On Wednesday, March 20th, Brandon J. Huffman and Suzanne Jackiw will lead a roundtable at the Game Developers Conference (GDC) on the following topic: Business and Legal Issues Facing the Industry Roundtable (Presented by IGDA) The future is always uncertain. In this roundtable, come join the IGDA Business and Legal SIG to talk about some …
Recently, Brandon J. Huffman was quoted on GameDaily.biz. about the class action suit brought against Activision Blizzard. Here is an excerpt: According to attorney Brandon Huffman, founder of Odin Law & Media and general counsel for the IGDA, a number of pieces need to be in place before a suit will be certified as a …
Brandon J. Huffman Quoted on Activision Class Action Suit Read More »
Libel is complicated and often difficult to litigate; however, it is one of the few ways speech is allowed to be restricted under the First Amendment and, in my opinion, has produced some of the most interesting court opinions in American jurisprudence. A few of my favorites include Evel Knievel bringing a defamation suit against …
Odin Law and Media is proud to announce Attorney Brandon J. Huffman’s inclusion on the Super Lawyers Rising Star list for 2019. According to Super Lawyers, Super Lawyers selects attorneys using a patented multiphase selection process. Peer nominations and evaluations are combined with independent research. Each candidate is evaluated on 12 indicators of peer recognition …
Brandon J. Huffman Named 2019 Super Lawyers Rising Star Read More »
All game devs have a favorite character; one they draw inspiration from. What better way to show props to those who have inspired you than by featuring your favorite character in your new game. A little nudge or nod to other creators to show your respect. But where does admiration cross over to copyright infringement? …
Can I Use the Character From Another Game in My Own Game? Read More »
Recently, a lawmaker in Pennsylvania proposed a law to tax the sale of video games rated M or AO by ESRB at 10%. This would be in addition to the sales tax already imposed in Pennsylvania (which I am going to refer to as “PA” because it’s too much to type over and over). According to GameSpot: …
We see trademarks every day. Ones that we recognize, like Coca-Cola, Apple, Exxon, Pepsi and Ford, and ones that may go unnoticed, like the color of a Tiffany’s blue box. A trademark is a word, phrase, slogan, symbol, design, or combination that (1) identifies the good or service and (2) distinguishes source. Trademarks can (but …
What is a trademark? And what is fair use of a trademark? Read More »
The world of video game creation has unique challenges in spiritual successors or homage works. Some of these works defeat challenges of copyright infringement while others do not. For example, 2014 game TxK was sent a letter by Atari threatening action due to the similarities between TxK and Artari’s classic Tempest. What is a spiritual successor? …
When does a spiritual successor become copyright infringement? Read More »
Ringing in the New Year not only brought new year’s resolutions, but it also gave effect to the CVAA in the video game industry. What is the CVAA? The CVAA (21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act 2010) sets forth accessibility requirements for all advanced communications services. This includes advanced communications services for game software, …
Update: 1/26/2019: Unity has updated its terms. Over the past week, the video game world has been closely following the tumultuous relations between Improbable, Unity and Epic Games centering on an interpretation of an update (or clarification) of Unity’s Terms of Service. This case has brought into the spotlight an ordinary and extremely common contract: Terms …