GAMES
- Keepin’ It Real: Courts Recognize the Legitimate Goal of Video Game Makers
- Something on Which Even Patent Litigators Can Agree: McRO v. Bandai, Inc. Clarifies the Framework for Enablement Challenges and for Enablement Defenses
- EB Games Australia admits to misleading customers over Fallout 76 refunds
- EB Games offers refunds for Fallout 76: Retailer admits to Australian Competition and Consumer Commission it likely misled customers over their rights
- Games industry speaks out in support of black communities amid violence in US: Microsoft, Sony, and Riot Games among those advocating for the unheard as riots and police brutality rock US cities
- Humble is putting $1 million toward publishing games from Black game devs
- Game companies delay events, make donations amid police brutality protests
- Infinity Ward pledges to “do more” to moderate racist content in its games: Call of Duty developer to add more resources to block hateful content following week of protests, police violence
- Gaming’s lost boys embrace their inner censor | Opinion: The Last of Us 2 attracts reactionary fury for depicting diversity — and the erstwhile free speech warriors now find themselves cheering for government censorship
- The Outer Worlds writing team honored with Nebula Award
- GWU Seattle calls for removal of GWU International member over ‘exclusionary behavior’
- The Last of Us Pt. 2 hands-on: You can’t pet the dog—but you can expect terror
- Denuvo security software removed from Doom Eternal and Metro Exodus: Despite speculation, removal of Anti-Cheat and Anti-Tamper was not in response to performance issues
- Denuvo’s Anti-Cheat Software Now Getting Ripped From Games At Record Speed Too
- CS:GO tournament victors banned for cheating: Eagle-eyed viewers catch cheaters after technical issue left flaw in tournament’s anti-cheat measures
- The unexpected and creative ways devs are dealing with remote work
- Sony delays June PS5 event ‘to stand back and allow more important voices to be heard’
- PlayStation 5 games to be revealed on June 4th: Over an hour of new games to be shown next week
- Sony’s Jim Ryan: “We are going to launch PS5 this holiday and we’re going to launch globally”: PlayStation on how COVID-19 has (and hasn’t) changed its launch plans for its next console
- Sony says after July 13th, new PS4 games must be PS5 compatible
- New PS4 games must also run on PlayStation 5 from July, Sony tells devs: Updates to existing games “strongly recommended” to add compatibility.
- Sony requires PS5 compatibility for all future PS4 releases: Games submitted for certification after July 13 must be playable on upcoming console
- Xbox Series X will add HDR support to backwards compatible titles
- Xbox Series X backward compatibility will add HDR, 120 fps support to older games: Thousands of games will be supported on the next-gen Xbox
- Phil Spencer says Xbox Series X on track for worldwide launch this holiday: Xbox boss discusses plans upcoming next-gen console on former Nintendo president Reggie Fils-Aime’s podcast
- Double Fine winding down Presents publishing label following Microsoft purchase
- Google’s “overpromising” led to Stadia “disappointment,” says RDR2 publisher: If you’re paying $60 for a game, “are you really unwilling to buy a $300 console?”
- Sega reveals Game Gear Micro: Miniature retro handheld confirmed for October Japan launch in four colors, each with a different selection of four games
- Sega’s tiny Game Gear Micro is 92% smaller than the original
- 30 years later, a lost Days of Thunder NES game recovered from 21 floppy disks
- Codemasters secures FIA World Rally Championship license from 2023
- Codemasters to create games based on the World Rally Championship: Racing game specialist signs five-year licensing deal
- Professional Race Car Driver Hires Expert Gamer To Race His Video Game Car
- EA renews Madden NFL license through 2026
- EA renews NFL, NFLPA deal: Multi-year agreement ensures Madden NFL will continue to be the only simulation title with the licenses of the league and its players association
- EA maintains exclusive Madden NFL license in multiyear renewal: NFL, NFLPA extend long-term deals for simulation football video games
- If GTA5 keeps selling, would Take-Two wait to launch GTA6?: CEO Strauss Zelnick responds to concerns of the publisher cannibalizing its own successes
- Take-Two tried to poach entire Kerbal 2 dev team as it cancelled deal with their studio
- Star Theory reportedly shutters after Take-Two takes over Kerbal Space Program 2: Lack of other projects and GDC’s cancellation force studio to close in March
- NetEase to open secondary listing on Hong Kong stock exchange: New listing approved, Chinese publisher reportedly hopes to raise $3 billion
- Rovio acquires (and rebrands) Darkfire Heroes dev Darkfire Games
- Zynga acquires mobile gaming company Peak for $1.8 billion
- Zynga acquires Toon Blast and Toy Blast developer Peak for $1.8 billion
- Zynga to acquire Toon Blast developer for $1.8bn: Acquisition of Peak Games expected to increase Zynga’s global audience by 60%
- African mobile game publisher Carry1st secures $2.5 million to expand operations
- CD Projekt starts 2020 off with a record Q1 as The Witcher series continues its reign
- The Witcher franchise has crossed 50 million sales
- The Witcher series surpasses 50m units sold: That’s up from 40 million around the same time last year
- Mobile gaming sees record weekly downloads amid COVID-19 lockdown: Average weekly installs reached 1.2 billion as downloads increase by 35% from January to March 4
- David Braben: “Physical games will go away in two to three years” – Frontier CEO says investors see games industry as a “safe haven” during recession at today’s Investment Summit Online
- Game discoverability and the Nintendo Switch: What’s selling?
- UK boxed games market delivers strongest April in five years: Latest GfK figures show PS4, Xbox One and Switch sales up 48% for the first four months of 2020
- Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition takes No.1 | UK Charts: PlayStation 4 sale shakes up the top 40
- Creative Assembly launching Total War Saga: Troy for free on the Epic Games Store
- Sweeney: EGS free game promos boost a game’s Steam and console sales too
- Steam Cloud Play beta lets developers enable GeForce Now integration
- Nvidia launches opt-in process for GeForce Now: Hardware manufacturer responds after multiple game companies pulled their catalogues from its streaming service
- Roblox’s continuing construction of a social, creative space: Matthew Curtis talks about prioritising better monetization, discoverability, and technology for the platform’s creators
- Avakin Life reaches 1.4m daily active users: Online virtual world and social app now has 200 million registered users since 2013 launch
- Life is Strange developer Dontnod opens new studio in Canada
- Dontnod Entertainment opens new Canadian studio: Life is Strange developer alludes to new projects at its first international studio
- Just Cause developer Avalanche is opening a new UK studio
- Avalanche opens new UK studio: New Liverpool-based developer expected to house 50 staff by 2022
- Paradox to sign collective bargaining agreement with Swedish labor unions
- Paradox opens studio in Barcelona to focus on grand strategy development
- Paradox opening Barcelona studio: Europa Universalis designer Johan Andersson will lead Paradox Tinto efforts on grand strategy games
- Lego Ventures: Fortnite is the “first credible metaverse”
- Bandai Namco cancels support for physical 2020 World Tour events: COVID-19 pushes Tekken, Soulcalibur, and Dragon Ball FighterZ tournaments to digital venues
- One Month After the ‘Half-Life: Alyx’ Surge, VR Usage on Steam Remains at Record High
- Magic Leap Founder Rony Abovitz to Step Down as CEO
- Magic Leap CEO Ronny Abovitz to step down: Abovitz will continue as CEO until a replacement is found, and remain on the board after the transition
- HTC co-founder reveals new VR headset and social platform: Priced at $599, Mova headset offers hand-tracking and 5G while social platform Manova makes big promises
- VGDC: Brandon Sheffield’s ‘All Time Greats’ article/video picks
- Q&A: Storytelling through erasure in the astonishingly unique If Found
- Video: Achieving high-quality game VFX on mobile devices
- Video: Building intrinsically motivated teams via self-determination theory
- Don’t Miss: Inside the narrative design of Star Wars Battlefront 2
- Don’t Miss: A look back on the usefulness of video game manuals
- Don’t Miss: Creator Alexey Pajitnov on the past, present, and future of Tetris
- Blog: Lessons from the history of mobile 4X strategy
- Blog: Understanding open world level design – Part 2
- Blog: Understanding open world level design – Part 3
- Blog: Understanding open world level design – Part 4
- Blog: A level design breakdown of the Ghost of Tsushima trailer
- Blog: Can Amazon’s first big-budget game succeed as a slow-burner?
- Obituary: Darklands creator Arnold Hendrick
- Control, Sayonara Wild Hearts lead winners of 2020 Nordic Game Awards
- U.S. Patent no. 10,322,336: Haptic braille output for a game controller
DIGITAL
- Russian hackers are exploiting bug that gives control of US servers
- White House, Trump accounts both get Twitter rulebreaker warning
- No, Twitter Fact Checking The President Is Not Evidence Of Anti-Conservative Bias
- Facebook employees revolt over Zuckerberg’s stance on Trump
- Employees, civil rights groups blast Facebook inaction on Trump statements
- Facebook’s Oversight Board Can’t Intervene, So Stop Asking
- President Trump’s Executive Order
- Trump Prepares Order to Limit Social Media Companies’ Protections: The move is almost certain to face a court challenge and signals the latest salvo by President Trump to crack down on online platforms.
- A Quick Take on the May 26 Executive Order on Platforms and CDA 230
- Executive Order “Clarifies” (Rewrites) Online Speech Protections
- Trump’s “Preventing Online Censorship” Executive Order Is Pro-Censorship Political Theater (Eric Goldman)
- The Two Things To Understand About Trump’s Executive Order On Social Media: (1) It’s A Distraction (2) It’s Legally Meaningless
- Executive order targeting social media companies unlikely to change foundational internet law
- Section 230 Executive Order Strikes Back at Twitter, But Legal Impact Likely to be Limited
- Trump’s Executive Order Targeting Social Platforms Could Hurt “Internet Freedom,” Google Says
- President Trump’s Social Media Executive Order Would Restrict Legal Protections for Internet Speech
- Trump Issues Executive Order Aimed at Curtailing Online Platforms’ Immunity for User Generated Content
- Executive Order Aimed at Restricting Civil Liability Protections Afforded to Social Media Companies
- The Implications of Trump’s Executive Order and Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act
- The President’s Executive Order on Online Media – What Does Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act Provide?
- Trump is desperate to punish Big Tech but has no good way to do it
- Leaked draft details Trump’s likely attack on technology giants
- Joe Biden Wastes A Huge Opportunity To Support Free Speech; Still Wants To ‘Revoke’ Section 230
- The Communications Decency Act Suddenly Is Center Stage Again
- Why the USMCA Locks in the Internet Platform Liability System in the U.S., Canada and Mexico (Michael Geist)
- Trump’s Final Executive Order On Social Media Deliberately Removed Reference To Importance Of Newspapers To Democracy
- Zuckerberg dismisses fact-checking after bragging about fact-checking
- Mark Zuckerberg’s Ridiculously Wrong, Misleading, And Self-Serving Statements Regarding Twitter Fact-Checking The President
- New Study Finds No Evidence Of Anti-Conservative Bias In Facebook Moderation (If Anything, It’s The Opposite)
- Are Targeted Ads the Result of Wiretapping? Facebook Asks the Ninth Circuit to Reconsider.
- DC Appeals Court Dumps Lawsuit Claiming Multiple Tech Companies Are Engaged In An Anti-Conservative Conspiracy
- Court Rejects Another Lawsuit Alleging that Internet Companies Suppress Conservative Views–Freedom Watch v. Google (Eric Goldman)
- Court’s Enforcement of Hybrid Clickwrap Agreement to Defeat TCPA Claim Provides Lessons for Marketers
- Consent in online contexts – the German Federal Court of Justice’s decision on Planet49 and Facebook
- Red Pills and NPCs: How geek culture become political (Andres Guadamuz)
- Nest users now covered by Google’s ultra-secure Advanced Protection Program
- FDA and FTC Joint Warning Letters Target Amazon Affiliates Making False COVID-19 Claims
- Court Discovers Rare and Elusive “Enforceable Browsewrap”
- Big Tech goes on pandemic M&A spree despite political backlash
- Everyone’s ordering delivery, but apps aren’t making money
- Western Digital gets sued for sneaking SMR disks into its NAS channel: WD clearly underestimated the consumer outrage they’d face over SMR disks.
- Are Google’s cookies crumbling?
- Amid YouTube’s Pivot Away From Scripted Originals, Axed ‘Step Up’ Series Dances On At Starz
- Top 50 Most Viewed US YouTube Channels • Week Of 5/25/2020
- YouTube makes video chapters official
- YouTube Fully Rolls Out ‘Chapters’ For Easier Video Navigation And Re-Watching
- YouTube Squads Up Dozens Of Creators—Including Typical Gamer, Daithi De Nogla, CouRage—For Charity ‘Warzone’ Tournament
- Insights: HBO Max May Change A Lot, And Complicate A Lot More
- How Social Media Usage Of Popular DIY Hashtags Has Changed
- Video Messaging Startup ‘Loom’ Closes $29 Million Funding Round At $350 Million Valuation
- TikTok Taps Bill Nye, Lilly Singh, Tyra Banks For $50 Million Educational Content Initiative
- Chinese Tech Giant ByteDance Reportedly Working To Bring TikTok’s Operations Stateside
- 3D printing in the time of COVID-19: A triad of legal perspectives
- International Norms Governing Behaviour in Cyberspace: The UN’s Charter
- Website Terms and Conditions: More Important than Ever
A.I.
- ACLU sues facial recognition firm Clearview AI, calling it a ‘nightmare scenario’ for privacy: Alleging Clearview violated a well-known Illinois biometric privacy law
- Clearview Says Section 230 Immunizes It From Vermont’s Lawsuit Over Alleged Privacy Violations
- Securus Quietly Settles Lawsuit Over Illegally Spying On Inmate Attorney Conversations
- Microsoft sacks journalists to replace them with robots: Users of the homepages of the MSN website and Edge browser will now see news stories generated by AI
- Walmart employees are out to show its anti-shoplifting AI doesn’t work
- With a Side of Knowledge podcast talks AI, bias with race and technology expert Mutale Nkonde
- How Artificial Intelligence Can Comply with the Federal Trade Commission Act
- Patent Law Alert – AI Machines Are Not Human Inventors
- Protecting AI and machine-learning inventions
COMMUNICATIONS
- AT&T exempts HBO Max from data caps but still limits your Netflix use: AT&T-owned HBO Max gets special treatment on AT&T network.
- Net Neutrali-what? AT&T’s New Streaming Service Won’t Count Against Its Broadband Caps. But Netflix Will.
- AT&T’s Streaming Headaches Continue As Contract Feuds Keep New TV Service Off Amazon, Roku
- FCC Republican excitedly endorses Trump’s crackdown on social media
- Last Minute Addition To Louisiana Bill Hamstrings Community Broadband
- A $350 “anti-5G” device is just a 128MB USB stick, teardown finds: 5GBioShield uses “quantum nano-layer technology” to restructure reality itself.
- Robocalls Down 50% in Eight Months!: How Changes in Technology and Regulator Priorities Have Accomplished What Lawsuits Never Could
- FCC Waives Broad Outreach Recruitment Requirements to Allow Re-hiring of Employees Laid Off Due to COVID-19
- What’s New in 5G – June 2020
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
- JAVEX vs. JAVELO – Federal Court of Appeal applies Vavilov to first Trademark Opposition Appeal
- Lawsuit over online book lending could bankrupt Internet Archive
- Italian Public Prosecutor Says Project Gutenberg’s Collection Of Public Domain Books Must Be Blocked For Copyright Infringement
- Nothing “Fishy” About Use of Children’s Song “Fish Sticks n’ Tater Tots” in Documentary about Burlesque Dancers, Court Rules
- Chalk this One Up to the Utilitarian Nature of a Toy Chalk Holder
- Southern District of New York: Embedding Public Instagram Post Does Not Infringe Photographer’s Copyright
- Leonard v Nike: Copyright in the Klaw
- District Court Mostly Refuses To Terminate The Litigation Testing The Copyright Termination Provision
- Protection of store layout under copyright law: the KIKO case
- Defendant Must Prove that Copied Portion of Copyrighted Work is Unprotectable
- Open Source Software: the Affero GPL, the ‘as a Service’ world and the CAL
- SpaceX launch footage was taken down thanks to bogus copyright claim
- Just As The Copyright Office Tries To Ignore The Problem Of Bad Takedowns, NBC & Disney Take Down NASA’s Public Domain Space Launch
- Copyright Blocks Interview Of Protesters Because Marvin Gaye’s ‘Let’s Get It On’ Was Playing In The Background
- Copyright Office Finds DCMA Tilts Away From Copyright Owners; Will Congress Act to Change That?
- Conducting Your Way Through Music Licensing: The Most Common Issues
- In The Midst Of A Pandemic And Widespread Unrest, Senate Republicans Think It’s Time To Use Copyright To Make The Richest Musicians Richer
- Reversing Examining Attorney, TTAB Gives the Green Light to Color Mark Application
- Private Prison Company Sues Netflix Over Use Of Logo In ‘Messiah’
- Down N’ Out – Down on their luck
- Lucky Brand Strikes Gold After SCOTUS Rejects Marcel’s Defense Preclusion Argument
- Are GODIVA’s “Belgium 1926” Chocolates Made in Belgium?
- Amended Patented Medicines Regulations will come into force on 1 January 2021
- Federal Circuit: Patent Eligibility Turns on the Content – Not Length – of the Claims
- EPO: Plants and Plant Materials Not Patentable if Exclusively Obtained by Essentially Biological Process
- EPO does not follow the US and JEM on Patentability of Plants
- Our Top 5 Added Matter Drafting Tips
- The importance of IP due diligence
PRIVACY
- Federal Court Says Sneaking A Warrantless Peek At A Cellphone Lock Screen Violates The Fourth Amendment
- Privacy and breach of confidence cases against the media
- Arizona AG Sues Google For Location Data Failures, After Telecom Got A Wrist Slap For Far Worse Behavior
- iPhone privacy prompts discriminate against non-Apple apps, complaint says
- iPhone looters find devices disabled, with a warning they’re being tracked
- Cisco security breach hits corporate servers that ran unpatched software
- Ransomware gang is auctioning off victims’ confidential data
- German Constitutional Court Says Unjustified Surveillance Of Foreign Citizens Is Illegal
CREATIVITY
- California Anti-SLAPP Law Gives Rachel Maddow An Early Exit From Conservative News Network’s Bogus Libel Lawsuit
- Lenny Dykstra Deemed ‘Libel-Proof’ In Defamation Suit Loss To Ron Darling And Publisher
- Some Thoughts About Combating Racist Content in Advertising
- Dallas PD Asks Residents To Snitch On Protesters, Gets A Load Of K-Pop Videos Instead
- Dearth of women in classic Hollywood was result of studio system, study finds
- Cops — Newly Wary Of Looking Like Authoritarian Assholes — Open Fire On, Arrest Journalists
- Bangladeshi Government Decides There’s No Time Like The Present To Censor/Arrest More Journalists
- Scotland’s first “virtual appeal” reaffirms the value of fair comment
- SmileDirectClub Sues NBC For $2.85 Billion, Claims Factual Statements And Quotes From Customers Are Defamatory
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