By Jon Festinger on September 10, 2015
Thanks to Megan Coyle for attending. Video of the class and slides follow.
jon
Read More | No Comments
By Jon Festinger on September 9, 2015
Here are two charts that serve as handy guides to deciphering the two separate badge trajectories embedded in the course website.
First comes the map for posting and commenting on the site. It is the same as that used last year, although the actual badges for this year have more sophisticated design elements, are colour coded and go from hexagon to “shield” 😉 …
Next comes the badge map for the new “Quests” element of the course. It not only tracks the badges, but in so doing does a pretty good job of outlining the constituent elements of the Quests themselves:
jon
Read More | No Comments
By Jon Festinger on September 9, 2015
Thanks to Megan Coyle, a former student in the course, for being our guest today and telling you a little bit about her experiences with Video Game Law and providing some meaningful advice on how to approach the experience.
Megan grew up on Mayne Island where she enjoyed mastering the first 3 Mario games on Nintendo, as well as such classics as DigDug, Elevator Action and Excite Bike which came on one of those almost certainly modded and not sold in Canada “76 games in one” cartridges from Hong Kong.
On a high school exchange to Japan she fell in love with arcades generally and Dance Dance Revolution in particular, following which she lived in whistler for a year without TV, computer, or phone, let alone any games.
Megan did her undergrad at UBC in Linguistics and worked at the Law School as an administrative assistant for 4 years before eventually being inspired to apply here as a student. She graduated last May, and is articling at DLA Piper where she also summered.
jon
Read More | No Comments
By Jon Festinger on September 9, 2015
Here are the instructions for having full privileges on the Video Game Law website. Thanks to Richard Tape of the UBC Centre for Teaching, Learning & Technology for his constant stewardship and support of the technical aspects of this course (and for the basics of the instructions that follow):
1. Please create an account at https://cms.ubc.ca/ using your CWL.
2. Once you create an account and sign in at https://cms.ubc.ca/ you can click your name in the top right. Half way down the following page will be your WordPress email address.
3. Send me your WordPress email address at jfestinger@telus.net or at jon@fblawstrategy.com
4. Then, I will invite you to participate with authoring privileges via your WordPress email address.
If this process doesn’t work or if you don’t have time to fiddle with it, don’t fret. Richard will be joining us in next weeks class with the express purpose of trouble-shooting and getting everyone on-line. Please don’t forget to bring your laptop or “device”.
jon
Read More | No Comments
By Jon Festinger on September 9, 2015
It was not intended to be such, but this mornings first class proved to be an real reminder of how far the course has come over the previous 8 iterations. That in itself is a testament to all the students, guests and supporters who have been so generous and kind. You can read about many of them here: http://videogame.law.ubc.ca/about/
jon
Read More | No Comments
By Jon Festinger on August 13, 2015
GAMES
1. Nintendo chalks up two more patent victories: Company advocates patent reform, says it won’t settle just to avoid court costs
2. Zenimax lawsuit against Oculus will proceed to trial
3. More settlements in Rhode Island’s 38 Studios court case
4. Steam offers full, unconditional refunds for ‘Journey of the Light’
5. Chicago Blackhawks Right Wing Patrick Kane removed from ‘NHL 16’ cover
6. Shots fired: video game argument ends in gunplay for two Columbus gamers
7. Kings of Poverty: Super Arcade and the Fighting Game Community vs. the City of Azusa
8. Cheating at Candy Crush Saga
9. ESL details new drug testing policies
+ No more high scores: ESL bans pot use during e-sports tournaments – Players can still get high before and after the event, though.
10. Donald Trump’s disdain for video games
11. Angry Birds 2 hits 20 million downloads in week one
12. Hearthstone makes $20m a month – SuperData
13. Blizzard registers trademark for Compete eSports service
14. After subscriptions plummet to 2005 levels,WoW announces sixth expansion: Will Legion’s level-cap bump, new Demon Hunter class stop the bleeding?
15. Core console software sales are higher than ever – EEDAR
16. Gamescom sets attendance record
17. Challenge accepted: interviewing an Internet #hashtag
18. Konami sees profit growth of 160%
19. Konami’s draconian workplace raises no eyebrows in Japan
20. USC initiative to turn student devs into pros
21. How the TV show in Xbox One exclusive ‘Quantum Break’ works
22. SURPRISE: Online Gaming Builds Stronger Connections Between Friends
23. Living Room Wars: Remediation,Boardgames,and theEarly History of Video Wargaming (Sebastian Deterding)
24. Game Studies: The International Journal of Computer Game Research; Volume 15, Issue 1, July 2015)
DIGITAL
1. Summer Of The 4th Amendment: Appeals Court Says Mobile Phone Location Is Protected Under 4th Amendment
2. Federal court certifies action for “publicity given to private life”
3. Why Canada’s Net Neutrality Enforcement is Going at Half-Throttle (Michael Geist)
4. Google’s $6 Billion Miscalculation on the EU: Why the search leader’s antitrust deal fell apart
5. Google And EU Wrangle Over ‘Right To Be Forgotten’ Law Global Implementation
+ Europe’s Latest Export: Internet Censorship: If French regulators have their way, the ‘right to be forgotten’ will go global, stifling speech.
6. Even when told not to, Windows 10 just can’t stop talking to Microsoft: It’s no wonder that privacy activists are up in arms.
7. News Corp. Makes Copyright Claim Over News Corp’s Live Video Stream Of The GOP Debate
8. Eat, Pray, Post: How virality is westernizing the entire world
9. The Future of Morality, at Every Internet User’s Fingertips: How much is your attention on the Internet really worth?
10. Once Again The Economist Thinks Patents Are Hindering Innovation And Need Reform
11. It’s Operating Systems Vs. Messaging Apps In The Battle For Tech’s Next Frontier
12. Did Virtual Reality Just Have Its Google Glass “Shower” Moment?
+ Time rolls out all the stereotypical nerd tropes for VR cover
+ Oculus Rift creator: ‘I love the cover’
13. Unreal: Virtual reality is changing how college football teams train, recruit
14. What Happens When Spotify Gets Behind an Artist? A Case Study of Hozier and Major Lazer
15. Pixar will make USD software open source in 2016
16. Tinder and the Dawn of the “Dating Apocalypse”
17. Smartwatches Decimated Traditional Watch Sales Last Month
18. 10 Former Internet Trolls Explain Why They Quit Being Jerks
19. The ethics of modern web ad-blocking
CREATIVITY
1. Goodfellas’ actor’s $250m ‘Simpsons’ image rights claim shot down
2. TPP Leaks Reveal Blows to Creative Freedom: Filmmaker – Brett Gaylor says secret trade deal would make documentaries like his illegal.
3. Is Buck Rogers in the public domain? New movie hangs in the balance: Filmmaker says character fell out of copyright. Rightsholders say “pay up.”
4. Shakira’s hit song ‘Loca’ not plagiarism, U.S. judge rules
5. Michael Eisner: Creativity doesn’t have to be expensive
6. That’s Not Funny!: Today’s college students can’t seem to take a joke.
+ The Coddling of the American Mind: In the name of emotional well-being, college students are increasingly demanding protection from words and ideas they don’t like. Here’s why that’s disastrous for education—and mental health.
7. Madeleine L’Engle on Creativity, Hope, Getting Unstuck, and How Studying Science Enriches Art
jon
Read More | No Comments
Check out theVideos of Interest to Law 423 on YouTube 
Communications Law
Join the Community!