Gamerprudence: Video Game Law Explained: July 2006

About Me

Name: Mike

Location: North East, United States

I work in publishing because I love words and information. The process of expressing thought, particularly verbal or written, demonstrates the most divine attributes of humanity. In the early 21st century we have experienced rapid evolution in the dissemination of information. Connecting billions of people in an ironic deluge of information has diluted the market for creativity. We must now rethink what it means to express and contribute content to the swelling marketplace of ideas. May we be guided in our quest to express by two great pieces of writing advice: "Fundamental accuracy of statement is the one true morality of writing." (Ezra Pound) "Omit needless words." (Strunk & White, The Elements of Style)

Thursday, July 27, 2006

Video Game Law Review - July 27th

Well, it has been a few weeks and not much is stirring in the legal world of video gaming. My book, The Legend of Hunter Swingley, which is due out in September, is consuming most of my free time at the moment. Still, duty calls! So here is what is going on:

Activision Sued Over Stock Options - (from Gamasutra) "Activision is the subject of a lawsuit from a shareholder over what are described as "purported improprieties in the Company's issuance of stock options", possibly relating to the currently hot topic of option backdating." The case was filed as Vazquez v. Kotick, on July 12, 2006. Plaintiff alleges various complaints of "purported improprieties in the Company's issuance of stock options." Activision is reviewing the complaint and preparing an answer.
Sony Consoles Face Semiconductor Patent Suit - (from GameSpot) Agere Systems, a Pennsylvania electronics company, filed a lawsuit against Sony alleging willful infringement of eight of its patents. The suits are meant to cover numerous products including: "the PSP, PlayStation 2, and based on announced specifications, the PlayStation 3." The suit also targets some of Sony's other well-known products such as "VAIO computers, Handycams, Walkman players, Memory Stick Duos, and Location Free TV." Agere's patents that are the subject of this dispute range from a "wireless local area network apparatus" to "barrier layer treatments for tungsten plug."

That is all for now. Be back next week with some more good stuff,

Wednesday, July 05, 2006

Video Game Law Review - July 5th 2006

Original image from: rebelgraphics.org)

Not much to report in this fine week of American independence as far as video game law is concerned.

I ran across this interesting bit of news: Game Developers Outsourcing Summit is a conference by the GDC that will focus on the intracacies of using off-shore partners to handle some of the complex coding and other areas of need for the next generation of video games. As the games get bigger the staff needed to produce them will also increase, and outsourcing may be one of the most effective ways to see to it that the industry continues to grow in a cost effective manner. Of note to people like us is the forum on the anatomy of the outsourcing deal, which starts off by exploring the IP that is present. I am not sure how in depth the conference speaker will go as to exploring the best ways to protect IP owners when using off shore vendors, especially considering the prevalence of piracy in many of the nations that make the best outsourcing partners, such as China or the Philippians. In any case, exploration of this issue by skilled attorneys will likely be a crucial task in the near future as disputes arise. Just a little heads up.

Until next week ...