Nice piece in the Texas Review of Entertainment & Sports Law about the Tetris case – Tetris Holding, LLC v. Xio Interactive, Inc., 863 F. Supp. 2d 394, 397 (D.N.J. 2012). We will be looking at this case and it’s implications in Class 9 on March 6.
Tetricide | TEXAS REVIEW OF ENTERTAINMENT & SPORTS LAW
jon
Lawrence Lessig gave an extraordinary public lecture on Tuesday February 19, 2013. All the more poignant given the significance of Prof. Lessig’s work on digital law and his personal connections with Aaron Swartz.
Here are the details:
“Harvard Law School will host a public lecture, “Aaron’s Laws,” by Lawrence Lessig on the occasion of his appointment as the Roy L. Furman Professor of Law and Leadership.
In the wake of the tragic death of social activist Aaron Swartz, many, including some in Washington, are asking how the law should respond. In this lecture — radically personal, deeply non-disinterested — Professor Lessig reflects on the life and work of Aaron Swartz, and how that work might be honored.”
Worth mentioning that at 1:33:55 there is a terrific exchange between Prof. Lessig and a student that is worth reflecting on. It centers on the perspective law students should adopt going into their careers to make things better rather then worse given that the tools of the law can often be used for either.
Stream it below:
jon
1. Judge Dismisses Axl Rose’s Lawsuit (“Guitar Hero lll”): http://sanmarinotribune.com/2013/02/08/judge-dismisses-axl-roses-lawsuit/
2. Copyright Explained Musically: http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130204/18145421881/copyright-explained-musically.shtml
4. Growing Up Or Just Getting Old?: David Cage is a poor figurehead for industry evolution – but that doesn’t make his arguments invalid: http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2013-02-08-growing-up-or-just-getting-old?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=european-daily
5. Issues Gamers Should Think About: http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/columns/ask-dr-mark/10177-Issues-Gamers-Should-Think-About
6. Court clarifies balance between copyright and freedom of expression in the UK: http://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=9a33aa70-003e-4cdb-ac14-7618216a1c9a
7. Peer Progress and Regulation 2.0: http://www.avc.com/a_vc/2013/02/peer-progress-and-regulation-20.html
8. Lawsuit Over Video Game Rights Might Kill The NCAA But Not The System: http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130207/15002421913/lawsuit-over-video-game-rights-might-kill-ncaa-not-system.shtml
9. A Court Is About To Determine The Fate Of Software Patents And The Implications Are Massive: http://www.businessinsider.com/a-court-is-about-to-determine-the-fate-of-software-patents-and-the-implications-are-massive-2013-2
10. The IPKat: Australian High Court says that Google Adwords is neutral: http://ipkitten.blogspot.ca/2013/02/australian-high-court-says-that-google.html
11. Technology & Marketing Law Blog: Newspaper Not Liable for Moderated Online Reader Comments–Gains v. Romkey: http://blog.ericgoldman.org/archives/2013/02/newspaper_not_l.htm
12. EFF to defend against troll with “podcasting patent”—granted in 2012: http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2013/02/eff-to-defend-against-troll-with-podcasting-patent-granted-in-2012/
13. Everything Is Infringement: http://www.nationalreview.com/agenda/340231/everything-infringement-reihan-salam
14. List of IP paper downloads on Written Description: http://t.co/FFFEBo0e
15. JFK Space Center Plans Angry Birds Exhibit for Spring: http://www.gamepolitics.com/2013/02/08/jfk-space-centers-plans-angry-birds-exhibit-spring#.URf4WKXUQm0
And in the not really relevant category:
16. Judge rules that it’s illegal to sell custom Batmobiles because the Batmobile is itself a fictional character: http://io9.com/5983237/judge-rules-that-its-illegal-to-sell-custom-batmobiles-because-the-batmobile-is-itself-a-fictional-character
Download the PowerPoint Slides
Hey class,
Hope you all had a great long weekend!
Our guest speaker this week is Patrick Sweeney, counsel with Reed Smith and based out of Century City.
Mr. Sweeney’s experience prior to joining Reed Smith includes serving as senior corporate counsel at Vivendi Universal Games and at Paramount Pictures Television Group. He was also general counsel for video game publisher Brash Entertainment LLC. At Brash, part of his work included negotiating game development agreements and license agreements with movie studios. Mr. Sweeney also has experience teaching: his video game law class at Southwestern Law School was the first American law school course dedicated to the subject.
Mr. Sweeney is currently with Reed Smith’s Corporate & Securities Group, where he continues his work representing developers, publishers, intellectual property owners, and technology providers. He is also on the Law Firm Advisory Board for the Association of Media and Entertainment Counsel and is a board member for the Video Game Bar Association.
Mr. Sweeney’s profile on the Reed Smith site can be found here: http://www.reedsmith.com/patrick_sweeney/
More information on Mr. Sweeney’s work experience can be found here: http://www.reedsmith.com/Reed-Smith-Adds-Patrick-Sweeney-as-Counsel-in-Century-City—Experienced-video-game-lawyer-joins-Corporate-and-Securities-Group-05-24-2010/
UPDATE: Mr. Sweeney will be speaking to us about common terms in developer/publisher contracts, starting with ‘traditional’ deals and moving onto how changes in business models and platforms have impacted contract terms and priorities.
See you all on Wednesday!
– Zoe and Aaron
Nancy Pelosi: Video Games are Not the Reason for Violence in America (Huffington Post): http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/10/nancy-pelosi-video-games_n_2657169.html
1. ‘Spacewar!’ The story of the world’s first digital video game: http://mobile.theverge.com/2013/2/4/3949524/the-story-of-the-worlds-first-digital-video-game
2. What is the government’s interest in copyright? Not that of the public. – Copyright Librarian: http://blog.lib.umn.edu/copyrightlibn/2013/02/what-is-the-governments-interest-in-copyright.html
3. Patent Assertion Entities: Six Actions the Antitrust Agencies Can Take by Michael Carrier: SSRN: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2209521&buffer_share=14a72&utm_source=buffer
4. Something to look forward to, er, in 2013+1: http://ipkitten.blogspot.ca/2013/01/something-to-look-forward-to-er-20131.html?m=1
5. North Korean Propaganda Video Uses MW3 Footage, Gets Pulled by YouTube After Activision Complaint: http://www.gamepolitics.com/2013/02/05/north-korean-propaganda-video-uses-mw3-footage-gets-pulled-youtube-after-activision-compl
6. EFF to help defend against troll with “podcasting patent”—granted in 2012: Personal Audio has made a name for itself suing Apple, Samsung, RIM, and others: http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2013/02/eff-to-defend-against-troll-with-podcasting-patent-granted-in-2012/
7. Data Protection Laws, an Ocean Apart: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/03/technology/consumer-data-protection-laws-an-ocean-apart.html?nl=technology&emc=edit_tu_20130204&_r=0
8. Microsoft Attacks Google on Gmail Privacy: http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/02/06/microsoft-attacks-google-on-gmail-privacy/?nl=technology&emc=edit_tu_20130207
9. @gamerlaw: WOW RT @BenjaminCousins: Valve are the 4th largest bandwidth consumer in the world: https://t.co/wuiiWNxY
10. Edinburgh researchers first to 3D-print with human embryonic stem cells: http://www.theverge.com/2013/2/6/3957772/edinburgh-researchers-first-to-3d-print-human-embryonic-stem-cells
11. WHY AARON DIED by TarenSK: http://tarensk.tumblr.com/post/42260548767/why-aaron-died
12. Opinion: Changing the terms of the violent video game debate: http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/185244/Opinion_Changing_the_terms_of_the_violent_video_game_debate.php#.UQ9PfaXUQco
And in the not really relevant category:
13. Applebee’s Overnight Social Media Meltdown: A Photo Essay | R.L. Stollar: http://rlstollar.wordpress.com/2013/02/02/applebees-overnight-social-media-meltdown-a-photo-essay/
jon
Interesting (and really cute!) take on the effectiveness and enforceability of EULAs:
http://www.ohesso.com/essays/essay006.htm
After reading Roch’s posts and thinking more about EULAs, I got to brainstorming some ideas that might increase consumer readership. Some might ask why it matters that consumers read EULAs in the first place and some might ask why companies should care to get consumers to read their agreements. Consumers should read EULAs so that they are made aware of clauses that a lot would not agree to. An example is EA and their new game service Origin where, originally, before it stirred up so much attention, the EULA stated that by installing the application, permission is given to “collect, use, store and transmit technical and related information that identifies your computer, operating system, application usage (including but not limited to successful installation and/or removal), software, software usage and peripheral hardware.” In other words, you are giving EA access to your computer hard drive.
On a lighter note – you could get $1,000 like this lucky person for reading a EULA:
http://www.pcpitstop.com/spycheck/eula.asp
So why then, should companies care to get people to read EULAs to the point of providing incentives? Because maybe then, if a judge knows that a person has scrutinized the agreement, it might actually be enforceable.
Ideas to increase consumer readership:
Sprinkle in various prizes throughout the agreement, like PC Pitstop did in the link posted above. These could be monetary prizes or they could be a code for unlocking a special weapon, character, or level in the game you have purchased.
Provide a list of code words, ask the consumer to locate them all throughout the agreement. When they are found, the specific paragraph numbers are sent back to the company and the consumer is entered into a draw for a prize.
The most drastic but most effective – not allow the consumer to play the game until they read the agreement. Random letters, code, numbers or characters will be strategically placed throughout the agreement. The consumer must locate them all, in order, and input it into the opening screen of the game in order to begin playing.
Of course with these comes the issue of transferability, if you sell your game, the password has already been used and the new user will have no incentive to read the agreement.
Any other ideas/thoughts on ways to increase EULA readership? Is it even necessary? And even then, will the EULA be enforceable?
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