Jon’s Talk March 20, 2013: “Controlling the Controllers”
Download the PowerPoint Slides
Week 11
Leave a reply
Author Archives: Jon Festinger, Q.C.
Follow
News of the Week; March 20,2013
1. Nintendo found guilty of patent infringement over glasses-free 3DS technology: http://www.theverge.com/2013/3/13/4100924/nintendo-guilty-of-patent-infringement-3ds-technology
2. Major vulnerability in EA’s Origin platform lets hackers overtake PCs: http://www.theverge.com/2013/3/19/4124456/major-vulnerability-ea-origin-hackers-overtake-gamer-pcs
3. Defeating mobile game clones: Why copyright protection is not enough: http://venturebeat.com/2013/03/16/defeating-mobile-game-clones-why-copyright-protection-is-not-enough/
4. Research: Playing Shooters Improves Visual Search: http://gamepolitics.com/2013/03/15/research-playing-shooters-improves-visual-search#.UUTATKXR1Lw
5. Video Games and Societal Violence: Cause for Urgent Action or a Bridge Too Far?: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-levine/video-games-and-societal-_b_2859598.html
6. Reading, Writing and Video Games: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/17/sunday-review/reading-writing-and-video-games.html?nl=technology&emc=edit_tu_20130318
7. Modder Shows How SimCity Can Be Played Offline: http://www.gamepolitics.com/2013/03/14/modder-shows-how-simcity-can-be-played-offline#.UUK0CKXR1Ly
8. (U.S.) Supreme Court Rules That First Sale Doctrine Not Limited by Geography: http://www.gamepolitics.com/2013/03/19/supreme-court-rules-first-sale-doctrine-not-limited-geography#.UUj8zqXR1Lw
+ Issues in Kirtsaeng ‘Significant’: http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/digital/copyright/article/56444-grimmelmann-issues-in-kirtsaeng-too-signifcant-to-end-with-supreme-court.html
+ Link to decision in Kirtsaeng v. John Wiley & Sons (SCOTUS): http://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/12pdf/11-697_d1o2.pdf
9. Appeals court rejects record label’s effort to neuter DMCA safe harbor: http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2013/03/appeals-court-rejects-record-labels-effort-to-neuter-dmca-safe-harbor/
+ Link to Veoh (US 9th Circuit) decision: http://cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2013/03/14/09-55902.pdf
10. (U.S.) Supreme Court Refuses To Hear Appeal in $222,000 File-Sharing Case: http://torrentfreak.com/supreme-court-refuses-to-hear-appeal-in-222000-file-sharing-case-130318/
11. Hacker Case Leads to Calls for Better Law: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/18/technology/outcry-over-computer-crime-indictment-of-matthew-keys.html?nl=technology&emc=edit_tu_20130318&_r=0
12. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY REGIME IN CANADA – Report of the Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology (March 2013): http://www.parl.gc.ca/Content/HOC/Committee/411/INDU/Reports/RP6038442/411_INDU_Rpt03_PDF/411_INDU_Rpt03-e.pdf
13. The head of the Copyright Office says the law is broken — but can she fix it in time?: http://mobile.theverge.com/2013/3/20/4126936/copyright-register-today-will-embark-on-mission-to-overhaul-us
+ Register Of Copyright Suggests That Personal Downloading Should Not Be Seen As ‘Piracy’: http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130320/13493222399/register-copyright-suggests-that-personal-downloading-should-not-be-seen-as-piracy.shtml?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter
14. MIT And Aaron Swartz’s Lawyers Argue Over Releasing Evidence: http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130320/00571422386/mit-aaron-swartzs-lawyers-argue-over-releasing-evidence.shtml?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter
15. Privacy is dead: http://www.technollama.co.uk/privacy-is-dead
16. Collateral Censorship and Freedom of the Press – Christina Mulligan: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2224058
17. Jonathan Zittrain on Google Glass (audio): http://stitcher.com/s/player.php?eid=22175195&refid=eml20130104
18. Elon Musk Refuses To File Patents At His High-Tech Private Space Company: http://www.businessinsider.com/why-some-companies-are-not-filing-patents-2013-3#ixzz2NjKy6h8W
19. SC5 pays salaries in Bitcoin: http://blog.sc5.fi/2013/03/sc5-pays-salaries-in-bitcoin/
+ US regulator: Bitcoin exchanges must comply with money-laundering laws: http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2013/03/us-regulator-bitcoin-exchanges-must-comply-with-money-laundering-laws/
And in the not really relevant category:
20. Applicants face significant hurdles in registering flavour and scent trademarks in the U.S.: http://www.canadiantechnologyiplaw.com/2013/03/articles/intellectual-property/trademarks/applicants-face-significant-hurdles-in-registering-flavour-and-scent-trademarks-in-the-us/
And in the sometimes all you have is sarcasm department:
21. BREAKING: Girls Play Video Games, Local News Discovers: http://m.kotaku.com/5991151/breaking-girls-play-video-games-local-news-discovers
jon
Alan Bruggeman of Microsoft’s Interactive Entertainment division speaking this week…and some preparatory reading
Alan Bruggeman is a Senior Attorney in Microsoft’s Interactive Entertainment division. At Microsoft, Alan has provided legal counsel on a variety of entertainment devices and services, including the Xbox 360 console and accessories, the now-defunct (but still awesome) Zune media player, Microsoft Studios, and Xbox LIVE. Prior to his work at Microsoft, Alan worked as an associate at Seattle’s Preston Gates and Ellis (now K&L Gates). Alan received his J.D. from Columbia University.
We are very fortunate indeed to have Alan joining us in person this week. Alan will be driving up from Redmond, Washington Wednesday morning so we should appreciate him all the more. He will be covering a diverse range of topics including privacy, online safety and issues in and around the console universe.
In preparation for Alan’s talk please take a look through Sections 8, 10, 11(5) and any other anti-spyware provisions you identify, in CASL (“An Act to promote the efficiency and adaptability of the Canadian economy by regulating certain activities that discourage reliance on electronic means of carrying out commercial activities, and to amend the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission Act, the Competition Act, the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act and the Telecommunications Act” – S.C. 2010, c. 23): http://lois-laws.justice.gc.ca/eng/AnnualStatutes/2010_23/FullText.html
jon
“Law School” (Payphone by Maroon 5 Parody) by Chocolate Ghost House
Donkey Kong: Pauline Edition
Following up on this week’s class, here is an example of an inspired dad. He modded Donkey Kong in response to a question from his 3 year old daughter. Now the Princess saves Mario….
jon
The Resources Page
You may have noticed a “Resources” button now added to the top menu. It itself divides into a series of subsections: Copyright & IP; Freedom of Speech & Expression; Privacy & Social Issues; Web & Online Content; International; & Technology & Hardware. There is also a link to Electronic Reserve Materials available to students in the class.
Under the main six headings you will find videos of relevance to different aspects of the course. Some/many of the videos have been mentioned in the class. Hopefully you will find all the materials helpful, but two absolutely must-sees are Bruce Springsteen’s Keynote at SXSW 2012 and Lawrence Lessig’s Lecture on “Aaron’s Law’s: Law and Justice in a Digital Age”. Both can be found under the subheading of “Freedom of Speech & Expression”.
Arising out of a lengthy and interesting discussion this week in Law 449C Media and Entertainment Law, am adding two videos to the Resources Page. They are: 1. A lecture by Joseph Reagle of Northeastern titled “Free as in Sexist? The Gender Gap in Free Culture”; & 2. Video of the March 3, 2013 “Location Tracking and Biometrics Conference” from Yale Law School; all under the “Privacy & Social Issues” subheading.
Both videos are equally relevant to Law450. We had some discussion of the issue of sexism in and around games during our most recent class. Privacy is a main topic of the upcoming one. Location tracking is increasingly a part of video gaming. Inevitably there will be more future “real world” location tracked/cloud related gaming models like “Ingress”. Concerns and questions will, equally inevitably, accompany them.
jon
UK Intellectual Property Office helps law students with term papers
Thanks to “The 1709 Blog” for noting and posting links to some very useful largely empirical studies commissioned by the UK IPO. These may be very helpful to those doing papers on related subjects. Having taken a look through as there is tons of good stuff here, especially on the economic impact on copyright holders (actually non-economic impact) of certain classes of use.
Link to the original blogpost from The 1709 Blog: http://the1709blog.blogspot.ca/2013/03/parody-pastiche-private-copying-ukipos.html?m=1
Link to the IPO page: http://www.ipo.gov.uk/pro-ipresearch.htm?debugdate=15.03.13&debugtime=9:30
Link to “Evaluating the impact of parody on the exploitation of copyright works”: http://www.ipo.gov.uk/ipresearch-parody-report1-150313.pdf?debugdate=15.03.13&debugtime=9:30
Link to “The Treatment of Parodies Under Copyright Law in Seven Jurisdictions”: http://www.ipo.gov.uk/ipresearch-parody-report2-150313.pdf?debugdate=15.03.13&debugtime=9:30
Link to “Copyright and the Economic Effects of Parody”: http://www.ipo.gov.uk/ipresearch-parody-report3-150313.pdf?debugdate=15.03.13&debugtime=9:30
Link to “Private copying”: http://www.ipo.gov.uk/ipresearch-private-150313.pdf?debugdate=15.03.13&debugtime=9:30
jon
Week 10
IGDA E3 Scholarships
As described just prior to the start of class, here is the text of an email received yesterday regarding the E3 Scholarships being given by the International Game Developers Association:
“The IGDA is pleased to announce that we are now taking applications for Scholarships to attend E3. The deadline for applications is 2 April.
The Electronics Entertainment Expo is one of the most important events of the game industry’s calendar, as one of the largest trade shows. Students will get an opportunity to see the AAA marketing machine up close, as well as get some behind-the-scenes insight into how it functions. As with all our scholarships, we will also provide successful applicants with mentorship from established industry professionals as well as the opportunity to tour local studios and meet developers. Applications are based on a series of very short mini-essays, and will be judged by a panel of experts drawn from across the industry.
The scholarships are an excellent way for students to kickstart their career, by being selected as one of the “best and brightest” of those studying topics related to game development around the world. We would greatly appreciate your help to spread the word around relevant institutions, chapters and other groups.
Thank you,
Heather M Decker-Davis
On behalf of the IGDA Scholarships Committee”
jon
News of the Week; March 13, 2013
1. Top 10 New IP Paper Downloads: http://writtendescription.blogspot.ca/2013/03/top-10-new-ip-paper-downloads.html
2. Appeals Court: ‘Ed Sullivan’ Clip in ‘Jersey Boys’ is Fair Use: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr-esq/appeals-court-ed-sullivan-clip-427260
3. US Supreme Court limits standing to sue in a case that will likely impact privacy and data breach plaintiffs: http://www.edwardswildman.com/files/News/543d63b5-4962-48f6-b71f-e0d2192720f6/Presentation/NewsAttachment/3e09a485-a60e-4fc4-b513-4d34f91e09f3/2013-CA-USSupremeCourtLimits-March-v2.pdf
4. Google Concedes That Drive-By Prying Violated Privacy: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/13/technology/google-pays-fine-over-street-view-privacy-breach.html?partner=rss&emc=rss&_r=1&
5. Aaron Swartz’s lawyer accuses prosecutor of misconduct – Lawyers will move to unseal evidence against Swartz later this week: http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2013/03/aaron-swartzs-lawyer-accuses-prosecutor-of-misconduct/
6. 3D printing gunmaker forms company to flout copyright law, à la the Pirate Bay: http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2013/03/3d-printing-gunmaker-forms-company-to-flout-copyright-law-a-la-the-pirate-bay/
7. Fifteen Years of DMCA Abuse: https://www.eff.org/press/releases/fifteen-years-dmca-abuse
8. Copyright and car crashes: do sports have an author?: http://ipkitten.blogspot.ca/2013/03/copyright-and-car-crashes-do-sports.html?m=1
9. A Feminist Reviews Tomb Raider’s Lara Croft: http://www.forbes.com/sites/carolpinchefsky/2013/03/12/a-feminist-reviews-tomb-raiders-lara-croft/
10. Ridley Scott and Machinima team up to produce 12 original sci-fi shorts: http://www.theverge.com/2013/3/11/4091192/ridley-scott-and-machinima-team-up-to-produce-12-original-sci-fi
11. Zynga VP calls debate over copying games ‘vastly overblown’: http://www.theverge.com/2013/3/11/4089056/zynga-vp-calls-debate-over-copying-games-vastly-overblown
12. Steam Box is exciting – but don’t expect it to be “Open”: http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2013-03-08-steam-box-is-exciting-but-dont-expect-it-to-be-open
And in the not really relevant category:
13. Judge Blocks New York City’s Limits on Big Sugary Drinks: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/12/nyregion/judge-invalidates-bloombergs-soda-ban.html?emc=na&_r=0
jon