The Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA) was first introduced by Illinois in 2008. Versions of it followed in Texas in 2009 and then Washington in 2017. But what is it and why does it matter? What is BIPA? Broadly, BIPA requires the informed consent of the collection of biometric data prior to collection, prohibits companies …
The internet is sometimes perceived as a largely unregulated place because of the sheer volume of content that can be uploaded and shared, as well as the seemingly anonymous nature of what can happen online. Providing stability in this swirling chaos are Internet Service Providers (ISPs), that act as a hub for activity and content …
The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) protects technology, devices and/or services that are copyrighted. The act was written to protect IP owners, content hosts and internet service providers. A DMCA takedown is specifically when content is removed from a website or a platform at the request of the owner of the copyright holder. It is, …
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 »
The main goal of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) is to protect technology, devices, and/or services that are copyrighted. It also makes it a criminal act to circumvent access to technology, devices, and/or services even if there isn’t actual infringement on copyright – aka, trying to access something online without permission. At its core, …
In 2018, we had a lot of new ground covered in the video game industry from a legal perspective. Here are some of the most notable, influential stories in case you missed them: Studio Closures & Snafus More than a thousand jobs have been lost in the video game industry in 2018 alone – and …
What does the First Amendment Protect? In terms of speech only (the First Amendment protects a lot that isn’t speech), the First Amendment protects “expression.” It does not protect anything that is not expressive. Expression does not have to be words. For example, the Supreme Court has ruled that video games (even if they do not …
The First Amendment and Video Games – Part 3: Protected v. Unprotected Speech Read More »
Back in May, Valve changed its content policy to crack down on visual novels containing adult content. Just a few weeks later, Valve again changed its policy to allow anything that isn’t “illegal” or “straight-up trolling.” This led many developers and consumers down a rabbit hole of questions surrounding what Valve’s role should be in …
Virtual reality (VR) might be the next big thing in the gaming space – but what are the legal considerations that need to be kept in mind with this new technology? Here are some thoughts you may want to keep in mind to protect your intellectual property as development in VR continues to grow. Protecting …
Protecting your patents & intellectual property in VR 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 »