With the rise of streamers on Twitch and mega celebrities endorsing games, many video game companies are considering hiring influencers. An influencer, defined as a person who has a significant following related to a certain topic, can be a great source of publicity and exposure for a video game. For example, Apex Legends received a …
How do I keep my influencer (and my company) out of trouble with the FTC? Read More »
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 »
On May 21, a bill was introduced in the US Senate. This bill, dubbed The Protecting Children from Abusive Games Act, is a misguided attempt to regulate loot boxes and pay-to-win mechanics out of the video game industry. To be clear: I am not necessarily against regulation on loot boxes. I do think that there …
FAQ on a bill (S1629) proposing The Protecting Children from Abusive Games Act 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: …
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, …
2018 was an eventful year from a legal perspective in the video game industry. At Odin Law and Media, here’s what we’re anticipating to see as growing legal challenges in this space in the new year. Esports more formalized Currently, esports is a very fragmented part of the video game industry. There are different tiers …
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 …