Trademark infringement is a serious issue that affects companies in the video game and software industry. It occurs when a person or entity uses a trademark that is identical or similar to another’s trademark without permission, creating confusion among consumers and potentially damaging the brand value of the trademark owner. A trademark is a symbol, …
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It’s a new year! And wow, the landscape is a lot different as we collectively went from a global pandemic to a global recession. Here are our thoughts and predictions on 2023 as the world continues to be a relatively unpredictable place. Artificial intelligence Artificial intelligence (AI) is going to be a big focus as …
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 …
NFT art is growing in popularity. But when someone buys NFT art, what rights do they get? What is an NFT? NFT stands for “non-fungible token.” The token is a unit of currency on the blockchain, the technology that underlies Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. Fungibility is the idea that one thing is exactly like another. …
This past weekend, Twitch streamers have received a large number of DMCA takedown requests for alleged music copyright violations in clips that were created in the past three years. Twitch, currently one of the largest video game streaming sites, is recommending that streamers delete any clips that have received takedown requests. 📢 This week, we've …
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Moral rights got a lot of attention recently after Blizzard requested that users sign over moral rights to created works in Warcraft III: Reforged. Here’s a bit of context on what moral rights are and why they matter in this situation. What are moral rights? Moral rights are rights that vest in the creator of …
The video game industry thrives on secrets. Game reveals, licensing deals, budgets and more are closely guarded aspects of the business that are part of a company’s larger operational strategy. Games, especially large blockbusters, are also made by teams of people. The more people that know a secret, the harder it is to keep. That’s …
The primary goal of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) is to protect technology, devices, and/or services that are copyrighted. Anti-circumvention refers to laws that prohibit the circumvention of technological barriers for using a digital good and/or service in a way that the rights-holder doesn’t allow. The requirement for anti-circumvention laws came about with the …
In parts 1-4 of this First Amendment series, I gave an introduction, provided the basics of the First Amendment and talked about what First Amendment protection means along with what speech is protected. In this post, I will give a bit of context for how those standards are applied to video games, specifically. Brown v. EMA Until …
The First Amendment and Video Games – Part 5: Brown v. EMA Read More »
It’s hard to get a video game off the ground. Game development includes cat wrangling and herding artists, designers, developers, business people and more and getting everyone on the same page. There’s testing to make sure as few bugs go out as possible and then there’s more testing after a game is released into the …