A service-level agreement (SLA) is a a kind of contract or part of a contract between a service provider and a client. Aspects of the service being provided like quality, availability and the responsibilities of the service provider can all be defined in this agreement. The primary piece of an SLA is defining the services …
A terms of service (TOS), also known as terms of use or terms and conditions, is a contract established between a company and a user that defines the rules by which a user must abide by in order to use the service. It’s the foundational contract between a service provider and a user. A TOS …
An end-user license agreement, also known as a EULA, is the contract established between the licensor and the licensee of a product. The licensee likely thinks of themselves as a purchaser, but the EULA establishes their right to use a piece of proprietary software as a license – not ownership. For a software developer, the …
Biometric identification systems are becoming more common and data points are being tracked more regularly with the rise of new devices in the video game and VR industries. What is biometric data, though, and is this data currently legally protected? What is biometric data? “Biometrics” is the primary term for body measurements and calculations involving …
What is biometric data and how is it legally protected? Read More »
Classifying your workers correctly is important not only for your business’ finances but also for legal liability. Employment and labor laws affect different types of workers in different ways, and they are also taxed in different ways. What’s an employee? The IRS typically assumes workers are employees unless stated otherwise. Employees are workers who are …
What’s the difference between a contractor and an employee? Read More »
Contests, sweepstakes and lotteries are all useful mechanisms for promoting a company online. But only some can be done legally, so businesses need to know the difference between them, however, if they’re going to use one as a marketing tool or offer a giveaway for their business. What’s a contest? A contest is an event …
What’s the difference between a contest, sweepstakes and lottery? Read More »
If you’ve been paying attention, you may have seen press coverage of the Entertainment Software Association’s opposition (PDF) to a proposed change to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. So, what is ESA arguing about? Who are they arguing with? Why is this happening? The short version: A “museum” petitioned the copyright office to change the rules …
What’s up with the DMCA fight over defunct online games? Read More »
Thinking of opening an Internet café/cybercafé? Be prepared to learn about the exciting world of commercial licensing! In order to legally offer a physical location where others will access content like video games (whether they pay for them or not), you must purchase commercial licenses of games. What is a commercial license? When you buy …
Do I need a commercial license to use games for an Internet Cafe? Read More »
COPPA, the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, is a law that was created to protect the privacy of children under 13. The Act was passed in 1998, took effect in 2000, and then it was updated in 2013. There are a lot of misconceptions about COPPA so let’s address a few of them and how …
What is COPPA and how does it affect my game company? Read More »
As a consumer, it’s important to read a license before signing it whenever possible. As a business offering a license, it’s even more important to understand what is being offered. A license is there to help business set terms of the relationship with the users of a product. Here’s a quick overview of a few …
An overview of licenses: shrink-wrap vs. click-wrap vs. browse-wrap licenses Read More »