News of the Week

Dr. Richard Smith, Director of the Centre for Digital Media & I are doing an SFU Philosophers’ Cafe this Wednesday night (January 30, 2012) at the Roundhouse at 7:30 PM. The title is “Creating and thriving in a post-intellectual property world.” Am sure you see quite enough of me – but just in case you want to pass on to others…

http://www.sfu.ca/continuing-studies/events/2013/01/creating-and-thriving-in-a-post-intellectual-property-world.html#.UQeEsqXUQco

jon

1. Missouri lawmaker latest to propose “violent” games tax: http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2013/01/missouri-lawmaker-latest-to-propose-violent-games-tax/

2. 25 Video Game Violence Studies, Summarized: http://kotaku.com/5976781/25-video-game-violence-studies-summarized

3. I’m Mentally Ill, I Love Violent Video Games, And They’ve Never Made Me Feel Like Killing Anyone: http://kotaku.com/5976286/im-mentally-ill-i-love-violent-video-games-and-theyve-never-made-me-feel-like-killing-anyone

4. Video Games Hold No Answers: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/paul-mones/video-games-violence_b_2480823.html

5. How the Legal System Failed Aaron Swartz—And Us by Tim Wu: http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/newsdesk/2013/01/everyone-interesting-is-a-felon.html

6. Aaron Swartz and the Corrupt Practice of Plea Bargaining: http://www.forbes.com/sites/timothylee/2013/01/17/aaron-swartz-and-the-corrupt-practice-of-plea-bargaining/

7. My Career as a Bulk Downloader by James Grimmelmann: http://laboratorium.net/archive/2013/01/16/my_career_as_a_bulk_downloader

8. Game industry worth $83bn by 2016, research claims: http://www.develop-online.net/news/42997/Game-industry-worth-83bn-by-2016-research-claims

9. iOS games chafe under Apple’s directions: ‘If you want to criticize a religion, write a book’: http://www.theverge.com/2013/1/16/3879194/apple-app-store-guidelines-tell-game-developers-to-avoid-serious-themes

10. Scrabble 3D Tile Held to be Invalid by High Court – JW Spear & Sons Ltd and Mattel Inc v Zynga: http://www.dyoung.com/article-scrabble3d1112

11. The Pitch: Enhancing Psychotherapy with Video Games: http://gamepolitics.com/2013/01/17/pitch-enhancing-psychotherapy-video-games#.UQY7gaXUQco

12. A week of copyright in the news: a roadmap for the year ahead?: http://ipkitten.blogspot.ca/2013/01/a-week-of-copyright-in-news-roadmap-for.html

And in the not really relevant category:

13. Nestle’s Big Break: Win Over Cadbury for KitKat Candy Shape: http://www.ipbrief.net/2013/01/24/nestles-big-break-win-over-cadbury-for-kitkat-candy-shape/

 jon 

1. Processing the loss of Aaron Swartz – Danah Boyd: http://www.zephoria.org/thoughts/archives/2013/01/13/aaron-swartz.html

2. Researchers Find that Web Site Blocking Has No Long-Term Affect in Combating Online Piracy: http://www.gamepolitics.com/2013/01/08/researchers-find-web-site-blocking-has-no-long-term-affect-combating-online-piracy#.UPpDV6XUQco

3. The Way Forward on Copyright Reform – Derek Khanna: http://www.cato-unbound.org/2013/01/07/derek-khanna/the-way-forward-on-copyright-reform/

4. What to Watch for in Canadian Intellectual Property Law in 2013: http://excesscopyright.blogspot.ca/2013/01/what-to-watch-for-in-canadian-ip-law-in.html

5. Copyright and Industrial Design Developments – 2012 (paper) – Glen Bloom, Barry Sookman: http://www.mccarthy.ca/pubs/canadian%20copyright.pdf

6. Rethinking Mass Murder: http://www.nohighscores.com/2013/01/09/rethinking-mass-murder/

7. How the Video-Game Industry Already Lost Out in the Gun-Control Debate: http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2013/01/how-the-video-game-industry-already-lost-out-in-the-gun-control-debate/267052/

8. The NRA’s new shooting app isn’t the hypocritical PR disaster it seems: http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2013/01/the-nras-new-shooting-app-isnt-the-hypocritical-pr-disaster-it-seems/

9. Is Your Surgeon A Gamer?: http://www.drmwhitemcmahon.com/growing-up-in-the-cloud/is-your-surgeon-a-gamer/

And in the not really relevant category:

10. A Corporation Is Not a Person for Car Pool Lane Purposes, Calif. Judge Rules http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/a_corporation_is_not_a_person_for_car_pool_lane_purposes_calif._judge_rules

jon

On a lighter note, in case you missed it earlier this week. From The Daily Show by way of Kotaku:

http://kotaku.com/5974648/the-daily-show-calls-out-scapegoat-artists-in-the-video-games-and-gun-control-debate

1. Father Hires In-Game “Hitmen” To Deter Son From Playing: http://kotaku.com/5972406/father-hires-in+game-hitmen-to-deter-son-from-playing

2. I was Adam Lanza (note links to parts 2 & 3 at bottom of article): http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/12/22/i-was-adam-lanza.html

3. EMA Sends Letter to Vice-President Joe Biden Concerning Violent Media’s Role in Sandy Hook Shooting (Note that actual letter is embedded in the article): http://www.gamepolitics.com/2013/01/07/ema-sends-letter-vice-president-joe-biden-concerning-violent-medias-role-sandy-hook-shoot#.UPEk5KXiqs0

4. EFF’s Guide to CDA 230: The Most Important Law Protecting Online Speech: https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2012/12/effs-guide-cda-230-most-important-law-protecting-online-speech

5. Examining Sony’s Internet-free method for blocking used game sales – New patent filing describes using RFID chips to tie games to a single user: http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2013/01/examining-sonys-internet-free-method-for-blocking-used-game-sales/

6. Comic Book Legal Defense Fund Takes Aim at Senator Jay Rockefeller’s Video Games ‘Research’ Bill: http://www.gamepolitics.com/2013/01/02/comic-book-legal-defense-fund-takes-aim-senator-jay-rockefellers-video-games-research-bil

7. Modifying Player Behavior In League of Legends with Honor: http://www.psychologyofgames.com/2013/01/modifying-player-behavior-in-league-of-legends-with-honor/

8. Apple rejects game based on Syrian civil war: http://killscreendaily.com/headlines/apple-rejects-game-based-syrian-civil-war/

9. Nvidia Just Built Its Own Gaming Supercomputer: The Grid: http://kotaku.com/5973751/nvidia-just-built-its-own-gaming-supercomputer-the-grid

10. Top game controversies of 2012: http://venturebeat.com/2012/12/31/top-game-controversies-of-2012/

11. Game Theory: A Playwright on the Art of Video Games: http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/12/26/game-theory-a-playwright-on-the-art-of-video-games/

12.  Game Theory: Considering Video Games as Ballet: http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/12/26/game-theory-video-games-are-more-like-ballet-than-movies/

13.Favoritism Is Good (Stanley Fish): http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/01/07/favoritism-is-good/

And in the not really relevant category:

14. Faced with a Five-Page Limit, Lawyer Files Cartoon Amicus Brief with Proper Font Size: (note PDF of brief embedded in article) http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/faced_with_a_five-page_limit_lawyer_files_cartoon_amicus_brief_with_proper_

jon

Here is where I’ll post links to stories raised in “News of the Week” segment of the class. Will also post links to other stories, whether they come up in class or otherwise. Hopefully the spirit to post interesting stories on video game law and what is related will move everyone to do some version of the same. So please post away…

A couple of related thoughts:

1. There will be overlap with @gamebizlaw in that everything posted here will almost certainly have been tweeted on @gamebizlaw. But not vice-versa as I’ll only post here the most important stories IMHO.

2. There are two places to potentially comment on the stories. Short pithy reactions are probably best posted here, under the News of the Week rubric. Longer more thoughtful or themed ideas should go under “What is Your Take”.

Reactions/suggestions/criticisms welcome.

jon