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Intellectual Property Law

Video Game Law Blog

Current issues in video game law.
By Chris Bennett, Tudor Carsten, Michael R. Coburn, Sarah Dale-Harris, Pablo Guzman, Danielle (Dani) Lemon, Chris Metcalfe and David Spratley

Post Frequency: 1.5/day

Last Entry: May 07, 2010 at 21:07:00

Sony changes PS3 firmware, gets sued

Posted on May 07, 2010
Sony's original PS3s allowed owners to install third-party operating systems such as Linux. Citing security concerns, Sony phased that functionality out in its later PS3 models and recently released a firmware update that eliminates the functionality in any console that has it...

Man Charged Criminally for Modifying his Console

Posted on April 15, 2010
Submitted by Dan Chapman, Articled Student The RCMP have arrested a man in Quebec in connection with what it calls the "Illegal reproduction of video games" in a March 31, 2010 raid on his Roberval home (read the release here). The man was apparently selling counterfeit games on social networking websites online...

Microsoft Sues Datel for Patent Infringement

Posted on April 12, 2010
Submitted by Brandi Stocks, Called Clerk Microsoft is suing U.K.-based third-party memory card and controller maker Datel in the United States federal court for allegedly infringing multiple Microsoft patents. It is unclear which specific patents Microsoft claims have been infringed, though Microsoft is alleging that Datel's Xbox 360 controllers - in particular "TurboFire" and "WildFire" - appear to be based on Microsoft's official Xbox 360 game pads...

GameStop is Being Asked to ... Stop

Posted on April 06, 2010
A class action complaint has reportedly been filed against the retailer GameStop on the basis that it is "deceptively misleading" customers into believing that they can download all content advertised on the boxes of its used games. This is allegedly not the case because the content can only be downloaded once without charge when the game is purchased new since the access codes for same can only be used once...

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Are video games the tobacco of the 21st century?

Posted on March 29, 2010
Will gamers of the future become social pariahs like smokers? Resorting to hiding in corners and in their cars, just to get one quick fix? I recently came across a couple of very interesting articles about video games and the relationship between behavioural science and game development...

Great day to be a zombie in Switzerland

Posted on March 25, 2010
According to a recent article in Kotaku, Switzerland's National Council recently passed a bill banning the "manufacture, advertisement, importation and sale of any game that promotes as a means of advancement or "success' acts of violence against humans or "human-like' creatures...

Dark, Extreme Violence Saves God of War from Copyright Infringement

Posted on March 24, 2010
Submitted by Dan Chapman, Articled Student The U.S. Federal Court last week dismissed a case against Sony and lead designer of God of War, David Jaffe. The plaintiffs, alleging similarities between events in God of War and their own copyrighted materials were unable to established that specific, concrete elements of the ideas and expressions in God of War were similar to their own...

"Anti-Constitutional Symbols" Result in German Recall of Collector's Edition Silent Hunter 5

Posted on March 23, 2010
Submitted by Brandi Stocks, Called Clerk Reports indicate that the Collector's Edition of Ubisoft's Silent Hunter 5 has been recalled in Germany due to the appearance of "anti-constitutional symbols" within the game. These symbols are likely Nazi imagery, which are illegal under German law...

Patent Compliance Group sues Activision

Posted on March 05, 2010
Gamasutra.com reports that a group called the Patent Compliance Group has filed a "qui tram" action against Activision in a District Court for the Northern District of Texas, which apparently allows for members of the public to sue on behalf of the government and potentially be awarded all or part of the damages that it claims...

West and Zampella Sue Activision

Posted on March 05, 2010
Jason West and Vince Zampella, co-founders of Infinity Ward, have allegedly filed a lawsuit against Acitivision Publishing Inc. claiming breach of contract, breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, wrongful termination in violation of public policy and declaratory relief...

Universomo... No More?

Posted on March 05, 2010
It has apparently been confirmed by THQ that Universomo, its Finnish mobile games studio, has entered liquidation. Universomo reportedly had more that 15 games and entertainment applications scheduled for release on mobile handsets at the time it was placed into liquidation...

Itagaki Settles Lawsuit with Tecmo

Posted on March 05, 2010
1UP reported late last month that Ninja Gaiden director and former Tecmo employee Tomonobu Itagaki has settled his lawsuit with Tecmo out of court. Itagaki left Tecmo in 2008 over unpaid bonuses and statements made by former Tecmo boss Yoshimi Yasuda...

Help Save the IT Work Permit Category

Posted on March 04, 2010
HRSDC intends to eliminate the Information Technology Workers category any day. Provide your support for saving the IT category - Information Technology Workers The IT Category - Advantages to Avoiding LMO Applications The standard work permit process for temporary foreign workers is a two-step process: * The first step involves the prospective employer applying to Service Canada for a Labour Market Opinion ("LMO")...

Sackboy now even less likely to grace the Xbox 360

Posted on March 03, 2010
Sony acquires LittleBigPlanet developer...360 owners sobbing everywhere Way back in October 2008 when platformer LittleBigPlanet was released to much fanfare and universal critical acclaim as a Sony PS3 exclusive, the seeds of hope were planted in many Microsoft Xbox 360 owners that it would one day be granted a wider release and perhaps one day even grace the 360...

Class Action against NCAA gets a Green Light

Posted on February 24, 2010
Ex- UCLA star basketball player Ed O'Bannon's class action suit against the NCAA (the "Class Action") got a green light from the U.S. District Court when it denied the NCAA's request to dismiss it. The Class Action suit was filed last year and alleges that the collegiate association misused the likeness of college athletes in videogames and a variety of other licensed materials...

Accusations of Plagiarized Engines

Posted on February 19, 2010
According to Develop-online.net, GSC Game World ("GSC"), the Russian studio which developed the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. series, is alleging that Kiev-based studio 4A Games' proprietary engine has plagiarized its tech and that it is in fact copied from a pre-release version of its x-Ray code...

The Burning Crusade license granted

Posted on February 19, 2010
Last week, it was reported by Gamasutra.com that NetEase had suspended new user registrations due to its application to the Chinese government for a license to operate the World of WarCraft expansion pack The Burning Crusade. It appears that Chinese regulators are showing concern over the "undesirable content" of online games and are allegedly cracking down on foreign investments in its growing online gaming industry...

Viacom wants a refund on Rock Band

Posted on February 16, 2010
Viacom agreed to pay Harmonix earn-outs if Rock Band exceeded certain financial targets. Viacom paid the earn-outs, but now wants a significant refund, based on lower earnings and an "adjustment clause" which would allow Viacom to correct any overpayments...

Digital media tax credits spawning cottage industry in Ontario

Posted on February 15, 2010
Recall: Ontario has a tax credit of 35 or 40% for work done by companies (regardless of country of origin) using Ontario-based labour (and certain other expenses). These credits are charmingly called Ontario Interactive Digital Media Tax Credits (OIDMTCs)...

Got $1.5 M to spare?

Posted on February 11, 2010
If so, keep it safe by making sure that Nintendo doesn't catch you pirating Wii games Super Mario Bros. Wii was officially released in Australia on November 12, 2009. It turns out, however, that some fortunate Australian gamers may have had their hands on it as early as November 6, 2009...

Claims Against Midway Directors Dismissed

Posted on February 11, 2010
For those of us who grew up with Mortal Kombat, or had a Bally/Midway pinball machine in our basement, it is sad to see the once great publisher fallen so low. Midway filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy last February and since then has been having a fire sale, including selling its US assets to Warner Bros...

MumboJumbo Award Increased in PopCap Lawsuit

Posted on February 05, 2010
As a follow up to our January 27, 2010 blog post entitled "MumboJumbo Awarded Damages in Lawsuit Against PopCap", it has been reported that the payout awarded to MumboJumbo in this lawsuit has been increased from $4.6 Million to $7.3 Million...

Proposed new tax credits for video game development in BC

Posted on February 05, 2010
The British Columbia government just announed a proposed new tax credit for the BC film and video game industries. The proposal includes: * a credit for video game development, of 17.5% of qualifying BC labour costs * a 33% credit on labour costs for foreign productions * a VFX tax credit bonus of 17...

Casual Gamers Beware!

Posted on February 05, 2010
You know that casual gaming is on the upswing when Facebook gamers initiate class action lawsuits on the basis of "misleading ads" associated with social games that use Facebook as a platform. In November of 2009, Rebecca Swift filed a class action lawsuit against Facebook and Zynga (the latter being a developer of social games on Facebook and MySpace)...

Jellyvision Sues Aflac Alleging Infringement of its Copyright in "You Don't Know Jack"

Posted on February 05, 2010
Back in 1995, Jellyvision developed and released its comedic interactive trivia game You Don't Know Jack. Indeed, in 2001, it was apparently briefly made into a game show that aired on ABC. It is still available online today. Aflac, a Fortune 500 company that provides supplemental insurance recently developed a campaign called You Don't Know Quack, which encourages consumers to interact and respond to (three) trivia questions designed to provide information about the company's products and services...

Microsoft Motion to Dismiss

Posted on February 05, 2010
According to Gamasutra, in October 2009, Microsoft removed support for third-party memory cards on Xbox 360 through a software update. As a result, it is reported that Datel, a memory card maker, filed an antitrust lawsuit against Microsoft alleging that said lock-out is deliberately harming competition...

Court Upholds a Ban on Fantacy Games in Wisconsin Prisons

Posted on February 05, 2010
On January 25, 2010, the 7TH U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a ban on Dungeons & Dragons in Wisconsin prisons. The suit was brought by an inmate by the name of Kevin Singer who is serving a life sentence for first-degree homicide in Wisconsin's Waupun prison...

MumboJumbo Awarded Damages in Lawsuit Against PopCap

Posted on February 05, 2010
It has been reported that MumboJumbo, a Dallas-based worldwide publisher, developer and marketer of premium casual games for PCs and various game consoles such as "Midnight Mysteries: The Edgar Allan Poe Conspiracy" and "Luxor Adventures" has been awarded $4...

PS3 gets hacked

Posted on February 05, 2010
According to Edge, the "unhackable" PS3 has been hacked, with details to follow, apparently. This is timely, with the latest round of Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement negotiations underway now in Guadalajara, Mexico. Those negotiations cover a wide range of copyright-related topics including anti-circumvention...

What's in a Website?

Posted on December 16, 2009
In its December issue, the National published the results of its nationwide survey on the best Canadian law firm websites. The survey involved a panel of nine legal technology professionals who ranked and commented on Canadian law firm websites within different categories, including Blogs, Student/Recruiting and Multimedia, among others...

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