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 …
In Part 3 of this series, I spent some time talking about the difference between First Amendment protected speech and unprotected speech. With that in mind, assuming speech is “protected” by the First Amendent, what does that actually mean? Protection from government restriction The language of the Amendment is always relevant. The first part of …
The First Amendment and Video Games – Part 4: What is Protection? Read More »
User generated content (UGC) can provide a company with a lot of positives, marketing and community-wise, but it comes with a ton of legal landmines. When managing a VR/AR experience, here are some things to keep in mind if a developer is going to allow UGC. The primary legal issues The two main legal issues …
How do you handle user generated content in VR/AR experiences? Part 3 Read More »
So the company didn’t work out. It happens. With recent news of studio closures, I thought I would put together this brief guide to shutting down. First, some definitions Before the meat, let’s talk about the bones. These are key terms I’ll be throwing around a lot: Company – the business. This could be an …
Dissolving A Company – A primer on ending it all Read More »