When people refer to music that has entered the public domain, they are usually referring to music where the copyright protection has expired. Due to differences in the laws regarding duration of copyright protection, when a piece of music enters the public domain may differ from country to country. At the outset, it is important …
On or before the second Wednesday in March 2023 (and each second Wednesday in March thereafter), employers with more than one hundred employees in California must submit a report to the Civil Rights Department within the Business, Consumer Services, and Housing Agency. Why? California has released new pay transparency requirements. Those new requirements build on …
As a law firm that primarily works with video game companies, everyone on staff is a gamer in their own right. Here’s what we’ve been playing this fall of 2022: Aperture Desk Job by Valve (Steam Deck) I got a Steam Deck so I started playing Aperture Desk Job – I really enjoy the Deck …
Moonlighting and side hustles – whatever you want to call them – come up frequently in the games space. However, it is important to keep in mind some potential issues that can arise – both from an employer’s perspective and from an employee’s perspective. An employer will generally want (and likely needs) to own all …
On Thursday, October 6th, Amanda Whorton will present at the 44th Annual ABA Forum on the Entertainment & Sports Industries in Las Vegas, Nevada. She will be presenting alongside Maddy Batliboi [Meta], Sasha Safavi [United Masters], Douglas Reilly [Lucasfilm Games/Disney] and Danny Walvick [Sirius XM/Pandora]. The topic will be: Music Licensing in the Age of …
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On Monday, October 31st, Ryan Fairchild will be presenting at the 2022 Esports Bar Association Conference in Las Vegas. He will be presenting alongside Bryce Blum [ESG Law] and Tom Martell [Riot Games]. The topic will be: The State of the Industry Panel This talk highlights leaders in esports law as they provide an overview …
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Creators should be aware that there exists a good amount of risk with influencer whitelisting. The first, and often overlooked, risk a creator faces with respect to whitelisting is a lost opportunity to earn what their services are worth if whitelisting isn’t carved out as an “added” service in the agreement. Often the Odin team …
The video game industry is a global phenomenon – there are video gamers in every country and in plenty of instances, gamers want to interact with games in their own native language. Localization can be a critical part of publishing a game to help it reach larger audiences. But what is localization and what are …
What are the legal risks involved with localizing a video game? Read More »
On August 16th, 2022, United States President Joe Biden signed into law the Inflation Reduction Act. The bill principally aims to raise tax revenue by capturing some of the traditionally tax-free benefits for high-level executives and shareholders and requiring large corporations to pay a minimum tax. With that in mind, the changes should be analyzed …
Data collection and analysis have become ubiquitous with modern technology and are pivotal aspects of contemporary video game design. Game developers may collect data for any number of reasons, including anything from wanting to obtain a user’s name, address, and billing information for in-game purchases, to utilizing collected data to catch hackers, or identify areas …
What are the legal considerations for collecting data in a video game? Read More »