stealing cash from a vault in ApplePark,” new legal filing argues
9. Epic hits back at Apple, saying it ‘has no rights to the fruits of Epic’s labor’
10. Casino Game App Settles Gambling Accusations for $6.5 Million
11. Wasteland 3 removed “interactive use” of recreational drug for Australian release: InXile’s game was the only title out of 316 to be denied a certificate by the Australian ratings board in the last fiscal year
12. “The industry has come of age — we take our responsibilities seriously”: UKIE’s Jo Twist on the right response to “a new phase of regulatory scrutiny” for the games industry
13. Lifting the barriers for Black professionals in the games industry: Focusing on retention and promotion, the GamesIndustry.biz Academy looks at the barriers facing Black talent in games
14. Microsoft’s game revenue up by $550 million as Xbox readies for Series X debut
15. Microsoft quietly closes its final quarter before next-gen: Company projects 40% growth in hardware sales next quarter, constrained by supply
16. Xbox Series boxes unboxed, revealing a series of Xboxes inside of boxes
17. Microsoft explains how the Xbox Series S and X will shape up on day one
18. Xbox Brazil host says she was fired to protect her from harassment: Microsoft says termination of Isadora Basile was unrelated to harassment, was instead due to increased focus on Xbox Wire
19. Xbox muses xCloud expansion through ‘lower priced’ gear like streaming sticks
20. All Xbox, 360, and One games playable on Xbox One work on Xbox Series X and S: Except the ones that require Kinect
21. Phil Spencer: “You’re going to see lower-priced hardware as part of our ecosystem” – Xbox head suggests future tech could include streaming sticks, TV controllers for xCloud access
22. Xbox wants more “E-rated content” to strengthen its portfolio: Phil Spencer also says its priorities for Game Pass put Chromebook, smart TV access above Switch or PS4
23. First-party releases are driving sales and operating income at Sony
24. PS4 shipments near 114m as new generation looms: More than 75% of all PlayStation revenue came from digital sources in the second quarter, with only 41% of games bought physically
25. Clearing up which media apps will be available on PS5 at launch
26. Sony delays PS5 launch title Destruction AllStars until 2021 
27. Destruction AllStars delayed from PS5 launch: Sony pushes arena combat game’s debut to February, when it will be free to PlayStation Plus subscribers
28. First 12 hours of PS5 preorders match first 12 weeks of PS4’s – CEO Jim Ryan: “It may well be that not everybody who wants to buy a PS5 on launch day will be able to find one”
29. PlayStation’s new (web) store, genre viability & more
30. Battle of the launch line-ups: What games make for a successful console launch?: How important are first-party games? What will be the key titles for PS5 and Xbox Series X/S? We look at the data
31. 30 years later, Nintendo is localizing the first Fire Emblem game
32. Control and Hitman 3 are heading to the Switch via the cloud
33. Control, Hitman 3 receive streaming versions on Switch: Ultimate Edition of Remedy’s latest arrives today; both games will be free-to-start so players can test performance
34. Nintendo’s new translation tune? What a Fire Emblem re-release means in 2020
35. Nintendo drops price of single Joy-Cons in the US: Controllers get $10 price cut, as well as another color option for individual purchase
36. Uplay+ rebrands to Ubisoft+, adding Luna and Stadia support by 2021: Ubisoft launches beta program on Amazon’s streaming service November 10 before hitting Google’s service by year’s end
37. Ubisoft details next-gen improvements for its upcoming games: Most of the publisher’s upcoming titles releasing on current generation hardware will benefit from a free upgrade
38. Ubisoft and Netflix partner on Assassin’s Creed live-action series: The deal also includes work on animated and anime series
39. FIFA 21 retains No.1 in quiet week before the storm | UK Boxed Charts: Cadence of Hyrule sneaks into the Top 40
40. Digital console spending up 40% last month thanks to wave of big releases – SuperData: NBA 2K21, Avengers, Tony Hawk, and Super Mario 3D All-Stars lead console spending for September
41. Report: Latest Cyberpunk 2077 delay announcement blindsides its dev team
42. Cyberpunk 2077, after going gold, gets delayed another month
43. Cyberpunk 2077’s third delay pushes it to December 10: CD Projekt Red says it needs an extra three weeks to work on launch day patch
44. CD Projekt Red devs speak out after Cyberpunk 2077 delay met with death threats
45. Facebook quietly debuts cloud-streaming service for Facebook Gaming
46. Facebook takes its first small steps into the world of cloud gaming: It’s not a new service, but cloud-powered games are playable on Facebook
47. Facebook enters cloud streaming with free-to-play mobile games, playable ads: Jason Rubin explains the company’s plans to make the bottom line work, and how he expects streaming to change play patterns
48. Deleting Facebook wipes out Oculus purchases: Users who have not linked their Facebook account to their VR headset yet are not impacted
49. Facebook’s cloud-gaming offering focuses on free-to-play mobile games
50. Analysis: Facebook gears up for ad-supported cloud gaming service
51. Facebook’s cloud gaming push, why social gaming took off, more!
52. “We need a real shift in the tide”: Black professionals on representation in the UK: As the UK celebrates Black History Month, we speak to developers, players and more about racial equality in the games industry
53. Creative Director At Google Stadia Advocates Streamers Paying Game Devs And Publishers
54. Google distances itself from Stadia creative director’s comments 
55. Google distances itself from Stadia creative director Alex Hutchinson: Internet giant asserts that tweets about streamers paying royalties “do not reflect those of Stadia, YouTube or Google”
56. Mojang games to require Microsoft account: All the titles from the Minecraft developer will be impacted by the change, including Minecraft Java Edition
57. We need to talk about Steam & China
58. Roblox player spending passes $2 billion on mobile: Sensor Tower estimates suggest half of that total arrived in the last 12 months
59. Devolver Digital brings in licensing specialist to work on Fall Guys: Fée Heyer brings experience from Dunlop Sports, describes Mediatonic’s game as “a phenomenon rarely seen before”
60. The constant tug of war between AAA developers and “the money people”: Massive Entertainment boss David Polfeldt discusses the instability of AAA and the influence of self-inflicted crunch
61. Scopely acquires Genjoy: Match-three developer and its 150 employees add to Scopely’s presence in Spain
62. Scopely acquires Spanish mobile studio Genjoy to expand match-3 roster
63. Scopely raises $340 million to forge new partnerships in mobile games
64. Scopely picks up $340 million in Series E funding: At least 14 investors lend support to Star Trek Fleet Command company
65. Shotcall closes $2.2m seed round: The platform aims to connect content creators and their community by letting them play together
66. Genshin Impact made $245m in its first month on mobile alone: This makes it one of the biggest mobile launches ever
67. Riot Games appoints first ever chief marketing officer to help expand player base
68. Call of Duty: Mobile has topped 300 million downloads
69. Clever game dev tech is at the core of Watch Dogs Legion’s London
70. Watch Dogs: Legion review: A meaningless mob, with mostly merry mayhem
71. Watch Dogs Legion | Critical Consensus: Ubisoft’s latest draws largely warm reception as the play-as-anyone idea works, but critics split on how far that carries the game
72. Uplay+ subscription rebrands as Ubisoft+ and adds multi-platform support
73. Ubisoft and Netflix partner for live action Assassin’s Creed series
74. How Indiana Jones, Rambo, and others ended up in 1980s Czechoslovak text-adventures
75. Why bringing Donkey Kong 64 into the third dimension required a mental shift
76. Building concept art workflows with neural net-powered ‘generative adversarial networks’
77. Unity teams up with Lego to teach game development fundamentals
78. MrBeast-Backed Gaming Venture Launches Backbone One, A Controller That Turns iPhones Into Consoles
79. Cloud9 signs its first-ever all-woman esports roster: Valorant team formerly known as MAJKL becomes Cloud9 White, begins competing this week
80. Tencent leads $100 million investment into Chinese esports company VSPN
81. Tencent leads $100m Series B round in VSPN: Chinese esports firm eyes international expansion after growing to 1,000 employees in the space of four years
82. VENN closes $26m Series A funding: The esports and gaming broadcast network secured Nexstar Media Group as an exclusive local television partner
83. CS GO pro players banned for betting on themselves: The accused had accomplices that were placing identical bets
84. Esports Entertainment Group to acquire Helix Esports and ggCircuit: The deal will be worth $43 million, Esports Entertainment Group teases more “near-term” acquisitions
85. Not Just America: CEO Of Esports Org In India Says COVID-19 Resulted In Explosive Growth
86. Trademarks and E-games
87. VR lessons from Arizona Sunshine’s success: Vertigo Games dives into the strategies behind its virtual reality hit, and how it paved the way for future projects such as After the Fall
88. Ubisoft’s VR Space Sim ‘AGOS: A Game of Space’ Launches Today
89. How Agos A Game Of Space Will Turn Players Into A Spaceship: Will you be the benevolent AI spaceship guardian of the human colonists in the VR space sim Agos, or will you go homicidal like HAL?
90. Tilt Five on working around the pandemic to deliver tabletop AR: CEO Jeri Ellsworth explains how the platform adapted its manufacturing and fundraising to COVID-19, and what the strategy is going forward
91. Video: The lighting technology of Detroit: Become Human
92. Video: How internal game jams can help art teams.
93. Video: How Jagex has evolved to change with the times over 16 years
94. Video: A better way of depicting war in games
95. Video: Bridging community divides in cross-platform online games
96. Blog: The Zynga analytics platform in 2020
97. Don’t Miss: What Nintendo’s indie program looked like way back in 2014
98. Don’t Miss: Why Clint Hocking wanted every NPC in Watch Dogs: Legion to be playable

DIGITAL

1. Facebook Seeks Shutdown of NYU Research Project Into Political Ad Targeting: In letter this month, Facebook says the project violates provisions in its terms of service that prohibit bulk data collection
2. No Robots, Spiders, or Scrapers: Legal and Ethical Regulation of Data Collection Methods in Social Media Terms of Service (Casey Fiesler, Nathan Beard, Brian Keegan)
3. Facebook’s Threat To NYU Researchers Is A Mistake, But It’s The Inevitable Follow On To Overreaction To Cambridge Analytica
4. Zuckerberg And Facebook Throw The Open Internet Under The Bus; Support Section 230 Reform
5. Sacha Baron Cohen Demands Facebook Remove Conspiracies; Flips Out When Facebook Removes His Article With Conspiracy Images
6. S.D.N.Y. Dismisses Defamation Case Arising Out of “Battle by Tweet”
7. Yet Another Twitter Account Suspension Case Fails–Jones v. Twitter (Eric Goldman)
8. Trump’s website defaced with claim that Trump admin created coronavirus
9. Hacker says he correctly guessed Trump’s Twitter password—it was “maga2020!”
10. Trumpist Republicans Latest Freakout A Total Self-Own, As They Reveal They Don’t Read What They Tweet
11. Ninth Circuit Dumps Sentencing Enhancement Handed To Defendant For Opening Social Media Accounts For ISIS Sympathizers
12. Iran behind supposed “Proud Boys” voter-intimidation emails, Feds allege
13. Google Will Temporarily Ban Election-Related Advertising Once the Polls Close
14. RIP Google Play Music, 2011 – 2020
15. We’re Still Unsure If Instagram Grants Users a Sublicense to Embed Photos (Eric Goldman)
16. President’s Promise to Limit 230 Immunity is Underway
17. Section 230 – Everything You Love and Hate About the Internet
18. Another Section 230 Reform Bill: Dangerous Algorithms Bill Threatens Speech
19. Content Moderation Case Studies: Facebook Removes Militia Event Following A Shooting (August 2020)
20. Content Moderation Case Study: Facebook’s Moderation Of Terrorist Content Results In The Removal Of Journalists’ And Activists’ Accounts (June 2020)
21. DOJ Antitrust Case Against Google Draws Allusions to Landmark Microsoft and Standard Oil Cases
22. Google’s Data Collection Practices Face Scrutiny in Recent Lawsuits
23. YouTube Is Running Out Of Room For Political Ads
24. YouTube Music To Hold All-Day Digital Fest Featuring Artists From Its Foundry
25. YouTube Adds New Navigational Gestures To Mobile App, Thumbnail View For Video ‘Chapters’
26. Top 50 Most Viewed US YouTube Channels • Week Of 10/26/2020
27. Top 50 Most Viewed YouTube Channels Worldwide • Week Of 10/26/2020
28. RIAA Tosses Bogus Claim At Github To Get Video Downloading Software Removed
29. GitHub boots popular YouTube download tool after RIAA claim
30. Twitch’s Freak Out Response To RIAA Takedown Demands Raises Even More DMCA Questions
31. Join The Fan Fiction Deep State And Watch This Latest Video That Addison Cain Really Doesn’t Want You To See
32. Tubular Labs Debuts New Industry-Standard Viewership Metrics For Digital Video
33. Invisalign Shares Soar Following Huge Quarter, With Substantial Jolt From Charli D’Amelio
34. Startup ‘Kindred’ Wants To Help Socially-Conscious Influencers Speak With Greater Authority
35. Amazon launches new Counterfeit Crimes Unit
36. TikTok To Provide Greater Insight Into Video Takedowns With New Notification System
37. Adult Card Game ‘What Do You Meme?’ Launches Official TikTok Edition
38. TikTok Links Up with Shopify For Ad Integration Amid Social Commerce Push
39. A Biden-Harris PAC Is Behind TikTok’s First Virtual Creator House
40. YouTube Introduces New Icon For TikTok-Like ‘Shorts’ Tool, Shares Discovery Tips For Creators
41. TikTok Partners With Associated Press To Display Live Election Results In ‘For You’ Feed
42. Zoom Shuts Down NYU Event To Discuss Whether Zoom Should Be Shutting Down Events Based On Content
43. The Daily Show’s Jon Stewart will return in new Apple TV+ series
44. Apple develops alternative to Google search
45. Insights: How To Avoid Quibi’s Gigantic Bust-Out In Your Own Startup
46. BBTV Goes Public On Toronto Stock Exchange
47. Bumble, the Popular Dating App, Eyes $6 Billion IPO
48. Record Deals Are So Yesterday. Here’s The New Playbook For Musicians On The Internet.
49. Spotify Inks Overall Podcast Deal With Talent Manager Scooter Braun
50. Digital, Culture, Media and Sports Committee launches inquiry into the impact of streaming on the music industry
51. Bot orders $18,752 of McSundaes every 30 min. to find if machines are working
52. DOJ and IRS May Soon Begin Enforcement Actions Against Virtual Currency Tax Fraudsters
53. PayPal Pushes Crypto Further into the Mainstream
54. A general introduction to the regulation of virtual currencies in Canada
55. SEC Resolves Digital Token Offering Case
56. Bitcoin “Mixer” Operator Penalized by FinCEN for AML Violations
57. Scanning the European Ecosystem of Distributed Ledger Technologies for Social and Public Good

A.I.

1.  Bias behind bars: A Globe investigation finds a prison system stacked against Black and Indigenous inmates – Black & Indigenous inmates are more likely to get worse scores than white inmates, based solely on their race
2. AI Predicts Aggressiveness of Early Stage Breast Cancer 
3. USPTO publishes report on public views on artificial intelligence and IP Policy – US IP law adequate for now, until artificial general intelligence is reached? 
4. UK Court Decision: Artificial Intelligence Machine Is Not An Inventor 
5. Use of Aggregated Data in Artificial Intelligence Solutions
6. Regulating AI: EU proposes legal framework for Artificial Intelligence 
7. Don’t Miss: 7 examples of game AI that every developer should study 
8. Don’t Miss: Looking back at Left 4 Dead’s dynamic AI 

COMMUNICATIONS

1. Canadian News Media Lobby Group Calls for Creation of Government Digital Media Regulatory Agency (Michael Geist)
2. Where is Canada’s News Media Lobby Promoting Its Link Licensing Plan for Facebook? On Facebook (Michael Geist)
3. Senator wants Google, Facebook to pony up for local news
4. Pai’s FCC squeezes in one more vote against net neutrality before election
5. FCC Ignores The Courts, Finalizes Facts-Optional Repeal Of Net Neutrality
6. The Trump Swamp Fights Itself Over Multi-Billion Dollar No-Bid Spectrum Grab
7. Wall Street: Traditional Cable TV Sector ‘Unraveling’ In Wake Of Covid 
8. As EU Starts To Draft Its Most Important New Online Law, The Digital Services Act, MEPs Want Basic Rights High On The Agenda
9. TCPA Bites Political Speech Again: Trump Campaign Sued for Alleged Illegal Robotexts
10. AT&T loses another 600,000 TV customers as it seeks buyer for DirecTV
11. T-Mobile screwups caused nationwide outage, but FCC isn’t punishing carrier
12. It’s Opposite Day At The FCC: Rejects All Its Own Legal Arguments Against Net Neutrality To Claim It Can Be The Internet Speech Police
13. Congress, With Nothing Important On Its Hands, Seeks To Rush Through Nomination Of Anti-230 FCC Commissioner 
14. We’re Already Hyping 6G When 5G Hasn’t Even Finished Disappointing Us Yet
15. The Network: How a Secretive Phone Company Helped the Crime World Go Dark
16. Stupid Use Of Profanity Filter Makes A Mess Of Virtual Paleontologist Conference
17. FCC Proposes Expansion of Sponsor ID Rules to Require Disclosure of Foreign Government Support
18. Community Broadband In The Age Of Covid

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

1.  Enforcing Copyright Outside the Courtroom – The New Notice Regimes 
2. FLVTO.biz Petitions SCOTUS To Hear Jurisdiction Argument In Stream-Ripping Lawsuit 
3. Battle Lines Drawn Over Font Copyright Protection
4. Tom Lehrer, Still Awesome, Releases Lyrics Into The Public Domain
5. Armes v. Post: In action asserting co-authorship of Post Malone’s hit song “Circles,” court dismisses alleged co-authorship of recording, but denies motion to dismiss based on co-authorship of underlying composition. 
6. SCOTUS Reaches for Cup of Java in Oracle v. Google Oral Argument
7. New Working Paper – Memes and Parasites: A discourse analysis of the Copyright in the Digital Single Market Directive
8. Canada’s Official Marks – A Public Nuisance? 
9. Jack Daniel’s Petitions for Certiorari to Clarify Trademark Fair Use
10. Monster Mash: Minor League Hockey Team Prevails Over Energy Drink Giant in Trademark Dispute
11. One Restaurant Sends Cease And Desist To Another Over The Word ‘Juicy’ 
12. Trade Secret Battle Waged in Legal Services Market
13. Second Chances From the Second Circuit: Tiffany’s $21m Judgment Is Overturned and Remanded Back to the SDNY 
14. Federal Court of Appeal affirms largest reported Canadian patent infringement award in history
15. Navigating your Global Patent Prosecution Strategy under Canada’s new Patent Rules
16. IP monitor: Claim construction revisited: Positive changes for applicants seeking to protect computer-related inventions
17. Solving the ‘problem-solution’ problem for patent applicants: Choueifaty decision
18. Can you patent software? 
19. Spotlight On: Neulasta® (pegfilgrastim) / Fulphila® (pegfilgrastim-jmdb) / Udenyca® (pegfilgrastim-cbqv) / Ziextenzo® (pegfilgrastim-bmez) / Nyvepria™ (pegfilgrastim-apgf) 
20. U.S. Court Values Cybersecurity Patents at Nearly $2 Billion, but Why?
21. A Patentee’s Dismissed Lawsuit Will Preclude a Subsequent, Effectively Identical Suit in the Absence of Different Conduct, Different Alleged Violations or Litigants, or Different Subsequent Facts 

PRIVACY

1. Sensitive Personal Information: Another Concept Borrowed From The GDPR
2. Hacked Healthcare Provider Refuses to Pay Ransom, Attackers Target Psychotherapy Patients
3. Advisories: “Brazen” Russian ransomware hackers target hundreds of US hospitals
4. Data as Property?
5. 2020 Data Privacy Compendium
6. Top Five Tips to Protect Privilege in a Data Breach 

CREATIVITY

1. Ivanka Trump, Jared Kushner Threaten Defamation Suit Over Lincoln Project’s Non-Defamatory Billboards
2. Dark Ironies: The Financial Times and Cambridge Analytica
3. Appeals Court Reinstates Injunction Blocking Federal Agents From Assaulting Portland Journalists
4. Demonstrating the Strength of the “Opinion Defense,” Rose McGowan Defeats Defamation Suit

Jon

GAMES

1. Class Action Lawsuit Filed Against EA in Canada Over Loot Boxes
2. EA facing Canadian class action lawsuit over loot boxes: Two plaintiffs seeking damages as suit calls out “unlicensed, illegal gaming system” in over 60 titles
3. Mark Sutherland and Shawn Moore v. Electronic Arts Inc. (Notice of Civil Claim The Supreme Court of B.C., September 30, 2020)
4. Rune 2 lawsuit alleges deliberate sabotage from Bethesda, ZeniMax
5. ZeniMax, Bethesda, Roundhouse added to lawsuit over Rune 2: Ragnarok accuses companies involved in Human Head demise and Roundhouse formation of sabotaging Rune 2 and a game based on the Oblivion Song comic
6. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is running an Among Us stream to drive voter turnout
7. AOC makes explosive Twitch debut with over 435,000 Among Us viewers
8. AOC’s debut Twitch stream is one of the biggest ever: And she’s genuinely pretty good at Among Us
9. 439,000 People Watched Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Take On Top Content Creators In ‘Among Us’
10. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Storms Twitch: More than 400,000 people tuned into AOC’s stream of a marathon Among Us session with representative Ilhan Omar and Twitch luminaries.
11. US Rep Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez’s Twitch stream drew 439k peak viewers: Among Us stream with fellow Representative Ilhan Omar and popular Twitch streamers saw highest peak of any politician on Twitch
12. AOC’s record-breaking Twitch stream is the future of politics: Young, tech-savvy, meme-literate, and accessible
13. Twitch purges videos after “thousands” of requests from music labels: Streaming site offers content creators the ability to delete all videos as it issues “a one-time warning to learn about copyright law”
14. Women and gamers of color detail experiences with online harassment in games like Call of Duty
15. More allegations surface against Rooster Teeth’s Ryan Haywood: Former Achievement Hunter host described as “predatory,” allegedly taking advantage of power imbalance to solicit sexual favours from young women
16. A lawyer’s perspective on the industry’s abuse problem: Toxic family notions, favoritism and lack of regulation all lead to abuse, says legal expert Siobhán Crawford
17. Summer video game reveals showed record number of female protagonists: But Feminist Frenquency’s annual analysis warns this may be a “one-off statistical anomaly”
18. Liar Liar, Mobile Game Ads Under Fire — ASA Bans Misleading Ads for Mobile Games
19. Epic vs. Apple is losing PR steam | Opinion: Sensible rulings in Epic’s legal dispute with Apple have pared the case back to its core question — and shown just how disruptive Epic’s demand really is
20. Take-Two Opposes Trademark For An Entertainment Company Running An Axe-Throwing Facility
21. NBA 2K21 adds unskippable ads to loading screens: 2K Sports introduces new monetization method to latest basketball title weeks after launch
22. Players slam 2K after publisher inserts unskippable ads into NBA 2K21
23. Sega takes flak for releasing Golden Axe prototype made ‘under crunch conditions’
24. Sega criticised for launching Golden Axe prototype created “under crunch conditions”: Sega edited the Steam page and said in a statement that it “didn’t mean to dredge up painful memories”
25. Bungie cease and desist pulls Destiny 2 cheat tool offline
26. GameStop’s Microsoft partnership reportedly lands it a cut of digital Xbox revenue
27. Microsoft will give GameStop a share of Xbox’s digital revenues
28. Xbox’s GameStop deal: lifeline or table scraps?
29. Microsoft will share digital revenues with GameStop on every Xbox it sells: Investment advisor says retailer will even get a share of DLC sales if physical game was purchased from another company
30. Microsoft confirms Xbox Series X|S launch titles: 30 games will be “fully optimized” for next-gen system upon release, none exclusive to next-gen
31. Xbox Series X unleashed: Our unrestricted preview
32. Phil Spencer: Xbox could recoup Bethesda acquisition without PlayStation releases
33. Xbox head: Bethesda purchase wasn’t to keep games away from other platforms – While each game’s platforms will be decided case-by-case, Phil Spencer says Elder Scrolls doesn’t need to be on PlayStation to recoup costs
34. What happened with Microsoft’s Switch publishing experiments? 
35. Nintendo Nukes ‘Zelda’ Fan Game, As Per Usual
36. Switch game discovery – look on the bright side?
37. Nintendo Switch shines on Amazon’s Prime Day | UK Boxed Charts: 29 out of the Top 40 jumped in sales week-on-week
38. One-third of US gamers surveyed plan to buy a next-gen console this year: Baird finds purchase intent for PS5 and Xbox Series X|S roughly equal, Call of Duty expected to top holiday sales
39. The PlayStation 5 user interface is an instant hub that prioritizes gameplay
40. PlayStation 5 UI revealed: “Activity” shortcuts, picture-in-picture
41. PlayStation Store to drop PS3 content and Wishlists on desktop and mobile: PS Vita and PSP games will also be gone as part of incoming store revamp
42. PlayStation clarifies how its voice chat reporting tool will work on PS5
43. Future PS5 updates will optimize cooling based on data from individual games
44. PS5 will use downloadable updates to control game-by-game fan speed
45. Google Stadia’s free demos could prove the value of game streaming
46. Amazon Luna is live, and it’s already out-streaming Google Stadia
47. Luna, Amazon’s take on cloud-based gaming, launches in (limited) early access
48. Growth in UK games industry fastest ever recorded: Games development headcount is at an all-time high of 18,279 in the UK
49. Lessons in community building from EVE Online
50. YouTube: Among Us videos reached 4bn views in September – Video platform’s report shows US as largest audience, but viewers flooding in from around the world
51. Unity creates Social Impact Division to support non-profits
52. Unity launches Social Impact Division backed by $67m fund: New division will provide grants for work in education, sustainability, and health and well-being
53. FIFA download launch sales spike 31% over last year | UK Digital Charts: Overall sales down only slightly over last year’s entry
54. EA Motive boss: ‘player autonomy’ is key to studio’s future
55. Avengers assembles September sales chart heavy on new releases: Square Enix’s latest just one of seven games debuting in the top 20 as NPD’s total US game sales for the month rise 10% year-over-year
56. Marvel’s Avengers’ next-gen version delayed to 2021 to ensure product quality: Crystal Dynamics is taking its time after initial launch that “was not without turbulence”
57. Report: China-owned mobile studio Playtika is chasing an IPO in the U.S.
58. Mobile game publisher Playtika files to go public in window for game IPOs
59. Playtika files IPO draft: Publisher behind Best Fiends, June’s Journey has confidentially submitted preliminary paperwork to go public
60. MAG Interactive reports $25 million in sales: Revenue at the mobile games company also grew 28% from June to August 2020
61. Game rental shop GameFly acquired by Alliance Entertainment group
62. GameFly sold to distributor Alliance Entertainment: New owner says it will expand US rental-by-mail service’s selection of games, as well as hardware, accessories, and collectibles for sale
63. ‘Fortnite’ Taps J Balvin For Latest In-Game Concert In Honor Of Halloween
64. New nonprofit organisation Hit Save to support games preservation: The community-driven organisation is based in the US but will operate globally
65. Z Event raises €5.7m for Amnesty International: The live streaming event broke the record for the most money raised for charity on Twitch
66. Talent Firm Loaded Adds Pro Gamer Maria ‘Chica’ Lopez To Starry Roster
67. Facebook Gaming Streamer Avori Henderson Signs With Ford Models’ New Esports And Gaming Division
68. Blizzard winding down development on StarCraft II after over a decade
69. Blizzard no longer developing new content for StarCraft 2: Developer will continue to issue balance fixes and work with partners on esports
70. New ex-Blizzard game studio formed to pick up a fallen RTS mantle
71. Ex-Blizzard devs land $4.7m for new studio Frost Giant 
72. EVOS Esports closes $12m Series B round: Southeast Asia-focused esports firm has raised more than $16m in its lifetime
73. Devolver Digital acquires Serious Sam dev Croteam
74. Devolver Digital acquires Serious Sam developer Croteam: Publisher further cements partnership following decades of publishing deals
75. How the Nemesis system got an indie makeover in Star Renegades
76. Ubisoft Connect announced as a ‘refreshed’ replacement for Uplay and Ubisoft Club
77. Overcoming AR’s limitations with Mario Kart Live Home Circuit: Velan Studios president Guha Bala on reinventing Nintendo’s best-selling racing franchise for augmented reality
78. Sony Unveils ‘Spatial Reality Display’ with Eye-tracking for Glasses-free 3D Viewing: Priced at $5,000 and launching in November
79. PSVR Not Compatible With PS5 Camera, New Japanese Bundles Include Adapter for PS4 Camera
80. Oculus Quest 2 quietly drops support for Oculus Go games
81. Facebook Develops Hand Tracking Method to Touch Type in VR Without a Keyboard
82. Cliff Bleszinski may return to games development “slowly and cautiously”: Fall Guys and Among Us has given Gears of War designer hope as he reflects on the mistakes of Boss Key Productions
83. Devolver brings in head of licensing to put Fall Guys ‘on the licensing map’
84. Ken Williams doesn’t know how his design philosophy could work today: Sierra On-Line co-founder talks about his new book, disconnecting from the games industry, and what’s changed since he left nearly 25 years ago
85. Tides of Chaos: How Baldur’s Gate 3 tackles the pure RNG of D&D-inspired dice rolls
86. Learn how Supergiant brought Hades’ hand-painted characters to life
87. Rocket League’s appeal isn’t rocket science | Why I Love
88. Blog: Networking into the games industry as a new grad
89. Blog: The in-app purchase merchandising playbook – Part 1 
90. Video: How Criterion Games improved its studio leadership
91. Video: Why your game community is now a marketing asset
92. Video: The developers of Ghostrunner discuss the making a cyberpunk platformer
93. Don’t Miss: The undying allure of the Metroidvania
94. Don’t Miss: Crafting GoNNER’s modular abilities
95. Don’t Miss: How the developers of New Vegas took back Fallout
96. Don’t Miss: Crafting Danganronpa to surprise players
97. Don’t Miss: The designer is god–or the devil–in The Talos Principle
98. Q&A: Designing for seasons in bumbling platform royale Fall Guys
99. Data Deep Dive: Meteorfall: Krumit’s Tale on Steam
100. New non-profit Hit Save! wants to help preserve video games and their history
101. The Video Game History Foundation is working to save our source code
102. French charity steam Z Event raises $6.7 million for Amnesty International
103. U.S. Patent no. 9,492,740: Remote and/or distributed equipping of video game characters
104. U.S. Patent No. 10,625,156: Method and system for sharing video game content

DIGITAL

1. Justice Dept. files long-awaited antitrust suit against Google
2. What we know about the DOJ’s antitrust case against Google so far
3. Bill Barr’s Google ‘Antitrust Inquiry’ Is A Weaponized Farce
4. Trademark Genericide And One Big Way The DOJ Admits That Its Antitrust Lawsuit Against Google Is Utter Garbage
5. Supporters Of Using Antitrust Against Big Tech Should Be Very Disappointed In How Weak The DOJ’s Case Is
6. AOC makes explosive Twitch debut with over 435,000 Among Us viewers
7. Facebook and the Group That Planned to Kidnap Gretchen Whitmer: Extremist groups and conspiracy theorists like to connect with each other just like everyone else.
8. Facebook Is So ‘Biased Against Conservatives’ That Mark Zuckerberg Personally Agreed To Diminish The Reach Of ‘Left-Leaning’ Sites
9. Cambridge Analytica’s Crime Was Not Violating Your Privacy Or Taking Data From Facebook, It Was A Massive Campaign Finance Scam
10. Facebook to pause all political advertising—after the election
11. Facebook Will Temporarily Ban All Political and Issue Advertising After the Presidential Election
12. Facebook Abuses Trademark To Give New Prominence To Group Of Facebook Critics Who Are Trying To Shame Company Into More Moderation
13. Facebook announces ban on anti-vaccination ads
14. Facebook Bans Ads That Discourage People From Getting Vaccinated
15. Facebook’s Oversight Board: what is it and will it make a difference?
16. Six Russians accused of the world’s most destructive hacks indicted
17. DOJ Says Trump’s Tweets Declassifying All Russia Investigation Docs Doesn’t Mean Anything; Judge Says They Better Go Ask Him
18. Twitter abruptly changes hacked-materials policy after blocking Biden story
19. Twitter Fixes Its Bad Policy On Blocking ‘Hacked’ Documents
20. How Not to Cover Voter Fraud Disinformation: Journalists should treat systematic disinformation campaigns from President Trump no differently than from Russian propagandists and Facebook clickbait artists (Yochai Benkler)
21. Court Says Trump Appointee Had No Authority To Fire Open Technology Fund Board; Says They Remain In Place
22. How Zello Became A Recruitment & Organizing Tool For The Far Right
23. CARU Says: Discord Is Not Directed At Children Under 13
24. How a Road Trip Through America’s Battlegrounds Revealed a Nation Plagued by Misinformation
25. Google search being searched for Anti-trust
26. China Micro-Censors The VP Debate In The Most Hamfisted Way
27. Mumbai Police Help Indian Prime Minister Modi Scrub BuzzFeed Of Images That Offended His Delicate Sensibilities
28. Democracy & Dragons
29. Against Platform Determinism
30. Trolling for Truth on Social Media
31. Global disinformation campaigns and legal challenges
32. Hacking democracy: managing influence campaigns and disinformation in the digital age
33. Global competition and the emerging challenge to open data
34. The Law and Political Economy of Workplace Technological Change (Brishen Rogers)
35. Where Platform Capitalism and Racial Capitalism Meet: The Sociology of Race and Racism in the Digital Society
36. Wired Norms: Inscription, resistance, and subversion in the governance of the Internet infrastructure (Niels ten Oever)
37. Replicating Silicon Valley? Law and Human Capital in the Making of China’s Tech Startups (Li-Wen Lin)
38. Forget TikTok. IRS Inquiry Shows The Continued Abuse Of Location Data Is The Real Scandal.
39. WeChat and TikTok Win Preliminary Injunctions Against Trump Administration’s Efforts to Ban the Apps
40. Pakistan Reverses TikTok Ban, But Has Stipulations
41. TikTok Unboxing Videos Are Driving Record Sales For Mini Brands, VIP Pets
42. LinkedIn Isn’t a State Actor–Perez v. LinkedIn (Eric Goldman)
43. DOJ Seizes Domains, Claiming They Pushed Iranian Disinformation; Should Raise 1st Amendment Concerns
44. The GOP’s Blisteringly Hypocritical Road From Whining About Net Neutrality To Supporting Trump’s Idiotic Attack On Social Media
45. While Trump Continues To Complain About 230, It’s Copyright Law That Once Again Actually Gets His Content Removed
46. League Of California Cities Want Congress To Change Section 230… To Let Cops Spy On Everyone Using Social Media
47. Section 230 Liability Shield Continues to Receive Scrutiny
48. Section 230 Basics: There Is No Such Thing As A Publisher-Or-Platform Distinction
49. Another Anti-Section 230 Bill? Sure, Why Not?
50. Justice Thomas Writes a Misguided Anti-Section 230 Statement “Without the Benefit of Briefing”–Enigma v. Malwarebytes (Eric Goldman)
51. Blatant Hypocrite Ajit Pai Decides To Move Forward With Bogus, Unconstitutional Rulemaking On Section 230
52. FCC Announces Section 230 Rulemaking
53. Chairman Pai: FCC to Address Social Media Immunity Under Section 230
54. Jeffrey Toobin’s Zoom Dick Incident Is The Perfect Example Of Why We Need Section 230
55. FCC trying to help Trump win election with Twitter crackdown, Democrats say
56. FCC cites Title II in defense of helping Trump’s attack on social media
57. FCC Too Afraid To Go On Record To Truly Support Trump’s Dumb Attack On Social Media
58. Ajit Pai says he’ll help Trump impose crackdown on Twitter and Facebook
59. Insights: With Zoom And Its Many Competitors, We’re All Livestreamers Now
60. Ted Cruz Once Insisted That Net Neutrality Was The Gov’t Takeover Of The Internet; Now Demands That Twitter Host All Nonsense
61. Republicans, Who Have Made Sure The Federal Election Commission Can’t Do Anything, File A Complaint About Twitter’s Moderation Practices
62. Content Moderation Case Study: Facebook’s Internal ‘Hate Speech’ Guidelines Appear To Leave Protected Groups Unprotected (June 2017)
63. Content Moderation Case Study: Apple Removes Games Containing Confederate Flags (June 2015)
64. Content Moderation Case Study: Handling Trolls Invading A Community (1993)
65. Assessment of the Code of Practice on Disinformation
66. Instagram Agrees To New Measures To Curb “Hidden” Influencer Advertising In The U.K.
67. Quibi Is Shutting Down
68. Quibi streaming service shutting down after less than 1 year
69. YouTube cracks down on QAnon conspiracists
70. YouTube Bans Content Endorsing QAnon, Pizzagate
71. YouTube Expands COVID Misinformation Policy To Ban Vaccine Conspiracies
72. New Google Nest Hub experiment nixes the “Hey Google” voice hotword
73. Google Chat goes free in 2021, while Hangouts loses features this month
74. Google wants to turn YouTube into QVC with new shopping features
75. Can You Avoid Creator Burnout By Working The YouTube Algorithm? Is More Actually Less? We Take A Look.
76. YouTube Unveils First 5 Originals Produced By Its $100 Million ‘Black Voices’ Fund
77. YouTube Gives Premium Subscribers Exclusive Access To Test New Features
78. YouTube Testing Ecommerce Tools That Turn Creator Videos Into Product Catalogs
79. Top 50 Most Viewed US YouTube Channels • Week Of 10/05/2020
80. Top 50 Most Viewed US YouTube Channels • Week Of 10/12/2020
81. Top 50 Most Viewed YouTube Channels Worldwide • Week Of 10/05/2020
82. Top 50 Most Viewed YouTube Channels Worldwide • Week Of 10/12/2020
83. Is The Creator-Owned “Smart YouTuber Mafia” A New Standard For Digital Content?
84. Blast off with Scott Manley as he discusses his top 1,000 YouTube comments
85. Google shuts down Trusted Contacts, its emergency location sharing app
86. Google kills the Nest Secure, its $500 home security system
87. David Dobrik, Emma Chamberlain, James Charles Lead This Year’s Pack Of Streamy Nominees
88. MrBeast’s ‘Creator Games’ Sequel Sets YouTube Record With 1 Million Concurrent Viewers
89. YouTube Exec Ryan Wyatt Says Valkyrae Is “The Fastest-Growing Livestreamer In The Entire World”
90. France Passes Law Giving Child Influencers Same Protections As Young Actors, Models
91. Snap Hits Record $50 Billion Valuation After Significant Q3 Growth In Revenue, DAUs
92. Snapchat Launches ‘Sounds’, Enabling Users To Orchestrate Snaps, Stories With Licensed Music
93. Teespring Will Now Let Creators Vend ‘Digital Products’, Like Photo Presets And Ebooks
94. Reels Rolls Out New Content Discovery, Sharing Features
95. Twitter Disables Core Functions To Prevent Spread Of Election Misinformation
96. Joe Biden Taps Portal A For #ImVotingFor Influencer Campaign On Instagram, Twitter
97. Twitter Will Turn Off Some Features to Fight Election Misinformation
98. QAnon/8chan sites back online after being ousted by DDoS-protection vendor
99. Google Music shuts down smart speaker support and music store
100. Logan Paul’s Pokemon Card Unboxing Stream Gets 300,000 Concurrent Viewers, Raises $130,000 For Charity
101. Facebook Unveils Free Tool Enabling Creators To Test Video Post Performance Before Publishing
102. Spotify Now Lets Podcasters Use Its Entire Music Library In Their Shows
103. Riot Games and Spotify team up
104. Brooklyn-Based Startup MSCHF Wants To Pay Influencers To Take Down “Evil” Brands
105. Stupid Use Of Profanity Filter Makes A Mess Of Virtual Paleontologist Conference
106. IBM to split into two companies by end of 2021
107. Insights: Could The Streaming Services Killing Movie Theaters Save Them Instead?
108. Netflix Nixes Free Trials In U.S.
109. ‘Ratched’ Hooks 48 Million Viewers In 28 Days, Becoming Netflix’s Most-Watched Debut Of 2020
110. Following Staff Exodus, Bon Appetit Relaunches YouTube Channel With 8 New And 3 Returning Hosts
111. Apple pays $288,000 to white-hat hackers who had run of company’s network
112. Microsoft thumbs its nose at Apple with new “app fairness” policy
113. Trickbot—the for-hire botnet Microsoft attacked—is scrambling to stay alive
114. 1980s MTV is back, sort of: Apple launches Apple Music TV channel
115. Coordinating office space: Digital technologies and the platformization of work
116. Targeting Ontological Security: Information Warfare in the Modern Age
117. We’re touching our smartphones more than ever. And it’s changing the ancient connection between the body and the brain
118. The pernicious contagion of misinformation: False statements – about Covid-19 and so much else – spread like a virus online. Scientists should study them like one.
119. The Internet is full of business cats: Dealing with the breakdown of the work/home divide
120. A giant cat picture was just discovered among the Nazca Lines: Archaeologists haven’t yet located an accompanying giant meme caption.
121. Another Significant Cryptocurrency Decision: SEC v. Kik Interactive Inc. and Token Offerings Under the Securities Laws
122. Unpacking the DOJ’s cryptocurrency guidance: Enforcement priorities and industry implications
123. DOJ’s Evolving Framework for Cryptocurrency Enforcement
124. The US Department of Justice issues Cryptocurrency Enforcement Framework forecasting increased scrutiny of activities involving cryptocurrency
125. Chinese City Issues Digital Currency in Pilot Program
126. A Map for the New World of Blockchain
127. New Export Controls: Emerging Technologies
128. New Centre for Media, Technology and Democracy launched at McGill University’s Max Bell School of Public Policy

A.I.

1. Waymo finally launches an actual public, driverless taxi service
2. The Unforeseen Benefits of Driverless Transport during a Pandemic
3. Trustworthy artificial intelligence 
4. Are we being too hard on HAL? Some thoughts on the legal need for “explainable” artificial intelligence. 
5. AI and Your Legal Analysis
6. Artificial Intelligence Licensing: What You Need to Know
7. The Losers of automation. How the introduction of robotics changed the European occupational class structure
8. To Surveil and Predict: A Human Rights Analysis of Algorithmic Policing in Canada
9. Expanding Biometric Class Actions Beyond Illinois 
10. AI and the fight for inventorship – DABUS patent knocked out in UK High Court
11. ‘Machines set loose to slaughter’: the dangerous rise of military AI 
12. Human Judgment in algorithmic loops: Individual justice and automated decision‐making
13. Algorithmic Censorship by Social Platforms: Power and Resistance
14. Is Facebook too big to know? The Markup has a plan (and a browser) to wrap its arms around it: The CBP will pay Americans to monitor the choices that tech company algorithms are making for them.
15. Artificial intelligence – from principles to practice
16. Doctor Alexa will see you now – regulating artificial intelligence in healthcare
17. USPTO Releases Report on Artificial Intelligence and Intellectual Property Policy
18. Government Data Practices as Necropolitics and Racial Arithmetic
19. Artificial Intelligence improves clinical trials
20. Legal industry ramping up adoption of artificial intelligence, says AI platform partner

COMMUNICATIONS

1.  How Can Linking to an Article be Immoral When the Media Source Itself Does the Posting? (Michael Geist)
2. How Can Linking to an Article be Immoral When the Media Source Itself Does the Posting, Part 2: A Day in the Life of the Toronto Star on Facebook (Michael Geist)
3. Forget Link Licensing and Cross-Subsidies: When it Comes to Tech, Canada Should be Focused on Competition Law and Tax Policy (Michael Geist) 
4. Class dismissed: CRTC finds OneClass in violation of Canada’s anti-spam legislation
5. NASA and Nokia are putting a 4G network on the moon
6. AT&T plans thousands of layoffs at HBO, Warner Bros., rest of WarnerMedia
7. AT&T Is Taking An Absolute Bath On Its DirecTV Merger
8. AT&T Gives Up On DSL, Leaving Many Out Of Broadband’s Reach 
9. Comcast says gigabit downloads and uploads are now possible over cable
10. Verizon’s New ‘Nationwide’ 5G Isn’t Nationwide, Barely Faster Than 4G
11. Successful 5G implementation
12. Half Of Smartphone Users Incorrectly Think They Already Have 5G
13. FCC Adopts Final Rule Formalizing Team Telecom Foreign Ownership Review
14. FCC Adopts Rules Codifying Foreign Investment Process
15. The November Election and the FCC: Predictions for Five Key Policies
16. Wisconsin Gets Wise To Foxconn’s Grift, Blocks New Subsidies
17. Employees Say Foxconn & Donald Trump’s Wisconsin Factory Scam Was An Absurdist Hellscape 
18. Access to Infrastructure: using existing ducts and pipes to install new fibre broadband
19. Five Bar Owners Arrested In France For Not Logging Internet Use By Patrons Using Bars’ WiFi Connections

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

1. Supreme Court of Canada to Hear York University/Access Copyright Appeals
2. Justice Luc Martineau is new chair of Copyright Board of Canada
3. Google gets mixed reception in Supreme Court clash with Oracle: Justices held a low-tech telephone session in one of the biggest software fights in American history on Wednesday
4. Google’s Supreme Court faceoff with Oracle was a disaster for Google 
5. IP Alert | Supreme Court Hears Arguments in “Copyright Case of the Century”
6. Supremes won’t review the morality of whitewashing graffiti art
7. Denial of Certiorari Leaves in Place Ninth Circuit En Banc Decision Finding No Infringement in “Stairway to Heaven”
8. hiQ Labs v. LinkedIn Corp., the Web Scraping Saga Continues
9. Music in Podcasts – As Podcasts Shut Down Following Infringement Notices, Looking at the Required Music Rights
10. 512(f) Claim Survives Motion to Dismiss–Brandyn Love v. Nuclear Blast America (Eric Goldman)
11. By the Book: Unauthorized Material Doesn’t Forfeit Training Guide’s Copyright Protection
12. Nicki Minaj’s Experimentation with Tracy Chapman’s Classic “Baby Can I Hold You” Qualifies as a Fair Use Under Copyright 
13. NY Art Disputes Highlight Fame’s Role In Copyright Suits 
14. “Can’t Hold Us” Liable: Macklemore & Ryan Lewis Win Affirmance in Copyright Suit
15. We Interrupt This Hellscape With A Bit Of Good News On The Copyright Front 
16. DMCA Takedown Notices: A New Opponent for Twitch Streamers 
17. Twitch blasts streamers with vague, unhelpful DMCA takedown emails
18. Lessons from a pandemic: long-term impacts on Canadian trademark practice 
19. The Cousteau Society, Inc. v. Cousteau: Court holds granddaughter of Jacques-Yves Cousteau cannot escape trademark infringement based on unauthorized use of Cousteau’s trademarks in film projects and materials.
20. Microsoft Wields Its IP For Good, Cripples Botnet Via Trademark Litigation 
21. Will Disney’s newest Toy Story 4 character go ‘caboom’?
22. Boston University students launch “F*ck It Won’t Cut It” campaign, University files a Trademark application
23. Lehman Brothers is Gone but Not Abandoned 
24. EU: What does Brexit mean for EU trade marks and designs?
25. Comparative aspects of trademark dilution between the United States and China
26. Versace ripped off the Canucks’ spaghetti-skate logo 
27. Depreciation of goodwill with cannabis trademarks 
28. Determined not to tumble: British Gymnastics’ trade mark dispute and IP protections for sports properties
29. The Third Circuit Shares Some Food for Thought on the Bounds of Trade Dress Protection 
30. Court of Appeal Upholds Interim Injunction in Trade Secrets Case
31. How to Keep Trade Secrets Secret
32. New Trade Secret Protections in China
33. Protection of store layout under IP law
34. Protecting Recipes and Food as Intellectual Property
35. $644-million award for patent infringement upheld on appeal; Accounting of profits remedy removes “economic incentive to infringe”
36. IP monitor: Quebec Superior Court dismisses application for disavowal of a IP monitor – Quebec Superior Court dismisses application for disavowal of admissions of patent invalidity
37. Federal Court Freezes Out Motion to Vary Injunction in Patent Case
38. US Patent Boss Says No Evidence Of Patents Holding Back COVID Treatments, Days Before Pharma Firms Prove He’s Wrong
39. Federal Circuit Restores Induced Infringement Verdict Against Teva
40. Watch Out: The Patent Maximalists Are On The Warpath To Destroy Innovation And Empower Patent Trolls 
41. Applying the Broadest Reasonable Interpretation of the Claim in Light of the Specification, Federal Circuit Revives Claims in Heart Valve Patent
42. Why Is My Company Being Sued For Patent Infringement In Waco, Texas?
43. Beyond borders: Extraterritorial reach of Australian patents
44. Inadequate Translation of a Non-English Application Leads to US Patent Invalidation
45. Skinny Label Does Not Prevent Finding of Induced Infringement 
46. Expert Testimony Stricken Where Expert Did Not Show Non-Infringing Alternatives Were Available in the United States 
47. Worried about being sued for patent infringement in multiple jurisdictions? Three ways to gain control 
48. New Grape Varieties – Raisin Awareness of Plant Patents 
49. High Stakes: Protecting Your Cannabis Intellectual Property 
50. Nobel Prize 2020: A Chemistry Patent Attorney’s View 
51. Key IP Agreements for Startups
52. Blowing away the competition: design evolution, and what it’s like to be Head of IP at Dyson

PRIVACY

1. Canadian privacy and data protection basics for emerging companies
2. Sask. privacy commissioner finds clinic’s loss of Dictaphone with patient info was privacy breach
3. Location Data Obtained By CBP Comes From Phone Apps, Is Capable Of Tracking People On Both Sides Of The Border
4. H&M fined €35.3m under GDPR for ‘Return to Work’ practices
5. Fancy Bear imposters are on a hacking extortion spree
6. COVID-19 Is Driving The Uptake Of Chess — And Of Surveillance Tools To Stop Online Players Cheating
7. Adblockers installed 300,000 times are malicious and should be removed now
8. Privacy as an aggregate public good
9. United States: California Privacy Rights Act – what you need to know
10. Schrems II Series: United States Defence 
11. In wake of the Schrems II, CNIL challenges use of Microsoft cloud storage to host public health data lakes (the Health Data Hub case – Part 1)
12. Judge Shuts Down Vallejo PD’s Illegally-Obtained Stingray
13. SF Chronicle Op-Ed: “Prop. 24 is the Wrong Policy Approach, at the Wrong Time, via the Wrong Process” (Eric Goldman)
14. The Right to be Forgotten

CREATIVITY

1. Quebec court acquits fiction author of child pornography charges
2. DOJ Is Suing Melania Trump’s Ex-Friend Over Her Book, Despite Never Being A Government Employee
3. Administration Officials (Again) Break The Law By Investigating Voice Of America Journalist For ‘Anti-Trump Bias’
4. Devin Nunes Asks Appeals Court To Invalidate Bedrock Supreme Court 1st Amendment Ruling
5. ICE Spent Your Tax Dollars Dragging A Journalist Through The Internet Sewer Over A Mistake She Apologized For
6. Federal Judge Ridiculously Says That Holding A Sign Telling People Cops Are Ahead Is Not Free Speech

Jon

GAMES

1. Professional Splatoon player arrested for alleged sexual assault of a minor: Japanese esports organization Creatives parts ways with player
2. Console hackers are shocked after DOJ arrests prominent mod-chip makers
3. Blizzard workers in France called to strike over closure of Versailles office
4. Nintendo forces rebranding for adult entertainer “Pokeprincxss”
5. Nintendo issues cease and desist against influencer and adult entertainer Pokeprincxss: Social media personality rebrands after trademarking her name and selling merchandise bearing Pokémon characters
6. From Game Boy to 3DS: The legacy of Nintendo’s handhelds: Analysts, developers and former Nintendo staff look back at the why the platform holder dominated the portable gaming space for over three decades
7. Judge denies request to force Fortnite back on iOS App Store pending trial
8. Apple Does Not Need to Return Fortnite to App Store, Judge Rules: Fortnite’s parent company, Epic Games, had broken its contract with Apple, a federal judge found. The case goes to trial next year.
9. Epic Games vs Apple trial set for May 2021: It’s uncertain at this stage whether the trial will be conducted in person or virtually
10. Epic vs. Apple judge warns of ‘serious ramifications’ for console makers
11. Epic vs Apple case may have “serious ramifications” for Nintendo, PlayStation and Xbox: Court order prevents Apple from blocking Unreal Engine until dispute is settled but Fortnite remains banned on iOS
12. Xbox Elite Series 2 added to Microsoft controller drift lawsuit: The updated lawsuit also shed light on what’s allegedly causing the drift
13. DiRT 5 and our first Xbox Series X “enhanced” tests: 120Hz saves the uneven ride
14. UK regulator bans misleading Homescapes, Gardenscapes pin puzzle ads
15. Game Over With Hefty Fine in Gaming Patent Clash
16. Hyper casual developer Voodoo wins copycat case against Zynga’s Rollic Games
17. ASA bans misleading Homescapes, Gardenscapes ads: Despite pin puzzles being present in the game, UK ad authority concluded Facebook posts were not representative of the overall gameplay
18. Amazon cancels free-to-play shooter Crucible
19. RIP to Crucible, Amazon Games’ first PC shooter: 2020-2020
20. Amazon ends Crucible development for good: Servers will shut down on November 9, just over five months after launch
21. Gaming will be a frontline in China’s censorship drive | Opinion: China’s censorious tendencies have begun to creep overseas through commercial pressure, and games companies are in the authorities’ sights
22. Staff say Twitch has a chronic problem with racism, sexism, and indifference
23. Twitch staff call the company out on sexual assault, racism, more: Employees from throughout the streaming platform’s history describe a culture of indifference to inappropriate, unsafe, and abusive behavior
24. How Twitch failed to create a safe space for staff and streamers | Podcast: Latest episode delves deeper into the stories of sexual assault and racism at the company behind the leading streaming site
25. Following His Grand Return To Twitch, Ninja Signs With CAA
26. Rooster Teeth’s Ryan Haywood and Adam Kovic let go amid ‘explicit photos’ scandal: The Achievement Hunter and Funhaus hosts reportedly sent inappropriate unsolicited photos to fans
27. Retaining and fostering women in the games industry: Victoria Setian gave a GDC Summer talk addressing how to fight discriminatory attitudes in the workplace and develop female talent into leadership
28. Normalizing depression in the games industry: Chris Charla, Mike Wilson, and Callum Underwood talk about their own struggles with depression, what’s worked for them, and changing attitudes within the industry
29. Successful indie devs on coping with failure, imposter syndrome
30. UK National Videogame Museum awarded grant to ensure its short-term survival
31. Survey: 35% of gamers have a subscription service – 9% of current subscribers already pay for multiple gaming services while 71% would consider multiple subs, according to global poll of 13,000+ consumers
32. Report: Microsoft will deploy browser workaround to bring Game Pass to iOS
33. Microsoft exploring browser workaround to bring Xbox Game Pass to iOS: Meanwhile, former App Store boss says Apple Arcade violates the same policies blocking Game Pass and Stadia
34. Here’s how backwards compatible titles will look on the Xbox Series S and X
35. Report: Xbox game streaming will land on iOS in 2021 using Web workaround
36. Xbox Game Studios has a record year heading into console launch
37. New Microsoft Store principles take a dig at Apple: Company also explains why it will not apply these app fairness principles to Xbox store
38. 72% of US next-gen pre-order customers chose PS5: 29% of the respondents to a VGM study said they tried to pre-order a next-gen console but were not able to do so
39. PlayStation 5 will only leave 10 old PS4 games in the back-compat dust
40. Sony details limits of PS5 backward compatibility: 10 PS4 titles including Hitman Go and Afro Samurai 2 will not play on PS5, while new PS5 HD Camera won’t work in place of PS4’s PlayStation Camera
41. Apple touts the new iPhone 12 and its 5G as a game changer for mobile games
42. Analyst predicts Switch will outsell PS5, Xbox Series X/S this Christmas: NPD’s Mat Piscatella also says US games spending could be on course for a record year at over $50 billion
43. Nintendo reducing price of individual Joy-Cons in Japan: No word yet on whether price drop will be reflected in other markets
44. FIFA 21 | Critical Consensus: The new FIFA has the lowest Metacritic average in the series’ history — but does a game with a license to print money have any reason to evolve?
45. FIFA physical sales continue to fall sharply | UK Boxed Charts: But digital will likely tell a different story
46. Celebrity endorsement? How did Burger King’s sponsorship of Stevenage F.C. lead to Lionel Messi appearing in a Burger King-branded football shirt?
47. Star Wars Squadrons stays on target to beat Crash Bandicoot | UK Digital Charts: EA’s flight shooter does significantly better as a digital release
48. Super Mario 3D All-Stars dominates September, even without digital | GSD Monthly Chart: Nintendo Switch consoles continue to sell well across Europe
49. Super Mario 3D All-Stars was Japan’s biggest-selling game in September: Nintendo compilation sold nearly five times more copies than Marvel’s Avengers
50. Mario Kart Live is a fun, if flawed, excuse to race around the house
51. Roblox quietly submits draft registration for proposed public offering
52. Virtuos acquires CounterPunch Studios and opens Montreal branch
53. Virtuos acquires CounterPunch Studios, opens Montreal studio: Los Angeles animation specialist will be integrated into Virtuos’ global team while new Canadian team will focus on concept art
54. Embracer Group issues new shares to raise money for future acquisitions: Company completes issue of shares worth over $648 million
55. My.Games buys controlling stake in mobile studio Deus Craft for $49.1M
56. My.Games buys a controlling stake in Deus Craft: Deal for the Grand Hotel Mania could rise from $14m to $49m based on earnout targets
57. MyGames buys minority stake in hyper-casual studio Mamboo Games
58. My.Games buys minority stake in Mamboo Games: Partnership enables Russia-based games publisher to expand hypercasual department
59. Level-5 has virtually halted operations in North America
60. Beamable, once known as Disruptor Beam, files for bankruptcy
61. Beamable files for bankruptcy: The studio formerly known as Disruptor Beam reported $3.4 million in liabilities
62. Nag Studios raises $1m in pre-seed funding: Stockholm-based company to grow its team as it works to build a “digital super bowl”
63. Unknown number of layoffs at GameSpot following Red Ventures deal
64. Rockstar buys Ruffian Games, rebrands to Rockstar Dundee: Companies have been working together on unspecified titles for the last year
65. 505 Games officially ends production on Indivisible: Publisher will release final Switch update following dissolution of Lab Zero Games
66. Com2us buys Out of the Park Developments: South Korean development and publishing company plans to turn historically PC franchise into a mobile one
67. Crackdown 2 dev Ruffian Games is now a Rockstar Games studio
68. Report: Ni No Kuni dev Level-5 winds down North American presence
69. Unity launches Game Growth Program to help indie mobile devs flourish
70. Kids vs. Zombies dev Donut Lab raises $1.6 million
71. Russian mobile studio Donut Lab raises $1.6 million: Level-Up leads funding round to support upcoming game Kids vs Zombies
72. Voodoo to release mobile games in China through The9: Shanghai-based firm has received licenses to release two of the French developer’s games so far
73. Tencent proceeds with Huya and DouYu merger: The agreement is expected to close during the first half of 2021
74. Tencent-owned Sharkmob opens triple-A studio in London
75. 10mg: invading Steam with microgames to make a point
76. The weirdest Steam refund messages (& lessons for game devs!)
77. YouTube Newcomer Overwatch League Brings Record 1.55 Million Viewers For 2020 Grand Finals
78. Esports March On: Nike Jumps In With Glitzy Ad While Forbes Ponders If Esports Will Be Our New Pastime
79. Esports organisation RektGlobal secures $35m in funding: Summit Partners invests into firm as new debt capital partner
80. Nag Studios nets $1 million to create esports games
81. Honour of Kings professional league welcomes first all-female team: Fire Leopard will compete in the King G-League starting next year
82. Gfinity begins formal sales process: A “formal sales process” is underway following a difficult year for the UK esports firm
83. Newzoo reduces its esports market forecast for 2020 for the third time: Firm attributes revision to lack of in-person attendance at esports events due to ongoing pandemic
84. How to get on the good side of media & streamers
85. How Arthurian tragedy drives the design of Pendragon
86. How pinball made us better RPG developers — and vice versa: Zen Studios COO Mel Kirk on what the pinball specialist learned by leaving its comfort zone with two RPG titles
87. An in-depth analysis of IAP pack design in free-to-play mobile games
88. Early Among Us character concepts depict the birth of the bean
89. Still There examines how far one can run from grief | Why I Love
90. Don’t Miss: The Door Problem of Combat Design
91. Don’t Miss: The making of Crackdown 2
92. Don’t Miss: How Playground imports real skies into Forza Horizon
93. Don’t Miss: How Brawlhalla built a fighting game community from the ground up
94. Video: Facing down failure as a freelancing game dev
95. Video: Game art remastered – From Crash, to Kerrigan, to Corley Motors
96. Video: Bridging the gap between UX and game design
97. Video: An accessibility Q&A with EA’s Karen Stevens
98. Blog: Game composers and the importance of themes – Part 5
99. Blog: How do you know when you need ray-tracing?
100. Blog: How to Judge Game Design With Achievement Analytics

DIGITAL

1. Facebook and the Group That Planned to Kidnap Gretchen Whitmer: Extremist groups and conspiracy theorists like to connect with each other just like everyone else.
2. Facebook Doesn’t Have a Duty to Prevent a Murder–Godwin v. Facebook (Eric  Goldman)
3. Twitter, Facebook face blowback after stopping circulation of NY Post story
4. Court Says Twitter Must Unmask User Whose Bogus Document Jumpstarted Seth Rich Conspiracy Theory
5. Twitter Attempts To Add A Bit Of Friction In Run Up To The Election
6. Facebook bans Holocaust denial amid rapid rise in “deceptive” content
7. Facebook to pause all political advertising—after the election
8. Facebook Will Temporarily Ban All Political and Issue Advertising After the Presidential Election
9. Facebook Abuses Trademark To Give New Prominence To Group Of Facebook Critics Who Are Trying To Shame Company Into More Moderation
10. Facebook Bans Marketing Firm for Engaging in “Coordinated Inauthentic Behavior”
11. Facebook announces ban on anti-vaccination ads
12. How Not to Cover Voter Fraud Disinformation: Journalists should treat systematic disinformation campaigns from President Trump no differently than from Russian propagandists and Facebook clickbait artists (Yochai Benkler)
13. China Micro-Censors The VP Debate In The Most Hamfisted Way
14. Wisconsin blames Foxconn, says $3 billion factory deal is off
15. Democracy & Dragons
16. Against Platform Determinism
17. Trolling for Truth on Social Media
18. EU targets Big Tech with “hit list” facing tougher rules
19. Forget TikTok. IRS Inquiry Shows The Continued Abuse Of Location Data Is The Real Scandal.
20. WeChat and TikTok Win Preliminary Injunctions Against Trump Administration’s Efforts to Ban the Apps
21. DOJ Seizes Domains, Claiming They Pushed Iranian Disinformation; Should Raise 1st Amendment Concerns
22. While Trump Continues To Complain About 230, It’s Copyright Law That Once Again Actually Gets His Content Removed
23. League Of California Cities Want Congress To Change Section 230… To Let Cops Spy On Everyone Using Social Media
24. Section 230 Liability Shield Continues to Receive Scrutiny
25. Clarence Thomas Doesn’t Like Section 230, Adding To His Anti-Free Speech Legacy
26. Content Moderation Case Study: Facebook’s Internal ‘Hate Speech’ Guidelines Appear To Leave Protected Groups Unprotected (June 2017)
27. Content Moderation Case Study: Handling Off Platform Harassment On Platform (June 2020)
28. Assessment of the Code of Practice on Disinformation
29. YouTube Expands COVID Misinformation Policy To Ban Vaccine Conspiracies
30. Google wants to turn YouTube into QVC with new shopping features
31. Can You Avoid Creator Burnout By Working The YouTube Algorithm? Is More Actually Less? We Take A Look.
32. YouTube Unveils First 5 Originals Produced By Its $100 Million ‘Black Voices’ Fund
33. YouTube Gives Premium Subscribers Exclusive Access To Test New Features
34. YouTube Testing Ecommerce Tools That Turn Creator Videos Into Product Catalogs
35. Top 50 Most Viewed US YouTube Channels • Week Of 10/05/2020
36. Top 50 Most Viewed US YouTube Channels • Week Of 10/12/2020
37. Top 50 Most Viewed YouTube Channels Worldwide • Week Of 10/05/2020
38. Top 50 Most Viewed YouTube Channels Worldwide • Week Of 10/12/2020
39. F-Factor CEO Sues Influencer Alleging Defamation and More
40. France Passes Law Giving Child Influencers Same Protections As Young Actors, Models
41. Teespring Will Now Let Creators Vend ‘Digital Products’, Like Photo Presets And Ebooks
42. Reels Rolls Out New Content Discovery, Sharing Features
43. Twitter Disables Core Functions To Prevent Spread Of Election Misinformation
44. Twitter Wins Another Account Suspension Case–Wilson v. Twitter (Eric Goldman)
45. Joe Biden Taps Portal A For #ImVotingFor Influencer Campaign On Instagram, Twitter
46. Twitter Will Turn Off Some Features to Fight Election Misinformation
47. Logan Paul’s Pokemon Card Unboxing Stream Gets 300,000 Concurrent Viewers, Raises $130,000 For Charity
48. Facebook Unveils Free Tool Enabling Creators To Test Video Post Performance Before Publishing
49. Spotify Now Lets Podcasters Use Its Entire Music Library In Their Shows
50. Brooklyn-Based Startup MSCHF Wants To Pay Influencers To Take Down “Evil” Brands
51. IBM to split into two companies by end of 2021
52. Insights: Could The Streaming Services Killing Movie Theaters Save Them Instead?
53. Netflix Nixes Free Trials In U.S.
54. Following Staff Exodus, Bon Appetit Relaunches YouTube Channel With 8 New And 3 Returning Hosts
55. Apple pays $288,000 to white-hat hackers who had run of company’s network
56. Microsoft thumbs its nose at Apple with new “app fairness” policy
57. Coordinating office space: Digital technologies and the platformization of work
58. Targeting Ontological Security: Information Warfare in the Modern Age
59. The pernicious contagion of misinformation: False statements – about Covid-19 and so much else – spread like a virus online. Scientists should study them like one.
60. Another Significant Cryptocurrency Decision: SEC v. Kik Interactive Inc. and Token Offerings Under the Securities Laws
61. New Export Controls: Emerging Technologies
62. A Lawyer’s Duty of Technological Competence
63. How Linus Torvalds Invented Today’s Work From Home Paradigm In 1991

A.I.

1.  Waymo finally launches an actual public, driverless taxi service
2. Trustworthy artificial intelligence 
3. Are we being too hard on HAL? Some thoughts on the legal need for “explainable” artificial intelligence.
4. Artificial Intelligence: the key to successful decommissioning in the North Sea? 
5. The Losers of automation. How the introduction of robotics changed the European occupational class structure 
6. To Surveil and Predict: A Human Rights Analysis of Algorithmic Policing in Canada 
7. Smart cities | How AI is boosting understanding of urban dynamics 
8. Human oversight, individual rights and AI systems in the workplace in the UK
9. Behavior trees and the future of intelligent control 

COMMUNICATIONS

1. The Guilbeault Internet Plan: Leave it to the CRTC and Copyright Board of Canada to Get Money from Web Giants (Michael Geist)
2. AT&T plans thousands of layoffs at HBO, Warner Bros., rest of WarnerMedia
3. AT&T Is Taking An Absolute Bath On Its DirecTV Merger
4. With 42,000 Layoffs Since 2017, AT&T Plans Thousands More Layoffs At HBO, Time Warner
5. AT&T has trouble figuring out where it offers government-funded Internet
6. AT&T Gives Up On DSL, Leaving Many Out Of Broadband’s Reach
7. As COVID Highlights U.S. Broadband Failures, State Bans On Community Broadband Look Dumber Than Ever
8. Comcast says gigabit downloads and uploads are now possible over cable 
9. Successful 5G implementation
10. Verizon “nationwide” 5G ready for iPhone 12—don’t expect a big speed boost
11. Verizon forced to pull ad that claimed firefighters need Verizon 5G
12. SpaceX gets FCC approval to bid in $16 billion rural-broadband auction 
13. FCC’s Pai Puts Final Bullet In Net Neutrality Ahead Of Potential Demotion
14. Access to Infrastructure: using existing ducts and pipes to install new fibre broadband

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

1. Google gets mixed reception in Supreme Court clash with Oracle: Justices held a low-tech telephone session in one of the biggest software fights in American history on Wednesday
2. Google’s Supreme Court faceoff with Oracle was a disaster for Google 
3. IP Alert | Supreme Court Hears Arguments in “Copyright Case of the Century” 
4. hiQ Labs v. LinkedIn Corp., the Web Scraping Saga Continues
5. 512(f) Claim Survives Motion to Dismiss–Brandyn Love v. Nuclear Blast America (Eric Goldman) 
6. By the Book: Unauthorized Material Doesn’t Forfeit Training Guide’s Copyright Protection 
7. Graffiti artists see victory under Visual Artists Rights Act claim 
8. Nicki Minaj’s Experimentation with Tracy Chapman’s Classic “Baby Can I Hold You” Qualifies as a Fair Use Under Copyright 
9. “Can’t Hold Us” Liable: Macklemore & Ryan Lewis Win Affirmance in Copyright Suit
10. Obtaining Copyright Registrations for Blogs and Social Media Posts Just Got Easier 
11. Kanye’s Twitter Rant Flags Issues with Copyright Ownership in Music Deals 
12. Lehman Brothers is Gone but Not Abandoned
13. EU: What does Brexit mean for EU trade marks and designs? 
14. Versace ripped off the Canucks’ spaghetti-skate logo
15. Depreciation of goodwill with cannabis trademarks 
16. Dior loses PRETTY SAVAGE trade mark dispute in the United Kingdom
17. If Something Is Advertised As A Knockoff Product… Is It No Longer Counterfeiting?
18. Court of Appeal Upholds Interim Injunction in Trade Secrets Case
19. How to Keep Trade Secrets Secret 
20. Court Finds that Trade “Secrets” Aren’t Secret on Zoom Call 
21. $644-million award for patent infringement upheld on appeal; Accounting of profits remedy removes “economic incentive to infringe”
22. IP monitor: Quebec Superior Court dismisses application for disavowal of a IP monitor – Quebec Superior Court dismisses application for disavowal of admissions of patent invalidity 
23. Federal Court Freezes Out Motion to Vary Injunction in Patent Case
24. US Patent Boss Says No Evidence Of Patents Holding Back COVID Treatments, Days Before Pharma Firms Prove He’s Wrong
25. Beyond borders: Extraterritorial reach of Australian patents
26. Skinny Label Does Not Prevent Finding of Induced Infringement 
27. New Grape Varieties – Raisin Awareness of Plant Patents 
28. In Memory of Guitarist Eddie Van Halen; 10 Musical Patents You Should Know: The Saxophone, Electric Guitar, Electric Double Bass, Concertina and “Band in a Box” – Who Invented These Musical Instruments? 
29. Promoting the Progress of Science: Written Description and Enablement 
30. High Stakes: Protecting Your Cannabis Intellectual Property 
31. 2020 Supreme Court Intellectual Property Case Review

PRIVACY

1. Canada’s New Cybersecurity Certification Goes Live
2. Undocumented backdoor that covertly takes snapshots found in kids’ smartwatch: The X4, made and jointly developed in China, raises concerns.
3. Law Enforcement Also Using ‘Reverse’ Warrants To Obtain Google Searches
4. FBI Sent A Special Task Force To Portland To ‘Exploit’ Phones Taken From Protesters
5. Now you can enforce your privacy rights with a single browser tick
6. United States: California Privacy Rights Act – what you need to know
7. Five Eyes Countries Band Together To Complain About Facebook And End-To-End Encryption
8. Schrems II Series: United States Defence
9. Schrems II – what next for data transfers? 
10. Office of Foreign Assets Control: Making or Facilitating Ransomware Payments May Violate U.S. Sanctions 

CREATIVITY

1. Administration Officials (Again) Break The Law By Investigating Voice Of America Journalist For ‘Anti-Trump Bias’
2. Devin Nunes Asks Appeals Court To Invalidate Bedrock Supreme Court 1st Amendment Ruling
3. ICE Spent Your Tax Dollars Dragging A Journalist Through The Internet Sewer Over A Mistake She Apologized For
4. Federal Judge Ridiculously Says That Holding A Sign Telling People Cops Are Ahead Is Not Free Speech

Jon

GAMES

1. Nintendo wins $2m in lawsuit against Team Xecutor resellers: UberChips.com ordered to cease sale of Switch hack devices and destroy all remaining stock
2. Genuine Enabling Tech’s Lawsuit Alleging Patent Infringement by Nintendo Wii and Switch Products Dismissed
3. Mother and son seeking $5m in latest Joy-Con drift lawsuit against Nintendo: Plaintiff argues platform holder has not done enough to address Switch issue and does not warn about drift in marketing
4. Depicting Randy Orton’s Tattoos in a Video Game Could Be Copyright Infringement–Alexander v. WWE 2K (Eric Goldman)
5. Take-Two Going To Trial Over Yet Another Tattoo Artist Claiming Copyright On Athlete Bodies
6. Epic Games and Apple will head to trial in May 2021
7. What lessons can be learnt from Voodoo’s action against Rollic? | Opinion: Harbottle & Lewis’ Kostya Lobov looks at what the casual games giant’s victory means for fighting clones
8. 20% of Ubisoft staff don’t feel respected or safe at work, reveals internal survey
9. Designer accuses Ember Labs of underpayment, unfulfilled promises: Ember Labs spokesperson says studio has paid all invoices, “never promised a certain salary”
10. Nexus Mods bans political content until after next US presidential inauguration: “We have neither the time, the care or the wish to moderate such things”
11. UK Government launches consultation on loot boxes
12. WBIE head says Rowling is “entitled to express her personal opinion”: Hogwarts Legacy publisher’s David Haddad tells employees anti-trans Harry Potter author “has the right to hold her opinions”
13. The thing about trolls is they regenerate | 10 Years Ago This Month: It’s time to tell the scary story of Edge Games, Tim Langdell, and the trademark dispute that would not die
14. Burger King, Stevenage and my FIFA confusion
15. Rare, Playground Games and Ninja Theory unite for Women of Xbox UK: Rare’s Louise O’Connor discusses the new initiative, which kicks off with a video series that starts today
16. Aaron Greenberg: “Does the price of a game even matter, if it’s in Game Pass?”: Xbox games marketing GM responds to question over whether Microsoft will raise game prices
17. Apex Legends brings cross-play to PS4, Xbox One, and PC next week
18. Download-free demos via xCloud is (somewhere) on Xbox’s to-do list
19. Sony expects PS5 to sell more than 7m units by April: PlayStation president Jim Ryan says “the value is obvious” when it comes to $70 price point for games
20. PS5 will change Sony’s Japanese button standards: Next PlayStation switches menu confirmation button from O to X to bring Japan in line with other regions
21. Astro’s Playroom devs played a key part in the creation of the PS5’s DualSense
22. PlayStation 5 runs cool and quiet, according to initial hands-on reports
23. The first PlayStation 5 teardown reveals some hardware secrets
24. PlayStation 5 teardown offers an up-close look at the next-gen console
25. Has Xbox changed discoverability with its new store?
26. Hardware launches and pre-orders desperately need a shake-up | Opinion: Retailers and manufacturers have failed consumers with the botched, badly-managed launches of consoles and graphics cards in recent weeks
27. Chromecast with Google TV won’t support Stadia until 2021: Google’s new replacement for Stadia-compatible dongle won’t officially have game streaming for several months, but Stadia Android app can be sideloaded
28. Antstream can stream over 1,200 retro games for $10 a month
29. Blizzard delays World of Warcraft’s Shadowlands expansion: Release moved to later in the year for additional polish and balancing
30. Capcom tries again with Monster Hunter Stories 2 — but why?: Capcom slips another quarter into the machine and makes a play for Japan’s kids market
31. Sky: Children of the Light has topped 50 million installs worldwide
32. Starbreeze says Payday 3 development is underway, this time using Unreal Engine
33. Report: Roblox readies to go public in early 2021
34. Roblox’s user-generated game platform could go public at $8 billion valuation
35. Roblox reportedly is preparing to go public: Children’s gaming platform expects an $8 billion valuation
36. Rovio CEO Kati Levoranta will leave the company at the end of 2020
37. Thirdverse secures $8.5m in Series A funding: The Japanese studio, previously known as Yomuneco, is currently working as publisher on inXile’s Frostpoint VR
38. Riot Games shuts Sydney office and scraps OPL esports league
39. Riot Games closes Sydney office: Company confirms ten employees impacted by the closure
40. Report: Call of Duty publisher Actvision Blizzard to shut down French office
41. Activision Blizzard closing France office – Report: Publisher pulling the plug on marketing, customer service and localizing office that had hundreds of employees
42. Thunderful Group acquires UK developer Coatsink for $29.8 million
43. Tencent grabs ‘major stake’ in GTFO developer 10 Chambers
44. Tencent takes “a major stake” in GTFO studio 10 Chambers: Swedish dev from veterans of Payday needed “more muscle” to realise its ambitions for co-op shooter GTFO
45. Genshin Impact censors “Hong Kong” and “Taiwan” in in-game chat: But Niko Partners’ Daniel Ahmad explains why this is common to all Chinese-developed games
46. Genshin Impact becomes biggest international launch for a Chinese game: The free-to-play RPG is the second top-grossing app on iOS in China, only beaten by the Chinese version of TikTok
47. Genshin Impact hit 17m mobile downloads in four days
48. Genshin Impact made $60m in its first week on mobile alone: Sensor Tower MiHoYo’s open-world adventure was the second-highest grossing mobile title worldwide during its launch week
49. Mortal Kombat 11 has topped 8 million sales in under two years
50. I played 15 hours of Baldur’s Gate 3 early access, and I want them back
51. Star Wars Squadrons impressions: A heavy asterisk at launch for PC players
52. Mario’s early levels wear out their welcome in Super Mario Bros. 35
53. Interior Night’s mission to turn non-gamers into gamers: We speak to CEO Caroline Marchal about the nuanced narrative of upcoming Microsoft exclusive As Dusk Falls
54. Some Epic Games Store games can now be purchased through GOG Galaxy 2.0
55. GOG Galaxy 2.0 to sell Epic Games Store titles: The client will offer games that were previously exclusive to Epic’s platform
56. Chat Filtering exits Steam Labs testing, is now a bonafide Steam feature
57. Valve adds chat filter after successful Steam Labs test: The new tool hides hateful language from people you don’t know by default in Steam Chat
58. ‘Resident Evil’ Reboot: Kaya Scodelario, Robbie Amell, Hannah John-Kamen, Neal McDonough & More To Star In Origin Story Adaptation
59. Twitch Reinforces Guidelines Surrounding Terrorist, Violent Extremist Content
60. Facebook Gaming surpassed one billion hours watched in Q3: Twitch viewership cools somewhat after pandemic spike, while YouTube and Facebook continue stready rise
61. Twitch Launches ‘Soundtrack’, A Library Of 1 Million Licensed Songs For Streamers
62. Twitch signs exclusive deal with CohhCarnage: Variety streamer agrees to multi-year pact that will have him livestreaming full-time on the platform
63. Streamer Ben ‘CohhCarnage’ Cassell Re-Signs To Twitch In Exclusive, Multi-Year Deal
64. Activision Blizzard esports CEO Pete Vlastelica is stepping down
65. OWL Commissioner and Activision Blizzard Esports CEO Pete Vlastelica steps down: Vlastelica first took on the commissioner role last year following the departure of Nate Nanzer
66. G-Loot secures $56m in new investment for expansion plans: Swedish esports firm closes a huge round for its democratic esports tournament platform
67. Tilting Point acquires TerraGenesis from Edgeworks Entertainment
68. ‘Star Wars: Squadrons’ Review – The New Top Gun of VR Dogfighters
69. ‘Star Wars: Squadrons’ VR FAQ – Supported Headsets, Comfort Settings, Min Specs & More
70. Google officially ends support for Daydream VR
71. Going in-depth with Nintendo’s augmented reality Mario Kart RC car
72. Niantic launches new Pokemon Go initiative to help small businesses hit by COVID
73. The history of Galloping Ghost, the USA’s largest classic arcade
74. The player-focused design and development of battle royale breakout Spellbreak
75. Hades makes endless struggle entertaining | Why I Love: Lucid Tales co-founders dive into what elevates Supergiant Games’ underworld roguelike
76. The strange flexibility of boundaries in strategy games
77. Push and pull: How to build an in-game economy – Unity Technologies’ Julie Shumaker explains how to knit together the key components of a robust and engaging game economy
78. Blog: What to expect when you’re expecting (a content creator)
79. Blog: Using statistics to design balanced dice
80. Blog: Switch & Steam discount strategies? Here’s some good ones
81. Blog: Notes from the Q&A sessions with Steam
82. Blog: Estimating platform revenues – a discovery conundrum!
83. Blog: Tips and advice for pitching your game to a publisher 
84. Blog: Moving to 170 mini remote offices while maintaining your culture
85. Blog: Should game devs become YouTubers to get (more) successful?
86. Video: Maintaining your mental health while working in games
87. Video: Brenda Romero’s hidden histories of women in programming
88. Video: The data-driven game design of Rainbow Six Siege
89. Video: Working in games with chronic illness
90. Video: Best practices for accessible in-game communication
91. Don’t Miss: Interior Mapping – rendering real rooms without geometry
92. Don’t Miss: The buzzer-beating bug fix that saved Crash Bandicoot
93. Don’t Miss: Spilling data-driven indie marketing secrets with No More Robots’ Mike Rose
94. Don’t Miss: Double Fine’s in-depth postmortem of Costume Quest 2
95. U.S. Patent no. 9,498,706: System and method for providing an enhanced research game mechanic

DIGITAL

1. US House committee says Amazon, Google, Apple, Facebook engaged in monopolistic behavior: Investigation recommends stronger antitrust actions, but requires Congressional approval for further action
2. House: Amazon, Facebook, Apple, Google have “monopoly power,” should be split
3. Congress Issues Antitrust Report on Large Tech Platforms
4. Should Big Tech Be Setting the Terms of Political Speech?
5. Step into My Parler: Suspected Russian Operation Targeted Far-Right American Users on Platforms Including Gab and Parler, Resembled Recent IRA-Linked Operation that Targeted Progressives
6. Shaking Up the Internet: An Update
7. Publishers worry as ebooks fly off libraries’ virtual shelves
8. 4th Circuit Finds Jurisdiction Over Foreign Website Operator Who Never Worked in or Visited the United States
9. US Commerce Department Identifies Prohibited Transactions with WeChat But Implementation Delayed
10. Trump Administration’s Bans on WeChat and TikTok Temporarily Enjoined by Federal Courts
11. Further TikTok Developments: D.C. District Court Blocks Commerce’s TikTok Ban
12. Coronavirus misinformation: quantifying sources and themes in the COVID-19‘infodemic’ (SarahEvanega, MarkLynas, JordanAdams, KarinneSmolenyak)
13. A new study shows how Trump and the RNC duped traditional media into covering mail-in voter fraud
14. New Study: Once Again, The Mainstream Media Is A Bigger Problem In Spreading Disinformation Than Social Media
15. Mail-In Voter Fraud: Paper Shows Disinformation Campaign Surrounding Risk Of Voter Fraud Associated With Mail-In Ballots Follows An Elite-Driven, Mass Media Model – Social Media Plays A Secondary Role
16. QAnon shows that the age of alternative facts will not end with Trump
17. Snapchat Has Registered 1 Million Voters, And 65% Of Them Are Gen Z
18. hiQ Labs, Inc. v. LinkedIn Corp.
19. US Labor Department investigates Microsoft’s efforts to improve diversity – Microsoft: “Our continued focus is to work hard to consider and develop the broadest range of qualified candidates for opportunities”
20. Megaupload Lawsuits Remain on Hold Until 2021, Or (Much) Later
21. Congressional Republicans With No Strategy On Pandemic, Healthcare, Societal Problems… Have Decided That The Internet Is The Real Problem
22. Why Are Senate Democrats Helping Move Forward Trump’s Strategy Of Attacking The Internet?
23. Donald Trump Now Wants To Repeal Section 230, Which Will Actually Make The Stuff He Complains About Worse
24. Because Congress Apparently Has NOTHING AT ALL IMPORTANT To Work On, It Introduced TWO MORE Section 230 Bills Yesterday
25. Jim Jordan Releases Yet ANOTHER Anti-230 Bill (Yes Another One)
26. Reps. Gabbard And Gosar Introduce Ridiculous House Companion To Ridiculous Anti-230 Senate Bill From Senator Kennedy
27. Section 230 Preempts Another Facebook Account Termination Case–Zimmerman v. Facebook (Eric Goldman)
28. Content Moderation Case Study: Sensitive Mental Health Information Is Also A Content Moderation Challenge (2020)
29. Content Moderation Case Study: Suppressing Content To Try To Stop Bullying (2019)
30. Thank you for posting: Smoking’s lessons for regulating social media: Former Facebook executives admit they used the tobacco industry’s playbook for addictive products. Perhaps it can also be used to undo the damage.
31. Hiding hate speech: political moderation on Facebook
32. Facebook and Fake News in the “Anglophone Crisis” in Cameroon
33. Facebook bans QAnon entirely, says previous crackdown wasn’t enough
34. Facebook Pulls Trump Ads Connecting COVID-19 to the Acceptance of Refugees
35. Facebook Expands Restrictions on Election-Related Advertising and Prohibits Ads Promoting Militarized Social Movements
36. Facebook’s latest “groups” disaster will only make it more toxic
37. Facebook Internal Memo Reveals Challenges Social Media Companies Face In Protecting Democracy
38. Internet Shutdown: Is It Violation of Fundamental Rights?
39. The (Potentially) Shifting Landscape of Online Marketplace Liability
40. John McAfee arrested, indicted on tax evasion charges, sued for fraud
41. Triller Has Inflated Active User Counts, Former Staffers Say
42. How Amazon hid its safety crisis: Robots. Prime Day. Holiday peak. Internal records show Amazon has deceived the public on rising injury rates among its warehouse workers.
43. If You’re Going To Sue YouTube For Infringement, Maybe First Don’t License Your Music To YouTube Or Setup Fake Accounts To Upload Your Own Works
44. YouTube Revamps Retention Analytics To Give Creators More Data About How Their Videos Perform With Viewers
45. YouTube Music Spins Up Global Charts Based On Video View Count
46. YouTube Music drops monthly fee for Chromecast support
47. 73% Of Brands Are Upping Their Influencer Marketing Spend (Report)
48. Snap Doubles Down On Docuseries, Unscripted Originals With New Shows From Kevin Hart, Loren Gray 
49. David Dobrik’s ‘Dispo’ Raises $4 Million Seed Round From Alexis Ohanian, Vlog Squad Members, More
50. Instagram Expands Shoppable Ads To IGTV—And, Later This Year, To TikTok Competitor Reels
51. How AMC Used Social Video To Keep ‘The Walking Dead’ Fans Living This Summer
52. Spotify Will Now Enable Podcasters To Generate Shareable ‘Promo Cards’ For Social Media
53. How Much Money Are Creators Making On TikTok’s $1 Billion Creator Fund?
54. From selling songs to engineering experiences: exploring the competitive strategies of music streaming platforms
55. Open Access Faces Many Problems; Here’s One That The Indispensable Internet Archive Is Helping To Solve
56. Trapped-ion quantum computer sets new mark for quantum volume
57. Sourcegraph: Devs are managing 100x more code now than they did in 2010
58. Our New Monetization Experiment: Coil & The Web Monetization Protocol
59. Can I keep my .eu domain name after the post-Brexit transition period?
60. Court holds $100 million Kin coin offering violated federal law
61. Form 1040 Cryptocurrency Question is New for 2020
62. Owner Of Bitcoin Exchange Convicted of international conspiracy to commit money laundering and racketeering
63. “Life Moves Pretty Fast”: a decade on from bitcoin, English law confronts cryptoassets
64. Court Rules That Sales of Digital Tokens Were Illegal Unregistered Securities Offerings

A.I.

1. High Court confirms that the class of inventions created by AI machines is not patentable
2. Patents Court Determines Machines Can’t be Inventors
3. High Court Holds that AI Machines Cannot Be Inventors, Further Paving Way for Legislative Phase of the DABUS Saga 
4. Focusing on Value: Viewing AI Through an IP Lens
5. Thaler v Comptroller-General: Part 2 – What now for AI inventions following Thaler?
6. Toyota’s ceiling-mounted robot is like GLaDOS for your kitchen
7. Palantir Presentations Show How The LAPD Is Able To Turn Tons Of Garbage Data Into Ineffective Policing
8. After Years Of Claiming It Doesn’t Use Facial Recognition Software, The LAPD Admits It Has Used It 30,000 Times Since 2009
9. SITREP: With “Skyborg,” Air Force hopes to give pilots a “loyal wingman”
10. The laughing policebot: automation and the end of policing
11. Getting into the engine room: a blueprint to investigate the shadowy steps of AI ethics
12. Artificial intelligence – machine or real contractual partner? 
13. Will AI replace humans? The GPT-3 Guardian op-ed shows the humans have a continuing, but evolving, role.
14. Advising AI Start-Ups 

COMMUNICATIONS

1. What Happened to Canada’s Innovation Agenda?: How Innovation Policy Has Been Sidelined By Cultural Policies and Misplaced Provincial Prioritization of Patents (Michael Geist)
2. Guide to Doing Business in Canada: CASL
3. Mississippi Says AT&T Took $283 Million For A Network It Never Fully Deployed
4. AT&T kills DSL, leaves tens of millions of homes without fiber Internet
5. AT&T offloading DirecTV could be a “fire sale” as company weighs low bids
6. Report Says 20 Million U.S. Broadband Complaints Went Unresolved Last Year 
7. The real risks of 5G
8. Buying Verizon 5G Home is even harder than finding a Verizon mobile 5G signal
9. Verizon Is Still Abusing The Hell Out Of The Word ‘Unlimited’
10. SpaceX has launched enough satellites for Starlink’s upcoming public beta
11. Order Responding to Net Neutrality Court Decision Circulated for Consideration at FCC’s October Meeting 
12. FCC Formalizes Foreign Investment Review Process

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

1.  Fake News, Fake Views and the Parody Exception
2. Google LLC v. Oracle America, Inc. (SCOTUS Oral Arguments Transcript, October 7, 2020)
3. Oracle Is Wrong About Having Permission To Reimplement Amazon’s API. But They Shouldn’t Need It.
4. The Supreme Court hears Oracle v. Google tomorrow—here’s what’s at stake
5. Copyright Owner Claims Ownership Over Depicting Emoji Symbols in Multiple Colors–Cub Club v. Apple (Eric Goldman)
6. Does Copyright Literally Protect Source Code Figuratively? 
7. Nikola issues copyright takedowns against critics who use rolling-truck clip
8. Nikola’s Plan To Combat Its No Good, Very Bad Month Appears To Be Using Copyright To Silence Critics 
9. Knowingly Removing Photographer’s Credit Costs Buzzfeed Under DMCA
10. Hugo Boss Opposes Artist’s ‘Be Boss, Be Kind’ Trademark For Merch 
11. Toy Story 4’s Duke Caboom Crashes into Evel Kneivel’s Son 
12. Breaking news: the queen monitors trade mark filings
13. David Dobrik Looks To Be Cooking Up ‘Doughbrik’s Pizza’ Business, Per Trademark Filings 
14. The Fit Kitchen Case and the value of trade marks
15. Supreme Court Settles Long-Standing Circuit Split on Trademark Damages: Willful Infringement Is Not a Prerequisite for Awarding a Trademark Infringer’s Profits
16. Spolar v. Discovery: Court refuses to restrain Discovery from broadcasting documentary about last photograph of Lincoln, finding prior restraint and that plaintiffs failed to establish claim for misappropriation of trade secrets. 
17. DOJ Indictment of Chinese Hackers for Break-Ins at 100 Companies Reinforces The Importance of Protecting Trade Secrets and Implementing Security Protections 
18. Revisiting Supreme Court Nominee Judge Amy Coney Barrett’s Recent Trade Secret Opinion
19. Federal Court of Appeal affirms largest reported Canadian patent infringement award in history
20. Patentability of Computer-Implemented Inventions in Canada – The Amazon Saga Continues
21. Federal Court rejects problem-solution approach, opening field for computer-implemented inventions
22. Challenges for Extended Reality (XR) Companies in Patent Prosecution and Litigation 
23. Lithium-ion battery separators – crucial patent developments
24. GSK v. Teva – Induced Infringement Liability Despite Skinny Label 
25. GSK vs. Teva: Induced Infringement, Skinny Labels and Fat Damages
26. Skinny Labelling on Generic Drugs Does Not Avoid Induced Infringement of Patents Covering Non-Indicated Uses
27. Former Patent Litigator Becomes Federal Judge And Begins Advertising For Patent Trolls To Come To His Court (And They Have In Droves) 
28. US Patent Law Year in Review: October 2019 – September 2020
29. Guide to Doing Business in Canada: Intellectual property
30. Democratising Knowledge: Transforming Intellectual Property and Research and Development
31. Jim Murphy’s Article “5 Areas of Intellectual Property You Should Focus on Now,” Featured in Built In