Video & slides above.
Jon
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What a typical Chinese game looks like?
This is a reply to the question I received during the presentation. I described the art of Chinese games as “colorful, crowded and shiny ” but I think with a picture it would make more sense. So here is a screenshot by someone else of MMORPG mobile game Fantasy Western World Journey developed by NetEase:
In comparison, I would describe the art of US games as “cool” and Japanese ones as “cute and tidy”. Let me know if that’s a kind of misunderstanding.
I also want to include a picture of the marketplace (where you pay for in-game items in a F2P game) of Tencent’s King of Hornor. Look at all the columns on the left you will find a variety of things to buy and its super complex:
Let me know if you have further questions on today’s topic!
Court decision in France: Steam users should be allowed to resell their games
Pretty big news from France:
Four years after the French consumer protection association “Union Fédérale des Consommateurs (UFC) – Que Choisir” filled a lawsuit against Valve’s Steam on the basis of a clause in its store policy that disallows the resell of games or Steam accounts, on penalty of being banned from the platform. The District Court in Paris has now announced a decision: Steam may not prohibit users from reselling their games.
At the moment, the terms of use of Valve’s distribution platform explicitly state that users do not have permission to “distribute or transfer contractual content and services (games, updates, etc.) to third parties”.
According to the French court, however, this is an infringement of two fundamental principles of the European Union:
- First, the principle of exhaustion has the effect that copyright holders are no longer entitled to the goods after the first sale.
- Secondly, the Steam clause infringes the principle of the free movement of goods, which is one of the four fundamental rights of the European Union.
According to the judgement, Steam is now theoretically forced to change its terms of use and make this change visible on its homepage for 3 months. Valve has been given one month to comply with these requirements. If not, they will have to pay a penalty of 3,000 € for each additional day.
Valve certainly plans to appeal against this decision. However, a final decision could be very important for the entire gaming industry.Such a drastic decision regarding digital sales would not only affect Valve, but many distribution platforms for PC or console products.
The outcome of this dispute can therefore be awaited with great interest.
Links for further information:
https://www.polygon.com/2019/9/19/20874384/french-court-steam-valve-used-games-eu-law
Andrija
Playing for the Planet: The rise of Climate Change video games
Have you ever stopped to think about the carbon emissions of the cars you race in GTA? Ever thought about whether your Sim’s shower is water efficient or whether you should really cut that tree down in Minecraft? Some of us might not think about these things in our real lives, let alone our virtual ones, but you’re about to.
As the global climate strikes continue, today at the UN Headquarters some of the biggest names in the video games industry have formally committed to using their platforms to take action against the climate crisis. The “Playing for the Planet Alliance” saw leaders in the gaming industry including Sony Interactive Entertainment, Microsoft, Google Stadia, Rovio, Supercell, Sybo, Ubisoft and WildWorks, commit to tackling climate change.
While many of their commitments include reducing the carbon effect of actually playing their games (mostly around power consumption) many of them have focused on using their video games as a possible way to educate people about climate change. Many of the companies will host design-jams with their creatives to consider how they can “mindfully incentivise better environmental outcomes” within the games, without limiting the fun and enjoyment for players. This is consistent with the upwards trend we are seeing in video games, like Eco, that focus their story line on saving the world from man-made climate disaster. While this might seem like new ground, some of these games have been around for 10 years.
I am personally very interested to see the user reaction to environmentally friendly cues in decision-making games, and whether the response will reflect the real-world opinions on climate change. I am also interested in whether an almost forced sustainability in video games will have any consumer effect and change people’s behaviour outside the game.
How do you feel about having a story line driven by reducing pollution? Do you like that you can be environmentally friendly while playing video games or does this feel like big corporate pushing an agenda?
Many video games put the player on a hero quest to save the world. Maybe this time next year when I play Mario Kart I’ll be racing a Tesla.
News of the Week; September 18, 2019
GAMES
- Parliamentary committee recommends banning loot box sales to children: Report proposes industry tax to fund research into the harmful effects of gaming, slams “wilfully obtuse” industry representatives
- UK Parliament: Ban all loot boxes until evidence proves they’re safe for kids
- UK committee argues loot boxes should be covered by gambling regulations
- Electronic Arts responds to DCMS committee calls for loot box regulation: Publisher “doesn’t agree with all conclusions” but will continue dialogue with UK government
- TIGA: Government should “urgently” carry out research around loot boxes and gambling – CEO Dr Richard Wilson raises impartiality concerns over suggestion of taxing industry to fund research; PEGI also weighs in
- The GamesIndustry.biz Podcast: A Turning Point For Loot Boxes? – Haydn and Brendan discuss the potential consequences of recommendations that the UK government introduces regulation
- Nintendo’s ROM Site War Continues With Huge Lawsuit Against Site Despite Not Sending DMCA Notices
- Anti-bullying advocates assess what’s wrong in games: There’s a cultural problem that isn’t going to fix itself overnight, but behaviours can and do change with the right support
- Sea of Thieves adds microtransaction store in latest update
- Former Donkey Kong champ threatens to sue Guinness over record removal
- Steam’s latest discovery update tilts the algorithm away from popular games
- Discord cuts games from paid subscription plan after Nitro Games fails to take off
- Discord pulls free games from Nitro: Chat service pulls feature from subscription offering because “vast majority of Nitro subscribers didn’t play them”
- Second person gets prison sentence in fatal swatting case: Call of Duty WWII player gets 15 months for asking third party to report emergency at online opponent’s address
- Instigator of fatal Kansas swatting receives prison sentence
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare offering cross-platform play in all modes
- Devs restore Modern Warfare’s mini-map after two days of beta backlash
- Video: A cautionary tale in community crisis management
- Newzoo: Android games will earn more revenue than iOS games in 2019 – Between Google Play and third-party stores, Android games will earn majority of revenue for the first time this year
- Google Stadia Founder’s Edition is nearly sold out: Premium bundle is being replaced with similar bundle sans Buddy Pass with a different controller
- Nintendo’s weird exercise ring is used to control a Switch RPG
- Nintendo’s first Ring-Con game is a Switch fitness RPG: Ring Fit Adventure
- Nintendo’s new fitness game is Ring Fit Adventure: Switch title uses new Ring-Con and leg strap peripherals to sense movement, launches October 18
- How do people find your game on Switch?: A discoverability run-down
- Sega Genesis Mini review: $80 delivers a ton of blast-processing fun
- Report: The PS4 has sold-through 30 million units in the United States
- PlayStation 4 has sold 30m units in the US, analyst reveals: Meanwhile, Niko Partners’ Daniel Ahmad also says Gears 5’s boxed sales in the UK are “tiny and no longer important” for Microsoft
- Gears 5 saw 3 million players during launch week through Game Pass and retail
- Rockstar Games now has its own game launcher on PC
- Rockstar Games launches its own storefront: GTA V, Bully, others now available through latest publisher-driven game launcher
- Rockstar Games Launcher: We install it on Windows so you don’t have to
- Gears 5 tops 3 million players in first week: Microsoft says The Coalition sequel enjoyed “the biggest launch week of any Xbox Game Studios title this generation”
- EMEAA charts: Slam dunk for NBA 2K20 in launch week – Strong digital sales push older games into the top ten, while Game Pass sees Gears 5 barely rank
- Borderlands 3 has nearly doubled Borderlands 2’s peak concurrents record on PC
- Borderlands 3 is the biggest UK boxed launch of 2019: But the lack of digital data makes all of this hard to compare
- Borderlands 3 PC doubles 2’s peak concurrent users at launch: Gearbox boss Randy Pitchford reveals latest outing is breaking company records despite Epic backlash
- Borderlands 3 is a lot more Borderlands, in ways both good and bad
- Apple Arcade soft launches early, to surprise of some developers
- Blog: The long slow death of an indie studio
- Indie game pricing is in a familiar death spiral | Opinion: Data suggests a race to the bottom in PC indie game pricing, and Apple Arcade is a reminder of where this process leads
- Swedish games industry generated €1.87bn in 2018, employs almost 8,000 people: Latest figures from Dataspelsbranschen also shows the number of companies is also on the rise
- Blog: NetEase drives mobile games business in Japan, Tencent targets emerging markets
- Scavengers dev Midwinter Entertainment acquired by Improbable
- Keywords expands game audio services with TV+Synchron Berlin acquisition
- JoJo Siwa’s Latest Business Venutre Is A Mobile Game Called ‘Live To Dance’
- Ex-King, Z2 devs launch Starform: New Seattle-based studio aims to make online games for friends, attracts $1.25 million in funding
- How to develop for a licence (successfully): Brand Licensing Europe’s Anna Knight speaks to developers and IP holders about pleasing both fans and gamers
- Football Manager boss Miles Jacobson calls for an end to plastic packaging: Sports Interactive director tells us he expects savings of up to 20 tonnes of plastic as series switches to eco-friendly cases
- How PES wants to level the playing field: European brand manager Lennart Bobzien discusses the eFootball rebrand and renewed efforts to put Konami’s football game on top
- Vivendi, Riot veterans announce gaming broadcast network, VENN: Ben Kusin and Ariel Horn share their plans and goals for a space that unifies publishers, leagues and audiences under one network
- One decade in, League of Legends still averages 8M peak concurrent players daily
- League of Legends hits 8 million peak concurrent players a day: Riot shares August’s daily worldwide average figures, says it’s larger than the top 10 games on Steam combined
- Valve launches revamped Steam Library in open beta
- Twitch sexual content crackdown causing confusion: Streaming site has issued multiple suspensions against streamers wearing Chun-Li costumes, sports bras and more
- Twitch acquires IGDB to bolster search and discoverability capabilities
- Twitch acquires Internet Gaming Database: Acquisition will see Twitch feed database into discovery feature set
- Esports: The next billion dollar industry
- Video: Building explosive 8-bit Nintendo eSports the Tetris World Championship way
- Dignitas CEO: Soccer, basketball, and esports will be the major sports of the future
- Esports tournament platform XY Gaming raises $2.5 million
- XY Gaming announces $2.5m funding round: Funds will go toward expanding esports tournament platform, adding games such as Fortnite
- Subnation’s ‘LVL UP’ Highlights Explosion Of Premium Content For Esports
- PlayVS lands another $50 million: High school esports platform details Series C funding round, brings total funding to $96 million in just over a year
- Hulu dropped support for Google’s Daydream VR
- HTC Vive Cosmos VR: We have the price, release date, and first hands-on
- Image courtesy Daqri: Well-funded AR Headset Startup DAQRI is Shutting Down
- Vive Cosmos arrives on October 3 for £699: New virtual reality headset from HTC will cost roughly the same as predecessor
- 2K will donate up to $500,000 to blood cancer research in WWE marketing campaign: Publisher partners with Leukemia & Lymphona Society as survivor Roman Reigns stars on the cover of this year’s wrestling game
- UKIE partners with Alzheimer’s Research UK for Journo/Dev Swap game jam: GamesIndustry.biz will be publishing the developers-turned-journalists coverage from September 27
- Don’t Miss: Gwent and 6 other minigames that developers should study
- The 57 years of unseen work that built Cyberpunk 2077’s Night City
- Bioware, Beamdog devs unveil Summerfall Studios
- Blog: Creating hit games in Dreams
- Blog: The difference of accessibility vs. playability in game design
- Blog: Historians play Assassin’s Creed Discovery Tour
- Blog: Why not just use thumbsticks?
- Kojima details the subtly social gameplay of Death Stranding
- Don’t Miss: How Sonic Mania’s devs made the old new (and good) again
- Don’t Miss: Writing Firewatch, and capturing the beauty of being alone
- Watch two of GreedFall’s developers discuss their new colonial RPG
- Where do you go from Doom?: Doom Eternal’s Marty Stratton and Hugo Martin talk about their approach to following up the successful reboot of a seminal classic
- Every game should copy Death Stranding’s “Very Easy Mode”
- Knights and Bikes TV show in the works: Peaky Blinders production company Tiger Aspect options rights for animated series based on Foam Sword game
- How a basement hacker transformed Donkey Kong for the Atari 2600
- Super Smash Bros. Ultimate wins big at the Japan Game Awards
- Proposed E3 revamp could turn expo into ‘fan, media, and influencer festival’
- E3 2020 pitch shows move towards celebrities, consumers and influencers: ESA pitch also includes 10,000 additional consumer passes for the E3 showfloor
- This new eco-friendly game packaging could save tonnes of plastic every year
- Football Manager 2020 studio swaps to recyclable packaging, wants others to do the same
- Billy Mitchell Threatens To Sue The Guinness World Record Folks For Removing His Records
- Knights and Bikes is being turned into an animated TV show
- U.S. Patent No. 9,364,746: System and method configured to unlock content within a videogame
DIGITAL
- Examining The Expanding Web Of Chinese And Russian Information Controls
- Ninth Circuit’s LinkedIn Decision Does Not Greenlight the Unauthorized Webscraping of Public Websites
- The Ninth Circuit Takes On Web Scraping
- Instagram Confirms Security Issue Exposed User Accounts And Phone Numbers
- YouTube, Facebook, Instagram Are Epicenters For Steroid Sales — And So Are Their Recommendation Algorithms (Study)
- Facebook plans launch of its own “Supreme Court” for handling takedown appeals
- Audible fires back at book publishers, says captions are fair use: Audible Captions is not a book of any kind,” Audible writes in court filing.
- Hotel Owner Files Libel Suit Against Reviewer For Calling Nazis Nazis, Gets Support From Austrian Court
- Twitter Stands Up For Devin Nunes’ Parody Accounts: Won’t Reveal Who’s Behind Them
- History Repeats Itself: Twitter Launches Illegal SF Street Stencil Campaign Just As IBM DId Decades Ago
- Scraping the Web: Practical Implications From the hiQ v. LinkedIn Opinion
- Facebook is launching a streaming device that watches you while you watch TV
- House lawmakers ask Apple, Amazon, Facebook and Google to turn over trove of records in antitrust probe
- Congress wants Facebook, Google, Apple, and Amazon emails as probe heats up
- WSJ: Amazon changed search results to boost profits despite internal dissent
- Kickstarter accused of “union busting campaign” by former employees: Two former staff claim they were fired for their roles in unionising Kickstarter’s workforce
- Ninth Circuit Upholds Amazon.com’s Cost-Sharing Valuation
- The $24 Billion Online Casino Boom China Is Struggling to Halt: The Communist Party is hard-pressed to stop the spread of digital gambling in Asia.
- Self-Help in Cyberspace: A Path Forward
- Would the Internet Be Healthier Without ‘Like’ Counts?: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube have moved to hide or obscure measures of popularity, in the name of less toxic dialog. Users give a thumbs-down.
- OONI Explorer team unlock the web’s untold censorship stories
- Amazon Music Jumps Into the Hi-Res Audio Game: Amazon adds “high definition” and “ultra high definition” options to its music-streaming service, taking hi-fi music into the mass market
- Alibaba Opens Online Marketplace to U.S.-Based Businesses
- Content Moderation Is Impossible: Facebook Settles Legal Fight Over Famous Painting Of A Woman’s Genitals
- Facebook launches its own Supreme Court
- Facing Fines—The Mechanics of Facebook’s Reportedly Forthcoming FTC Settlement
- Facebook Unveils Several Video Product Updates, Including ‘Live’ Rehearsals, Pre-Scheduled ‘Watch Parties’
- Congress Is Investigating Apple’s Repair Monopoly: Part of the antitrust investigation centers on “Apple’s restrictions on third-party repairs.”
- Apple Takes on EU’s Vestager in Record $14 Billion Tax Fight
- Apple, services and moats
- The U1 chip in the iPhone 11 is the beginning of an Ultra Wideband revolution
- Apple’s Big YouTube Stream Was Just Part Of Its Swelling Social Video Impact
- Disney CEO Bob Iger resigns from his Apple board seat
- “We Could Say Anything To Each Other”: Bob Iger Remembers Steve Jobs, The Pixar Drama, And The Apple Merger That Wasn’t
- Less Human Than Human: The Design Philosophy of Steve Jobs – To what degree do “good design,” or “taste,” depend on human values?
- Ninth Circuit Reverses Course While Quoting Its Own Precedent Saying Otherwise; Says Section 230 Doesn’t Cover Anti-Competitive Moderation
- Terrible Ninth Circuit 230(c)(2) Ruling Will Make the Internet More Dangerous–Enigma v. Malwarebytes (Eric Goldman)
- Court Enforces Arbitration Clause in “Modified Clickwrap”–Chen v. Sierra Trading Post
- That Time EFF Got A Copyright Takedown Demand Of Its Own Artwork
- Forwarding email is a crime, Jerry Falwell Jr. says after leaks to media: A legal expert told the AP Falwell’s claims were “totally insane.”
- Meet the three North Korean hacking groups funding the country’s weapons programs
- NBCUniversal’s streaming service is called Peacock: Launching with a slate of original and beloved licensed series
- NBCUniversal’s Streaming Service Peacock Will Reboot ‘Battlestar Galactica’ And Revive ‘Saved By The Bell’
- NBC Peacock is Comcast’s dive into the crazy streaming-video fray
- Oh, frak: There’s another Battlestar Galactica reboot coming
- Bizarre Streaming Service Quibi Already Has a Better Lineup Than Apple TV+
- Tinder Wraps First Scripted Series, A Choose-Your-Own-Adventure Set In The Apocalypse
- Insights: Music’s 360 Deals Come To The Hypercompetitive Video Streaming World
- Whistle Inks Multi-Year Deal With U.K.-Based Soccer Content Company ‘OTRO’
- Google’s ‘Smart City’ Project For Toronto
- YouTube’s Abbreviated Subscriber Counts Are Here
- Google launches YouTube Music Charts in India
- YouTube Changes Music Chart 24-Hour Rankings to Exclude Paid Ad Views
- YouTube Will No Longer Count Ads Toward Music Charts, 24-Hour Music Video Debuts
- YouTube Is Bringing Its Most Prominent Ad Product, The Masthead, To Smart TV Screens
- YouTube introduces a massive ad box to its TV app: A prominent feature on the standard site
- YouTube To Shutter Its TV-Optimized ‘Leanback’ Feature On Oct. 2
- YouTube Testing New ‘Profile Cards’ That Showcase Channel-Specific Comment History
- Google Is Adding The Ability To Search For ‘Key Moments’ Within YouTube Videos
- Google Launches Ability to Find Key Moments in YouTube Videos via Search
- SoulPancake’s NewFronts Presentation: Control Over Its YouTube Ad Inventory, New Programming, And A PBS Partnership
- Lilly Singh Posts Confident Late-Night Debut With Socially-Conscious Bits, YouTube-Esque Challenges
- ‘Close Friends,’ for a Monthly Fee: Influencer culture has normalized charging money for all kinds of intimacy.
- Instagram Partners With Jonah Hill On Anti-Bullying Docuseries For IGTV
- Instagram Debuts Jonah Hill’s ‘Un-filtered’ Bullying Docu-Series
- Instagram tightens rules on diet and cosmetic surgery posts: Platform responds to concerns about impact of content on mental health of young people
- Instagram, Facebook, and the Perils of “Sharenting”
- Fantasy Football Videos Gain Steam All Summer From Unexpected Sources
- Whistle Inks Content Deal With U.K. Soccer Subscription App ‘OTRO’
- Christine Sydelko Says She’s Quitting The Internet: “It’s Such A Trivial Job”
- PewDiePie Retracts $50K Donation To Anti-Defamation League, Says It Doesn’t “Feel Genuine”
- Rooster Teeth Lays Off 13% Of Staff, Is Beginning “A New Chapter,” CEO Says
- DoubleVerify Becomes a Snapchat Measurement Partner: Its viewability and fraud verification technology will help brands maximize their campaigns
- Snapchat Is Once Again Pivoting Back to News
- #No Filter: Terminating an Employee for Social Media Posts – Part 2
- Volkswagen’s bold plan to create a new car operating system
- It’s real and it’s spectacular: Netflix buys exclusive rights to stream Seinfeld
- Warner Media’s Rooster Teeth Lays Off 50 Employees: Cuts represent about 13% of the Austin-based digital production company’s employees
- WarnerMedia Unveils J.J. Abrams, Bad Robot Mega-Deal
- CBS, Viacom, and WarnerMedia ban e-cigarette advertisements amid vaping health crisis: Following a similar CNN ban last week
- One Year After Acquiring Ecommerce Startup ‘Kit’, Patreon Sells It To Affiliate Link Company Geniuslink
- England’s Law Commission reports on e-signatures – A missed opportunity?
- Just How Far Does California’s New IoT Security Law Reach?
- Rhode Island Expands Electronic Money Transfer Licensing Requirements to Certain Cryptocurrency Service Providers
- Björk made music’s first “VR pop album”—she opens up about its heartbreak
- Say hello to 802.11ax: Wi-Fi 6 device certification begins today
- Does The Public Care About Tech Backlash? And Does That Matter?
- Impact of digital disruption worldwide
- I researched Uighur society in China for 8 years and watched how technology opened new opportunities – then became a trap
A.I.
- Google is changing its search algorithm to prioritize original news reporting: Humans will train it, as usual
- On “AI” replacing jobs and humans
- Artificial Intelligence & the Intellectual Property Landscape
- Who needs qubits? Factoring algorithm run on a probabilistic computer
- Video: Deterministic vs. replicated AI: Building For Honor’s battlefield
- The LawBytes Podcast, Episode 24: A Tribute to Ian Kerr (Michael Geist)
COMMUNICATIONS
- Counterpoint: Big telcos have no business howling over CRTC decision that encourages fair internet prices – Any unfairness pales in comparison to what Canadian consumers have had to put up with for years
- 50% of US homes still won’t have fiber broadband by 2025, study says
- AT&T to lose 1.1 million TV subscribers as DirecTV continues nosedive
- Lawsuit: AT&T signed customers up for DirecTV Now without their knowledge
- AT&T considers getting rid of DirecTV as TV business tanks, WSJ reports
- AT&T’s Terrible New TV Branding Confuses Even AT&T
- Some Investors Are Fed Up With AT&T’s Costly Obsession With Merger Mania
- FCC Commissioner Investigating Payola in the Radio Industry
- Colorado Town Offers 1 Gbps For $60 After Years Of Battling Comcast
- Comcast Sues Maine For Demanding It Sell TV Channels À La Carte
- Verizon plans 5G Home Internet in every city where it deploys mobile 5G
- At Qualcomm, 5G is headed everywhere and into virtually everything
- Upcoming FCC Consumer Advisory Committee Meeting Will Consider Robocall Working Group Recommendation
- FCC Expands Anti-Spoofing Prohibitions to Foreign-Originated Calls, Text-Messaging Services
- FCC’s consumer Advisory Committee adopts robocall blocking recommendation
- Alarm Industry Communications Committee Seeks Reconsideration of Call Blocking Declaratory Ruling to Prevent Blocking of Alarm Calls
- Fall TV Is the Crystallization of Broadcast’s Existential Crisis
PRIVACY
- Digital privacy evolves in class actions: With two recent failed digital privacy class-action certifications, litigators say certification is becoming a higher hurdle to pass
- District court allows majority of privacy invasion class action claims to proceed against social media company
- Millions of Americans’ Medical Images and Data Are Available on the Internet. Anyone Can Take a Peek.
- Millions of Americans’ medical images and data are available on the Internet
- University Of Alabama Is Using A Location-Tracking App To Punish Students For Leaving Football Games Early
- The DMV Is Selling Your Data To Vast Array Of Third Parties
- Hackers are exploiting a platform-agnostic flaw to track mobile phone locations
- Advanced hackers are infecting IT providers in hopes of hitting their customers
- You’d Think The FBI Would Be More Sensitive To Protecting Encrypted Communications Now That We Know The Russians Cracked The FBI’s Comms
- Privacy Regulators Turning Up the Heat: Major Fines for Data Breaches and Privacy Violations This Summer
- Los Angeles partnership launches platform to help people catch phishes
- Encryption Working Group Releases Paper To ‘Move The Conversation Forward’
- Denmark Releases 32 Prisoners Convicted Because Of Flawed Mobile Phone Tracking Data
- Spouse of Ring exec among lawmakers trying to weaken Calif. privacy law
- California’s Consumer Privacy Act Completes its 2019 Legislative Journey
- California now has toughest law in U.S. for the collection of personal information
- And At the End of the Day, the CCPA Remains Very Much the Same
- California Legislature Passes CCPA Amendments and Privacy Bills
- Compliance Tips From the Largest COPPA Settlement Ever
- CCPA’s Moving Target Comes into Focus
- Nevada’s New Privacy Law Will Go Into Effect Next Month: Are You Ready?
- A connected world will be a playground for hackers: Few companies making connected gadgets have much experience with cyber security
- Feds seek to seize all profits from Snowden’s book over NDA violation
- DOJ Decides To Help Publicize Snowden’s Memoir By Suing Him For Failing To Run His Book By The CIA And NSA First
CREATIVITY
- Mercedes’s Claims Against Street Artists Survive Dismissal Motion
- When IP meets counterculture: Is graffiti protected by copyright?
- After Being Sued, Mississippi Rewrites Its Unconstitutional Ban On The Use Of Meat Words By Vegan Food Producers
- New Mexico City Starts Crowdfunding Effort To Pay For Its Stupid Defense Of Constitutional Violations
- Lawsuit Settlement Over Detainment Of A Journalist Will Force Denver Police Department To Admit The First Amendment Exists
- Australian Aboriginal Flag Mess Is Getting Worse — All Thanks To Copyright
- USPTO Drops Its Demands For Applicants’ Green Cards
- The Music Business Wants to Blow Up Copyright – and the Trump Administration Is On Board
- She’s just not that ‘Into You’ – Ariana Grande seeks $10 million after snubbing Forever 21
- Charlotte Tilbury successful in copyright action against Aldi for “lookalike” makeup
- All Over the Map: Publishers, Writers, Small Towns & Apartment Owners Weigh In On Consent Decree Debate
- Researchers analyzed more than 300,000 local news stories on Facebook. Here’s what they found.: “Aside from critical information needs, 31 percent of stories categorized covered sports and 9 percent were obituaries.”
- THE Ohio State University Loses Its Trademark Application For ‘THE’
- Liverpool FC Fans Plan Protest Of Their Own Club Over Trademark Issue
- AB InBev Fails To Get ‘Patagonia’ Trademark Suit Dismissed
- Monster Energy Opposes Teenager’s Trademark Application Over Logos Not At All Similar
- Fluid Trademarks: Will Companies Go With the Flow?
- Intellectual Property Is Neither Intellectual, Nor Property: Discuss
- Elections Advertising—What You Need to Know About the Third-Party Advertising Rules
- The amendment to the Patent Rules – Coming into Force October 30
- The Cutthroat Battle for Controlling Le Monde
- No-deal brexit and intellectual property
- The MoviePass Mess Has Finally Come To An End
- Ken Burns’ Soft-Focus Look at Country Music: The filmmaker’s latest documentary has more than three chords, not enough of the truth.
- The Decline and Fall of the Modern Nerd: The sad saga of how fandom transformed from being about love into hate and intolerance
- The Female Patrons Who Shaped Art History
- No, James Murdoch Doesn’t Watch “Succession”: After leaving the family empire, Rupert Murdoch’s son is fighting threats to democracy that sound an awful lot like Fox News.
- The 100 best TV shows of the 21st century
- The 100 best films of the 21st century
Jon
Class 3 – 9/18/19; “John Milton Plays Grand Prix Legends” + EA’s Brian Dartnell & Perry Bahniwal
Video & slides above. Note that in Brian and Perry’s slides the videos are disabled as they were way too large to upload.
Jon
Music in Sports Games
I wanted to post about the influence music has on the gaming world.
Growing up I loved video games, especially sports games (NHL, NBA & FIFA) and the soundtrack in sports games are so influential on the gamers. I can honestly say that there are songs from NHL 2002 onwards that I could recite word for word if I heard it but I did not know the name of the song (She Loves Me Not – Papa Roach from NHL 03).
FIFA on the other hand is probably the biggest and most global sports game in the gaming industry. I feel like the songs in these games reach global audiences. EA has bought into this global audience and announced that the game will feature many international artists that will please players globally:
“The 43-song soundtrack features marquee names like UK grime icon Skepta; American neo-soul hitmaker BJ The Chicago Kid; Spanish vocalists – and VMA showstoppers – ROSALÍA & Ozuna; Israeli singer/songwriter Dennis Lloyd; hot Philly female rapper Tierra Whack; London indie rockers Another Sky; DC breakout rapper GoldLink; Norwegian R&B stars Fieh; Brooklyn singer-songwriter Cautious Clay; UK rock favorites Foals; Australian electropop star Flume; Florida rapper/singer Dominic Fike; UK hip-hop musician and Mercury Prize nominee Loyle Carner; and The S.L.P., the solo project of Serge Pissorno from Kasabian featuring London rapper/singer Little Simz”
I always found soundtracks to be very interesting in games and are usually overlooked in the gaming industry, but the soundtrack and music in the games can be under a lot of scrutiny f0r such things like copyright, royalties and like it was stated in this article:
“Not obtaining proper consent from copyright owners can be an expensive mistake to make. Unauthorised use in a game of a composition or a recording of a composition is an infringement of copyright law. An aggrieved copyright owner might initiate an action against you, which, if successful, can lead to a claim for substantial damages or a share of the game’s profits ” (https://www.mcvuk.com/the-legal-side-of-music-in-games/)
In a game like FIFA, its interesting to think how all those copyright laws in the respective country plays into the domestic sales in other countries. Example, how the copyright law of UK allows FIFA to be sold in Canada, where you can listen to UK Grime icon Skepta. How do royalties work across all these markets? It’s interesting, I will continue to search for these articles and update this as they come available.
FOLLOW THESE LINKS FOR MORE INFORMATION:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/brianmazique/2019/07/20/nba-2k20-soundtrack-announced-along-with-new-talent-search-initiative-for-new-artists/#4874fea26fcd
https://www.ea.com/games/fifa/fifa-20/news/fifa-20-soundtrack-volta-football
operationsports.com/nhl-20-soundtrack-revealed/
Guests for Class 3
Happy to report that Brian Dartnell (left) and Perry Bahniwal (right) of the Legal Department of Electronic Arts will be joining us tomorrow to provide some insights into the issues video game company counsel deal with day-to-day.
Brian is Vice President, Legal Affairs at EA. He has been at EA almost 14 years, working out of EA’s Vancouver operations. Prior to joining EA Brian practiced at both Owen, Bird and Gowlings and clerked and the B.C. Court of Appeal. He graduated from Osgoode Hall Law in 1996.
Perry is Product Counsel at EA having joined in April 2018. Before that he was legal Counsel at Canucks Sports & Entertainment, Global Relay, Central 1 Credit Union and Broadband TV. Perry articled at Stikeman Elliott, obtained his law degree from the University of Southhampton in 2007 and is currently the President of the BC Chapter of the Association of Corporate Counsel.
Jon
Gambling in Video Games – Loot Boxes
Gambling in Video Games – Loot Boxes
There is news regarding the dealing with Loot Boxes in Video Games. A few days ago the UK MP stated that in their opinion the use of Loot Boxes should be banned for children and that Loot Boxes are gambling and should be regulated according to the UK Gambling Act.
What are Loot Boxes?
A Loot Box is a virtual box in Computer Games that contains a random collection of certain items, such as weapons, ammunition or other special items. Loot boxes can be unlocked, found or purchased in-game. The purchase is made either in player currency or in real money.
Since the purchase of Loot Boxes usually gives the player an advantage, they are often purchased.
Criticism and Problems of the Loot-Box-Systems
The purchase of Loot Boxes involves two major problems:
1) The use of Loot Boxes is often criticized for pushing so-called “pay-to-win systems”. These are free-to-play games, which are basically played without any additional real money, but cost a lot of time, are very difficult to win with free money or offer a disadvantage in competition. Sometimes the providers go so far that essential items can only be offered for real money. In this case, the term “pay-to-win” is clearly used.
Therefore the purchase of Loot Boxes offers in most cases an unlawful advantage to the other players.
2) Because of the natural competitive spirit of the gamers, the players always try to be better than their opponents. By buying Loot Boxes it is possible to gain an advantage over opponents who have not bought a Loot Box. This may increase the need for some players to buy more and more. Critics talk about a considerable risk of addiction and compare the Loot Box system with gambling.
In one case, the UK Committee heard that a player had spent up to 1000 pounds per year on Loot Box mechanisms in EA FIFA.
In another case, a player’s parents came forward and reported that their adult son had incurred debts of 50,000 pounds through microtransactions in the online game RuneScape. The game’s developer, Jagex, reported to the committee that players could potentially spend up to £1,000 a week or £5,000 a month.
Global Comparison of Loot-Box-Regulations
a) Netherlands and Belgium
Especially in the year 2018 there were court decisions, which stated that some, but not all Loot Boxes violate the existing gambling laws.
EA deny the judgments and wants to proceed with the sale of Loot Boxes. However, the Belgian public prosecutor started an official investigation to investigate whether EA was involved in illegal activities.
2K has informed customers that in the future, optimisations could be made for real money purchases within the NBA 2K game to ensure compliance with legal requirements.
Blizzard has decided to eliminate the possibility of buying Loot Boxes with real money for some games in order to meet the requirements.
b) China and South Korea
In China and South Korea, it is already mandatory for any video game developer who sells Loot Boxes in their games to reveal the percentage chance of receiving a reward. China also passed a tough regulation in 2017 prohibiting the sale of virtual lottery tickets.
c) Australia
A 2018 study found that Loot Boxing is psychologically similar to gambling, especially among young people. The study recommends that games with Loot Boxes contain a warning notice and that their sale be restricted to people over the age of 18. These recommendations have not yet been transformed into legislation.
d) UK
Due to the latest events and the opinion of MP UK that Loot Boxes are to be classified as gambling and not for sale to young gamers, it is likely that there will be changes in legislation in the near future.
e) The US and Canada
The US has not yet issued any formal regulations that specifically regulate the sale of Loot Boxes. However, some states have taken further steps.
The state of Washington is working to investigate the problem. In the state of Minnesota, a law has been introduced prohibiting the sale of games that offer loot boxes for real money to anyone under the age of 18.
In May 2019, a Senator introduced a law called “The Protecting Children from Abusive Games Act” that prohibits pay-to-win microtransactions and loot boxes for video games sold in the US.
As far as I know, there is no law in Canada that regulates the sale of Loot Boxes.
For more information you can use the following links:
https://www.pcgamer.com/the-legal-status-of-loot-boxes-around-the-world-and-whats-next/
https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-49661870
Andrija
News of the Week; September 11, 2019
GAMES
- UK High Court orders ISPs to block Switch hacking sites: Judge sides with Nintendo in blacklisting a handful of sites advertising circumvention devices and software
- Nintendo wins UK court case over Nintendo Switch piracy and modification
- Nintendo gets UK ISPs to block Switch piracy sites
- Nintendo launches infringement lawsuit against ROM site RomUniverse
- Nintendo sues ROM site: Switch maker’s anti-piracy legal efforts continue with copyright and trademark infringement suit against RomUniverse
- Capcom wins patent infringement lawsuit against Koei Tecmo
- Chinese Giant Tencent Is Suing Bloggers Who Criticize The Company For ‘Reputational Damage’
- Gears 5 review: An obvious gaming recommendation—if you already paid for it
- Gears 5 launch delayed in China: Sales and pre-orders suspended due to unspecified issue
- Niantic settles Pokemon Go public nuisance class action lawsuit
- Niantic agrees to combat trespassing Pokémon Go players: Developer settles class action lawsuit after three years, committing to new preventative measures
- Unionized Nexon staff rally for job security amid company-wide reorganization
- Nexon Korea union holds demonstration one year after formation: South Korea’s first games industry union demands job security, protests restructuring
- Steam rejects LilithSoft visual novel featuring rape scenes: Employee of Taimanin Asagi developer says Valve is “extremely strict with regards to characters that might be perceived as underage”
- Is Valve still censoring adult games on Steam?: Taimanin Asagi removal puts question to Valve’s hands-off moderation policy.
- Valve kept quiet on Epic exclusives following Metro Exodus backlash: Statement on “unfair” exclusivity was not intended to be a “lightning rod,” Valve said
- Tales From The Platform Wars: Steam Dev Says Calling ‘Metro Exodus’ Epic Exclusive Unfair Wasn’t Intended To Incite
- Epic Accuses Cheating Minor Of Continuing To Promote Cheat Software Even After Lawsuit
- The (not) new Russian games store taking on Epic and Steam: My.Games on how a 70/30 split and lack of exclusives won’t prevent it from making “the best platform ever”
- How Steam users see your game: An analysis of what players are looking for
- A platter of experimental discovery features are heading to Steam
- Valve updates experimental Steam Labs features: Micro Trailers coming to every game, plus new algorithms to help users explore Steam catalogue
- Crunch not needed for live ops game dev, says Zynga producer
- Why Ubisoft isn’t abandoning its open worlds: CEO Yves Guillemot explains why the growing audience for games means the publisher’s blockbuster model is sustainable
- EA readying cloud gaming technical trials: PC players will test cloud versions of FIFA, Titanfall, Need For Speed and Unravel
- EA is running a closed trial for its Project Atlas cloud gaming service this month
- John Justice: “We are trying to implement cross-progression with every title on Stadia” – Google Stadia VP and head of product confirms service will include free trials, parental controls, mods, more features
- Apple Arcade offers up 100+ exclusive(-ish) mobile games for $4.99 a month
- Apple Arcade subscription offers 100+ games for $4.99/month on Sept. 19: Pac-Man, Frogger, Chu Chu Rocket, Rayman, and a new Square Enix RPG in the lineup.
- MWM Immersive turns game publisher, debut title will beCreature in the Well
- Team Rocket event pays off for Pokémon Go: Sensor Tower data puts $110m August haul in the game’s top five months since launch
- Drivetime grabs $11 million in funding for voice-powered games for drivers
- Drivetime raises $11m for games drivers can play on the road: Makers Fund leads Series A round with participation from Amazon and Google; Jeopardy offering launches today
- Team17 draws up acquisition hit list as revenue jumps 97%: The UK publisher’s office move is set for November as staff count rises
- The role of Double Fine’s publishing biz is still up in the air after joining Microsoft
- Starbreeze applies for third extension on reconstruction period: If granted, troubled Swedish publisher would have had an entire year to avoid insolvency
- Tim Schafer: “I don’t know if it makes sense to have a publisher within a publisher” – Double Fine founder says he isn’t certain about the future of publishing arm Double Fine Presents following Microsoft acquisition
- Nintendo Direct shows off surprise sequels, new ports in aggressive year-end pitch
- Nintendo teases Switch peripheral focused on physical exercise: New controller extends motion control functions of the Switch console
- Wii Fit redux: Nintendo shows mysterious exercise ring for the Switch
- Say goodbye to a “regular schedule” of emulated classics on Switch
- What Sega’s Dreamcast launch keynote would have looked like, 20 years ago
- Dreamcast 20th anniversary interview extravaganza
- Dreamcast devs reflect on how the industry has changed since the console’s debut
- Crash Team Racing was the UK’s best-selling game in August: But Nintendo dominates the month in terms of unit sales, revenues and top-selling titles
- UK Charts: NBA 2K20 is No.1 in poor sales week
- Marry everything: The satisfying sandbox of Fit for a King – Kitfox CEO Tanya Short on sandboxes and micro-publishing
- Sony’s upcoming Xperia 5 phone supports the PS4’s DualShock controller
- Celeste developers form new studio: Matt Makes Games team sheds its old name, emerges in new Vancouver offices as Extremely OK Games
- Twitch kicks off partnership with the Raiders & Allegiant Stadium
- Report: Disney plans to sell Marvel Strike Force dev FoxNext Games
- Up to 200 more GameStop stores set to close, with more to follow
- 200 GameStop closures planned ahead of “a much larger tranche” coming
- Sales continue to slide downhill as GameStop continues its reboot
- The exciting uncertainty of esports’ future: Nielsen Esports’ Nicole Pike shares her patient views on the esports landscape ahead of her keynote at Esports BAR Miami 2019
- BoomTV acquires American Video Game League in bid to expand collegiate esports: Deal is “huge step forward” for collegiate esports, says AVGL CEO
- Why NASCAR raced into esports in 2019
- Veloce Esports headed for series A investment after angel round: Initial investors include former Liberty Global exec Eric Tveter
- Growing Pains: Issues Affecting eSports Stakeholders
- DLA Piper’s Media, Sport and Entertainment sector, sports magazine: e-Sports update – “Loot boxes” in the crosshairs
- RetroArch brings real-time translation to emulated games
- Game-focused social video platform Medal.tv raises $9 million
- Medal.tv raises $9 million in new funding: Horizons Ventures led the round, which takes social video platform to $12.5m lifetime funding
- WoW Classic reminds us of all we’ve lost | Opinion: Nostalgia for an earlier version of Blizzard’s MMO is a stark reminder of how much of gaming’s creative history continues to be lost entirely
- Blizzard’s World of Warcraft Classic hit with weekend DDoS attacks
- Everspace 2: Rockfish’s not so difficult second album
- Igniting a Chinese fighting game revolution: China isn’t known for its fighting game scene, but Next Studios wants to change that with Metal Revolution
- Call of Duty developer Sledgehammer Games opens new studio in Australia
- Sledgehammer Games is opening a studio in Australia: Call of Duty to expand its presence in Australia with new dev studio in Melbourne
- VRChat raises $10 million to expand its virtual reality platform
- VRChat secures $10m Series C funding: New investor Makers Fund joins HTC to help “open unique opportunities” in virtual reality space
- VR firm MWM Immersive expands into games publishing: Rebrands as MWM Interactive, debut title is Creature In The Well
- Here’s What 100 Hours of VR Drum Practice Gets You
- Digital Frontier: Where Brain-computer Interfaces & AR/VR Could One Day Meet
- The Coalition’s Gears 5 includes an expansive list of accessibility options
- Gears 5: Critical Consensus – Reviewers agree The Coalition’s second tour of duty is vintage Gears with an assortment of twists, but split on how good that makes it
- Blog: How I discovered the world of user acquisition and advertising
- Blog: I am the cheapest bastard in indie games
- Blog: Kickstarter tactics based on our campaign forUnbound: Worlds Apart
- Blog: Unity Addressables – It’s never too big to fit
- Blog: How music enhances virtual presence – Part 3
- Don’t Miss: How Maxis avoided sequel-itis on The Sims 2
- Watch John Pearl discuss the procedural design ofRemnant: From the Ashes
- Video: Understanding Halo 5’s geometry caching optimizations
- Video: Designing levels for a video game mixtape
- Video: How to survive and thrive as a small studio without a big hit
- Practical game writing insight from No Man’s Sky: Atlas Rises’ Greg Buchanan
- U.S. Patent No. 9,174,128: Dynamic quests in game
- U.S. Patent No. 9,545,571: Methods and apparatus for a video game magic system
- Home Office confirms games roles will be added to UK occupation shortage list: Migration Advisory Committee’s industry-informed recommendations have been approved
- UK regulatory roundup: Where we are and what lies ahead – Harbottle & Lewis on four imminent developments that will impact the games industry in the UK and Europe
- Ars goes back to school: The video games that threatened our college GPA
- BAFTA shuffles categories for 2020 Games Awards as submissions open
DIGITAL
- 8chan owner testifies to Congress about extremism on the site
- Months After Christchurch Shooting, The Australian Government Is Issuing Site-Blocking Orders Targeting Footage Of The Incident
- Google And Facebook To Face Antitrust Probes Investigating Their Impact On The Digital Ad Market
- Yes, News Sites Need To Get Out Of The Ad Surveillance Business — But Blame The Advertisers As Well
- DOJ Wants Apple, Google To Hand Over Names And Phone Numbers Of 10,000 App Users
- 50 states and territories launch massive joint probe into Google
- Google Bans Ads for Experimental Medical Treatments
- Amazon Probed by U.S. Antitrust Officials Over Marketplace: The FTC is interviewing merchants to determine whether the e-commerce giant is using its market power to hurt competition.
- Watchdog Group Files FTC Complaint Against Ryan ToysReview For Improper Ad Disclosures
- In Blockbuster Ruling, Ninth Circuit Affirms hiQ Injunction – CFAA Claim Likely Not Available for Scraping Publicly Available Website Data
- Big News: Appeals Court Says CFAA Can’t Be Used To Stop Web Scraping
- Web scraping doesn’t violate anti-hacking law, appeals court rules
- HIQ LABS, INC. v. LINKEDIN CORPORATION (USCA 9th Circuit, September 9, 2019)
- China Issues New Cybersecurity Law to Protect Children
- New Huawei rule: what it means for US companies
- Chinese professor stole hard drive secrets for Huawei, US government charges
- How China is Cashing in on Group Chats
- 18 months after indictment, Iranian phishers are still targeting universities
- YouTube Lets Indonesian Government Block Satirical Video That Criticizes The Indonesian Government
- How an Élite University Research Center Concealed Its Relationship with Jeffrey Epstein: M.I.T. Media Lab aware of Epstein as a convicted sex offender & that Epstein contributions far exceeded what M.I.T. admitted.
- Inside the bizarre world of internet trolls and propagandists
- How online harassment threatens press freedom
- Microsoft President Brad Smith: Tech sector needs to face up to responsibility and embrace regulation
- Federal Gov’t Gives Customs Officers Permission To Break Social Media Platform Rules Forbidding Fake Accounts
- A feel-good story about social media!
- Facebook on the hook as states launch competition, privacy probe
- The Technology 202: Facebook, Microsoft team up with academics in race to thwart deepfakes
- Facebook tightens policies around self-harm and suicide
- Facebook Dating launches in the United States today
- Facebook dating is now available in the US. Here’s how it works
- Facebook Watch Partners With International News Organizations To Produce New Slate
- Section 230 Applies to Facebook’s Post Removals and Account Suspensions–King v. Facebook (Eric Goldman)
- The NY Times Got It Backwards: Section 230 Helps Limit The Spread Of Hate Speech Online
- Ninth Circuit Says LinkedIn Wrongly Blocked HiQ’s Scraping Efforts
- California Court Of Appeal’s Midvale Decision Opens The Floodgates For More Website Accessibility Lawsuits
- FTC’s Latest Fine Of YouTube Over COPPA Violations Shows That COPPA And Section 230 Are On A Collision Course
- FTC and Google reach $170 Million Settlement over children’s privacy on YouTube
- FTC announces record $170 million COPPA settlement with Google and YouTube for children’s privacy violations
- Google and YouTube Pay Record $170 Million Fine for Allegedly Violating Children’s Privacy Law in Settlement with the FTC and the New York Attorney General
- Hotel Lobbyists Push Forward Their Plan To Kill The Internet Because They Hate Competing Against Airbnb
- Canadian YouTube Giant WatchMojo Invests In Digital Video Festival ‘Buffer’
- Video-sharing site reaches $170 million settlement with FTC and New York AG
- Tom Brady Joins TikTok on Heels of NFL’s Deal With Video Platform
- Insights: The Future Of The NFL Is TikTok, And Other Hail Mary Passes For Continued Relevance
- A Quick Study in Doxing and Personal Jurisdiction: Vangheluwe v. GotNews
- Execution in a Digital Age
- What Happens To Your Digital Assets When You Die?
- That Time Taylor Swift Threatened To Sue Microsoft Over Its Racist Chatbot
- The Internet Remains Broken In The Ninth Circuit And, At Least For Now, The Third
- ThinkProgress, a Top Progressive News Site, Has Shut Down: A search had been underway for a new publisher. But none was found.
- YouTube launches a dedicated Fashion vertical
- Bart Baker Says He’s Quitting YouTube, Moving To China To Pursue Social Superstardom
- YouTube network Studio71 is expanding into streaming
- YouTube Forges New ‘Red Diamond Creator Award’ For Channels With 100 Million Subscribers
- YouTube Taps K-Pop Groups TVXQ! And Super Junior For Travel Docuseries
- Tubular Labs Unveils New Metrics That Seek To Measure Social Video Like TV
- How to Avoid a Complaint to the ASA as a #Socialinfluencer When Posting #Ads in the UK
- New NLRB Advice Memo Clarifies Social Media Policy Rules
- Viacom Digital Studios Readies Facebook Watch Slate With Grace Helbig, MatPat, Joey Graceffa
- No, Netflix Is Not Ditching Binge-Watching. It’s Just “Trying Something New” With Competition Series ‘Rhythm + Flow.’
- Apple Music launches its official web-app in beta
- Apple TV Plus to Launch on Nov. 1, Cost $4.99 per Month
- Apple TV+ subscription service soft-launches November 1 for $4.99/mo
- Apple releases first trailer for new sci-fi series See, starring Jason Momoa
- Apple continues health push with three new medical studies
- Apple: The First Hope-Based Company
- Apple, Foxconn caught breaking Chinese labor laws while making iPhones
- Apple Wanted to Revolutionize the Way Streaming Pays. Here’s Why It Wasn’t Allowed: Spotify and Amazon are battling the Copyright Royalty Board over streaming royalty rates.
- Spotify users can now share music and podcasts to Snapchat
- Snapchat Prepares a Dedicated News Channel Ahead of 2020 Debates: Snapchat has made forays into the news business before
- Howard Stern is Getting Ripped Off: Why podcasting may have minted its first billionaire, subscription podcasting is the next great business model, and how to join the revolution
- Was Etsy too good to be true?
- WarnerMedia’s Crunchyroll Invests In European Anime Firm Viz Media Group
- WarnerMedia centralises distribution leadership for HBO, Turner
- Patreon Eyeing Providing Loans, HR Support, Health Care To Creators, CEO Says
- “Everything as a service” is coming—but we’re not there quite yet
- US tech IPOs on track for record year in money raised, reaching $17.1bn in 2019 H1 – Linklaters reports
- A Paranoid Tech Bro, a Homemade Nuclear Bunker, and a Shocking Death: In the tunnels beneath a placid suburban home, an angel investor turned into an angel of doom.
- China is close to releasing a Libra-like digital currency
- It’s just emojions misleading us over [laughing tears of joy face]?
- Emojis Have Unsettled Grammar Rules (and Why Lawyers Should Care) (Eric Goldman)
- Someone moved $1 billion in a single bitcoin transaction
- The hacker, bitcoin, the Proceeds of Crime Act and the Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act.
A.I.
- CDA Section 230 Immunizes Platform From Liability for Friend and Content Suggestion Algorithms
- An AI app that turns you into a movie star has risked the privacy of millions
- Algorithms should have made courts more fair. What went wrong?
- Texas Law Could Signal More State, Federal Deepfake Bans
- Cops Digitally Erase Suspect’s Facial Tattoos To Make Him Look More Like The Robbery Suspect Caught On Camera
- ‘Years ahead of the pack’: uOttawa’s renowned robot researcher Ian Kerr remembered as a leader in his field
- How do intellectual property rights apply to AI?
- Construction Robots Learn to Excavate by Mimicking Humans: Human movements can teach robots the skills they need to dig holes and – maybe someday – build the first colonies on Mars
- Leveraging Data Analytics and AI Through the M&A Life Cycle
- AI & Privacy: The Struggle is Real: meAnIngful consent and retAIning data
- Ethical Implications of AI and Ubuntu as an Intervention
- The Age of AI: How Will In-house Law Departments Run in 10 Years
- Hunting for the Sharpest Tools in the AI Shed
- Will AI Chatbots Replace Your Employee Handbook?
COMMUNICATIONS
- Disruption drags on for some Telus email customers
- Much Of The Assault On ‘Big Tech’ Is Being Driven By ‘Big Telecom’
- Comcast sues Maine to stop law requiring sale of individual TV channels
- T-Mobile Metro stores sell used phones as new, charge “fake taxes,” NYC says
- New York City Sues T-Mobile For Ripping Off Its Prepaid Users
- T-Mobile Employees Want Promises They Won’t Be Fired Post Merger
- Charter Spectrum Once Again ‘Competes’ By… Raising Prices
- Verizon’s 5G network isn’t good enough to cover an entire NFL stadium
- Verizon Can’t Stop Over-hyping 5G; This Time In NFL Stadiums
- Supreme Court Punts On Whether FCC’s Interpretation of the TCPA Binds Federal Courts
PRIVACY
- White House Pushing Proposal That Would Subject Mentally Ill People To Increased Surveillance
- DMVs Are Selling Your Data to Private Investigators: You gave them your data in exchange for a driver’s license. DMVs are making tens of millions of dollars selling it, documents obtained by Motherboard show.
- Hyp3r-misappropriation of data gets Instagram’s attention, but is enough being done?
- Senator pushes Amazon for details about Ring “partnerships” with police
- Ring Let Cops Know How Often Their Requests For Camera Footage Were Ignored
- Ring Has A ‘Head Of Face Recognition Tech,’ Says It’s Not Using Facial Recognition Tech. Yet.
- Appeals Court Says An IP Address Is ‘Tantamount To A Computer’s Name’ While Handing The FBI Another NIT Win
- FBI’s Operation reWired Targets International E-mail Scams
- The CCPA and COPPA: Looking for the “Betwixt and Between”
- Back to school: With latest attack, ransomware cancels classes in Flagstaff
- 600,000 GPS trackers for people and pets are using 123456 as a password
- Zero-day privilege escalation disclosed for Android
- Exploit for wormable BlueKeep Windows bug released into the wild
- CCPA Privacy FAQs: If a company collects personal information through a cookie, is it required to provide a consumer with a privacy policy?
- Apple takes flak for disputing iOS security bombshell dropped by Google
- MoviePass Left Tens Of Thousands Of Credit Card Numbers Exposed Online
- Firefox is stepping up its blocking game
- Riding in cars with hackers
- How The Cyber Insurance Industry’s Bottom Line Is Fueling Ransomware
- Cybersecurity Starts at the Top: Risks and Concerns for Directors and Officers
- Nevada’s New Privacy Bill Requires Website Operators That Collect Information About Consumers to Update Privacy Policies by October 1, 2019
- Equifax Victims Jump Through Hoops To Nab Settlement Money They Won’t Get Anyway
CREATIVITY
- A Famous Argument Against Free Will Has Been Debunked: For decades, a landmark brain study fed speculation about whether we control our own actions. It seems to have made a classic mistake.
- “Precious hours were wasted”: Trump’s doctored map affected hurricane forecasters
- Devin Nunes Drops One Ridiculous Lawsuit, Only To File Another One
- Court Tosses $100 Million Defamation Suit Brought By Former Trump Spokesman Over Reporting On Court Documents
- Judge Orders White House To Restore Reporter’s Press Pass It Illegally Removed
- Elections Canada’s third-party advertising controversy ignores regulatory discretion, says lawyer
- Football, gambling and advertising: The opposite of a young man’s game
- A New ‘Taco Tuesday’ Trademark Challenger Approaches: LeBron James
- Ariana Grande Sues Forever 21, Asserting Right of Publicity, Lanham Act and Copyright Claims
- Never ever getting back together: Taylor Swift Re-Records back Catalogue
- Charlotte Tilbury – highlighting the pow(d)er of using copyright against copycats
- Update on Canadian Copyright Mass Litigation – September Snapshot (Howard Knopf)
- The music modernization act: A primer for copyright holders
- That’s All He Wrote: Copyright Owners No Longer Enjoy Presumption of Irreparable Harm
- Myth #4: The 30 Seconds/500 Copies/Two-Thirds/200 Words Rule
- Using copyright to stop copycats – Islestarr Holdings Ltd v Aldi Stores Ltd
- New NAD decision addresses incentivized reviews
- Stouffer v. National Geographic Partners, LLC
- U.S. Supreme Court Issues Decisions Resolving Two Major Copyright Law Issues
- Queen Anne’s Revenge?
- Wu-Tang Clan’s “C.R.E.A.M.” Is Not the Capitalist Anthem You Think It Is
- Heirs to stolen painting seek its return from Japanese museum
Jon