The allegations of gambling issues with games continues. Last week, a class action lawsuit was filed against Apple relating to games in its App Store that include loot boxes. The complaint alleges that sale of such games are...more
Iowa enacted a sports betting law last May. Section 99E addressed fantasy sports contests and Section 99F addressed sports betting.
Under Section 99E: a “Fantasy sports contest” includes any fantasy or simulated game or...more
As part of a multi-faceted deal, Google will become a validator node for Theta’s Mainnet 2.0. As part of the deal, Google Cloud will become Theta’s preferred cloud provider. Theta also plans to further collaborate with...more
The Washington State Federal District Court recently issued a decision stating: “Washington’s definition of ‘gambling’ only reaches ‘staking or risking something of value upon the outcome of a contest of chance or a future...more
In a controversial decision, the Illinois Supreme Court determined that a head-to-head, daily fantasy sports (DFS) contest was predominately skill based and thus not gambling. Despite agreeing with the appellate court’s...more
A Washington state federal court recently addressed claims relating to rates that cryptocurrency mining companies pay for electricity in Grant County, Washington. The court rejected all of the miner’s legal claims. The...more
A recent report indicates the use of blockchain technology in the energy sector is continuing to grow. According to the report, the global market for this use of blockchain technology is anticipated to grow at a CAGR of 52.9%...more
The number of different open source licenses is growing and the variation in their terms and complexity is increasing. A number of licenses that appear to be, or are commonly referred to as “open source” do not actually meet...more
3/10/2020
/ Acquisitions ,
Contract Drafting ,
Copyright ,
Corporate Financing ,
Due Diligence ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
IP License ,
Mergers ,
Open Source Software ,
Patents ,
Software ,
Technology ,
Technology Sector
A controversial new open source license designed for use with decentralized applications was recently approved by the Open Source Initiative (OSI). The Cryptographic Autonomy License (CAL) claims to be the first open source...more
3/3/2020
/ Blockchain ,
Cryptography ,
Data Protection ,
IP License ,
Licenses ,
Open Source Software ,
Patents ,
Royalties ,
SaaS ,
Software ,
Software Developers
The number of patents for inventions based on artificial intelligence, machine learning and deep learning continues to grow rapidly. Some of these inventions relate to AI technology per se, and some relate to the use of AI in...more
1/8/2020
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Blockchain ,
Comment Period ,
Innovative Technology ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Machine Learning ,
Patent Applications ,
Patent Examinations ,
Patents ,
Popular ,
Public Comment ,
USPTO
Posted in Blockchain, Blockchain Games
Microsoft has announced a partnership with Enjin to offer a blockchain based recognition program. Azure Heroes aims to reward individuals for verifiable acts of impact?such as coaching,...more
Money laundering is no game. Yet, some games have been used for money laundering. That’s what prompted Valve to announce that it would end the online sales of loot box “keys” for its game Counter-Strike Global Offensive...more
From payments using bitcoin to smart contracts, blockchain technologies are revolutionizing how business is done in every industry. As blockchain technologies continue to mature, we’re exploring the latest developments in the...more
The leaders of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Agencies”) issued a joint statement to remind persons engaged in...more
10/15/2019
/ AML/CFT ,
Anti-Money Laundering ,
Bank Secrecy Act ,
Banks ,
Broker-Dealer ,
CFTC ,
Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) ,
Compliance ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
FinCEN ,
Joint Statements ,
Money Services Business ,
Mutual Funds ,
NFA ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) ,
Terrorism Funding
We previously reported on how popular open source has been under attack from patent assertion entities. The attacks continue. The GNOME Foundation recently acknowledged that it was sued for patent infringement by Rothschild...more
According to a recent report, the new chair of the CFTC, Heath Tarbert, has declared that he believes that ether is a commodity. He also anticipates ether futures trading on U.S. markets in the near future. The CFTC has...more
The chances are high that your company uses open source software (“OSS”) in some capacity. While the benefits of OSS are clear, it is also clear that OSS can pose significant legal risks that must be addressed. The best way...more
6/19/2019
/ Copyright ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Open Source Software ,
Patent Infringement ,
Patents ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Risk Management ,
SaaS ,
Software ,
Software Developers ,
Software Licenses ,
Technology Sector
In a closely watched case, a New Hampshire federal court has ruled that the Wire Act is limited to sports betting and set aside the DOJ’s recent opinion to the contrary. However, it limited the scope of its declaratory relief...more
6/4/2019
/ Declaratory Judgments ,
Declaratory Relief ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Federal Rule 12(b)(1) ,
Federal Rule 12(b)(6) ,
Gambling ,
Gaming ,
Lottery Commissions ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
Sports Betting ,
Standing ,
Statutory Interpretation ,
Wire Act
Last week we reported that FinCEN had issued new guidance addressing cryptocurrency and other convertible virtual currency. The need for compliance was reinforced this week. In a speech by Sigal Mandelker, Under Secretary for...more
5/15/2019
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Compliance ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Enforcement Actions ,
FinCEN ,
Money Services Business ,
Money Transmitter ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Registration Requirement ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Virtual Currency
FinCEN has issued updated guidance addressing the use of crypto currency and other convertible virtual currency (CVC). A portion of this guidance addresses the use of CVC in games. The guidance does not establish any new...more
FinCEN has issued 2 new guidance documents addressing cryptocurrency and other convertible virtual currency (CVC). The guidance does not establish any new regulatory expectations. Rather, it consolidates current FinCEN...more
Sound View Innovations is launching patent attacks against commonly used open source software including jQuery and Apache Hadoop. Sound View is targeting end users of these software components. This is a typical tactic of...more
In the latest salvo in the ongoing debate about whether certain game mechanics are exploiting kids, Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) announced that he has introduced a bill to ban the alleged exploitation of children through...more
A new bill, the Token Taxonomy Act was introduced to congress to amend the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to exclude digital tokens from the definition of a security, to direct the Securities...more
The European Commission has informed various game companies (platforms and publishers) of its preliminary view that the companies prevented consumers from purchasing video games cross-border from other Member States, in...more
4/15/2019
/ Anti-Competitive ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Bilateral Agreements ,
Cross-Border ,
E-Commerce ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Exports ,
Geo-Blocking ,
Member State ,
Online Gaming ,
Online Platforms ,
Statement of Objection (SO) ,
Video Games