As a previous Wilson Sonsini Alert reported, Snail Games USA Inc. and Wildcard Properties LLC (collectively, “Snail”) sent a Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) takedown notice to Valve Corporation (Valve) in order to...more
Many video games are marketed on the photorealism of their imagery and graphics. However, depending on the depiction, developers and publishers may need to worry about the underlying intellectual property rights in that...more
Investors in technologies and services for the Metaverse hope that a significant portion of the existing lucrative electronic gaming market will migrate to Metaverse platforms. Game companies regularly rely on the sale of...more
On May 17, 2022, Plaintiff Y.H. brought claims against Blizzard Entertainment making two sets of allegations: first, that booster packs in the game Hearthstone constitute unfair competition or unlawful gambling; and second,...more
In recent years, there has been an increase in putative class actions alleging that game developers, game publishers, and even platforms should be liable for alleged harms flowing from loot boxes in mobile or other electronic...more
When you publish electronic software, you frequently worry about copyright infringement. What if your game used sounds, graphics, text, or code from another game? If a competitor believes your game violates copyright, it...more
Nintendo of America received an eye-popping award of $2.1 million in statutory damages against game pirate Matthew Storman from the United States District Court for the Central District of California on May 26, 2021. The...more
6/16/2021
/ Copyright ,
Copyright Infringement ,
Copyright Litigation ,
Copyright Registration ,
Gaming ,
Intellectual Property Litigation ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Trademark Infringement ,
Trademark Litigation ,
Trademark Registration ,
Trademarks
On April 13, 2020, the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB), the self-regulatory industry group that has been rating games1 since 1994, announced that it would create a new “Interactive Element”—the term ESRB uses to...more