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Video Game Law Blog
Current issues in video game law.
| The claim alleges that Electronic Arts' exclusive rights agreement with the NFL, NCAA football and the Arena Football League, which grants EA the sole right to publish games featuring the thoe... [read more]Tuesday, 15 July 2008 | Tudor Carsten |
| A Delaware judge denied the preliminary injunction to halt the merger between Activision and Vivendi S.A. that was requested by the Wayne County Employees' Retirement System. The announcement... [read more]Monday, 14 July 2008 |
| Submitted by Amanda Alfieri, Articled Student
Topware Interactive obtained judgments from a London Court against four individuals for file-sharing . The Court granted interim damages in the amount... [read more]Friday, 11 July 2008 |
| Submitted by Tania Da Silva, Articled Student
On June 17, 2008, it was reported that two of Tecmo’s employees, Team Ninja developers Hiroaki Ozawa and Tatsuki Tsunoda, were filing a class... [read more]Friday, 11 July 2008 |
| Nintendo has sued Nyko Technologies Inc. over its Wii accessory, the wireless Kama Nunchuk. In a suit filed in US District Court in Seattle, Nintendo alleges that Nyko’s remote "wholly... [read more]Thursday, 3 July 2008 |
| GameSpot is reporting that a suit against Nintendo for using unauthorized music in its 2004 commercial for “Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door” has been dropped. Morgan Creek Productions... [read more]Thursday, 3 July 2008 |
| Who can forget the infamous Hot Coffee episode from a few years ago, when players found hidden (and adult-oriented) content in Take Two's "Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas"?
Well, except... [read more]Thursday, 3 July 2008 | David Spratley |
| There have been a number of movies in recent years based on video game properties (e.g, Hitman, Doom, etc.) Even though Take Two's Grand Theft Auto series of games is wildly popular, however,... [read more]Thursday, 3 July 2008 | David Spratley |
| The Entertainment Software Association recently received $65,000 in fees and expenses from the state of Minnesota, after the state tried and failed to draft enforceable anti-violence video game legislation... [read more]Thursday, 3 July 2008 | Chris Bennett |
| Paramount Pictures and Electronic Arts released the Godfather game back in 2006. The estate of Mario Puzo (the author of the original books) has now sued for royalties from the video game.
Anthony... [read more]Friday, 20 June 2008 | David Spratley |
| In an earlier posting, we reported that the video game industry has seen some huge exclusive agreements, such as EA’s exclusive video game rights to the NFL, NCAA football, and ESPN. We noted... [read more]Thursday, 19 June 2008 | Chris Bennett |
| Microsoft is no doubt breathing a sigh of relief after a jury ruled that the XBOX 360 didn't violate an Alcatel-Lucent patent for coding video frames. On the other hand, the jury also ruled that... [read more]Monday, 9 June 2008 | Chris Bennett |
| Submitted by Dr. Andreas Lober / Carine Neumüller, LL.M.
Germany has been known for strict legislation regarding violence in games for a long time, but recent changes will make live even... [read more]Tuesday, 20 May 2008 |
| Take Two has sued the Chicago Transit Authority after the CTA removed ads for Grand Theft Auto IV. The CTA's actions appear to have been a response to a Fox News reporter's on-air question... [read more]Wednesday, 14 May 2008 | Chris Bennett |
| Despite the fact that sales of their flagship franchise are smashing records this week, Take-Two is still embroiled in all kinds of legal troubles. It was recently revealed that another shareholder... [read more]Friday, 2 May 2008 |
| To the inhabitants of Cologne, their "Dom" is very dear – and legend says that tourists calling the building "Cathedral" have found themselves thrown into the Rhine. So the... [read more]Tuesday, 29 April 2008 |
| If Minnesota's video game legislation were a Monty Python character, right about now it would be saying "I'm getting better ... I think I'll go for a walk." Which is another... [read more]Monday, 28 April 2008 | David Spratley |
| Hard to find time to blog, what with the steady torrent of press releases and marketing hype on this GTA IV-eve. Apparently, an ever-growing list of concerned citizens would like to remind you that,... [read more]Monday, 28 April 2008 |
| A Brazilian court has ordered that sales of Rockstar's "Bully" game be suspended, apparently on the grounds that any virtual violence that takes place in a virtual school setting is... [read more]Wednesday, 23 April 2008 | David Spratley |
| Earlier this month, Arizona passed a new law that would have made game companies responsible for any felony or violence committed by an individual who was being influenced by dangerous or obscene... [read more]Tuesday, 22 April 2008 | Chris Bennett |
| The governments of Canada and the United Kingdom are engaged in a increasingly heated dispute about the success of the Canadian video game industry. In particular the U.K. government has accused Canadian... [read more]Tuesday, 8 April 2008 | Michael Coburn |
| Germany is known to have some of the strictest rules for youth protection in computer and video games, which have brought the world interesting features such as green blood.
Whilst these are a... [read more]Tuesday, 8 April 2008 |
| We've recently updated our chart of video game law cases. It includes brief summaries of many of the key cases dating back to the 1980s. Check it out here. There's also a link in the right... [read more]Wednesday, 2 April 2008 | Chris Bennett |
| Sony has issued a notice to PLAYSTATION Network users that their personal information on the PLAYSTATION Store may have been compromised. The notice warns that some users’ passwords may have... [read more]Friday, 28 March 2008 | Chris Bennett |
| Vivendi, the parent company of Blizzard Entertainment (the creator of the popular World of Warcraft on-line multiplayer game), has sued the author of a software tool that automates certain in-game... [read more]Thursday, 27 March 2008 | David Spratley |
| Despite being overturned by the High Court on a “clear error of law”, the UK Video Appeals Committee has reconsidered the ban on Manhunt 2 and once again reversed the decision not to give... [read more]Tuesday, 25 March 2008 |
| Another Court of Appeal has upheld an injunction against a law banning the sale or rental of violent video games to minors. Once again, the absence of proof of harm was the key factor. However, the... [read more]Tuesday, 25 March 2008 |
| Sounds like Massachusetts is getting ready to take another crack at banning violent video games, this time by defining violent games as harmful to minors in a manner that mirrors the legal standard... [read more]Tuesday, 25 March 2008 |
| The stakes have risen in Electronic Art’s (“EA”) attempt to acquire Take-Two Interactive (“Take-Two”). After having been rebuffed by the management of Take-Two, EA has... [read more]Thursday, 20 March 2008 | Michael Coburn |
| On March 10 Harmonix Music Systems, Inc., filed a lawsuit against Activision for unpaid royalties relating to "Guitar Hero". Harmonix developed the first two "Guitar Hero" games... [read more]Thursday, 13 March 2008 | David Spratley |
| Today the Financial Post published an interesting article entitled "Virtual Worlds Ripe for Real-World Lawsuits". It discusses topical online legal issues such as IP infringement in Second... [read more]Wednesday, 12 March 2008 |
| Take-Two is facing some shareholder discontent over its handling of EA’s recent $1.9 billion buyout offer. The announcement today that two of the publisher’s largest shareholders have... [read more]Tuesday, 11 March 2008 |
| Dr. Hook would be proud: Davis LLP's Second Life office (and a few of our video game lawyers) just made the cover of the Canadian Lawyer magazine.
Check it out here.
[read more]Monday, 10 March 2008 | Chris Bennett |
| Submitted by Michael Mjanes
According to reports in the Globe and Mail, an international coalition of teachers' groups is urging retailers to refuse to sell Rockstars’ re-release of... [read more]Thursday, 6 March 2008 |
| Submitted by Michael Mjanes
The California Court of Appeals has denied a petition by Jakks Pacific Inc. to disqualify potential arbitrators in its ongoing dispute with video game publisher THQ... [read more]Thursday, 6 March 2008 |
| Submitted by Michael Mjanes
Despite Capcom’s pre-emptive attempt to have a court declare that the popular “Dead Rising” video game does not infringe any copyright or trademark,... [read more]Wednesday, 27 February 2008 |
| In its "Special 301 Report", filed with the U.S. Trade Representative, the Entertainment Software Association claims that online piracy is a persistent problem in Canada, China, Malaysia,... [read more]Tuesday, 26 February 2008 | Tudor Carsten |
| An interesting legal issue has arisen at Activision Inc. Specifically, Wayne County Employees' Retirement System of Wilmington, Delaware an investor in Activision, is suing the Company for failing... [read more]Monday, 25 February 2008 | Michael Coburn |
| Submitted by Michael Mjanes
Fans of zombie movies will undoubtedly recognize this old chestnut: a protagonist, barricaded in a curiously weapon-rich building, surrounded by zombies, must use any... [read more]Thursday, 21 February 2008 |
| Submitted by Michael Mjanes
According to reports in both the Guardian and MCV, the soon-to-be released Byron Report is likely to recommend that the UK drop the European PEGI ratings system for... [read more]Thursday, 21 February 2008 |
| Submitted by Michael Mjanes
According to reports, Duke Nukem developer 3D Realms is being sued for copyright infringement over an as-yet-unreleased game entitled “Earth No More”, due... [read more]Thursday, 21 February 2008 |
| BarTalk recently published an article about blawging and had some kind words for our blog. Who wouldn't want to talk about video game lawyers and video game law, you ask? Definitely not the two... [read more]Saturday, 16 February 2008 |
| Australia’s Office of Film and Literature Classification has banned the sale of Digital Extremes' Dark Sector in Australia. The Office was particularly concerned about the game’s “high-... [read more]Saturday, 16 February 2008 | Chris Bennett |
| Square Enix, the Tokyo-based creator of the Final Fantasy franchise, has filed a federal lawsuit for copyright infringement against four wholesalers whom Square Enix claims were selling unlicensed... [read more]Thursday, 14 February 2008 |
| In 2002 Ubisoft signed a deal with MGA Entertainment to publish video games based on the Bratz doll IP. In 2003 MGA tried to terminate the contract on the basis that Ubisoft was not meeting its obligations... [read more]Wednesday, 13 February 2008 | David Spratley |
| This is not breaking news, but it's interesting nonetheless. A lawsuit filed last summer shows that one of the founders of the IGE (a virtual property business which lets customers buy and sell... [read more]Wednesday, 13 February 2008 | David Spratley |
| Business in Vancouver recently ran an interesting article about virtual property and divorce. It includes quotes from one of our Vancouver video game lawyers, Chris Bennett.
Article here.
... [read more]Sunday, 10 February 2008 |
| According to a weekend report from Afterdawn, the Finnish Christian Democratic Party (CDP) is pushing for a new domestic video game inspection regime. The CDP, which holds only 7 of the 200 seats... [read more]Wednesday, 6 February 2008 |
| Silicon Knights and Epic Games have been embroiled in a lawsuit over the Unreal Engine 3 for some time now. According to recent reports, Silicon Knights has filed subpoenas on several Unreal Engine... [read more]Tuesday, 5 February 2008 | David Spratley |
| The UK Advertising Standards Authority has ruled that a TV ad for Midway's "Stranglehold" cannot be shown on British television because the ad encourages and promotes violence. The decision... [read more]Tuesday, 5 February 2008 | David Spratley |
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