Copyright and Trademark

Trademark infringement in the video game and software industry

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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A Primer On Public Domain Music

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 …

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Why are Twitch streamers receiving DMCA takedown requests?

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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What to Consider When Protecting Trade Secrets

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 …

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What is DMCA anti-circumvention?

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 …

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The First Amendment and Video Games – Part 5: Brown v. EMA

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 …

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