A recent federal district court decision denied a motion to dismiss a complaint brought by Artifex Software Inc. (“Artifex”) for breach of contract and copyright infringement claims against Defendant Hancom, Inc. based on...more
5/16/2017
/ Breach of Contract ,
Commercial Use ,
Copyright ,
Copyright Infringement ,
Copyright Litigation ,
Gaming ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
IP License ,
Open Source Software ,
Popular ,
Preemption ,
Source Code ,
Technology Sector
Candy Lab AR, makers of the augmented reality poker game Texas Rope ‘Em, sued Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, over an ordinance alleged to be violating the First Amendment. The ordinance states: “Permits shall be required before...more
Advertising for new games can present some troublesome legal issues, if due care is not taken. A recently concluded matter in the UK highlights an example of the potential issues. Hello Games was investigated by the...more
The U.S. Copyright Office’s new electronic system for copyright-agent registration and maintenance goes into effect on December 1, 2016, and with it comes new rules. Beginning December 1, all online service providers must...more
The SEC shut down a “fantasy” stock picking game for allegedly violating securities laws. Forcerank LLC ran contests via mobile phone games where players paid a fee and predicted the order in which 10 securities would perform...more
A group of New York citizens backed by the anti-gambling group Stop Predatory Gambling has filed a lawsuit against New York Governor Andrew Cuomo challenging the constitutionality of the bill that legalized daily fantasy...more
10/11/2016
/ Attorney General ,
Cease and Desist Orders ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Fantasy Sports ,
Game of Skill ,
Gaming ,
Governor Cuomo ,
Illegal Gambling ,
Legalization ,
New Legislation ,
State and Local Government
The porn industry is often one of the early adopters for new technologies. VR is no exception.
Virtual Immersion Technologies LLC is enforcing its patent against live VR porn operators. The patent 6,409,599 (“the ’599...more
The Federal Circuit overturned a District Court ruling that a patent directed to automated lip synchronization and manipulation of animated characters’ facial expressions was invalid under Section 101 as being an abstract...more
9/16/2016
/ Abstract Ideas ,
Animation ,
CLS Bank v Alice Corp ,
Computer-Related Inventions ,
Enfish v Microsoft ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Mayo v. Prometheus ,
Patent Litigation ,
Patent-Eligible Subject Matter ,
Patents ,
Preemption ,
Section 101 ,
Software Developers ,
Software Patents ,
USPTO
Just days after a New York State’s Daily Fantasy Sports law was passed, the New York Gaming Commission announced it has issued temporary permits to 5 DFS operators. The companies are DraftKings, FanDuel, Yahoo, Fantasy Draft...more
Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker has signed into law a bill to legalize daily fantasy sports in the Commonwealth. Massachusetts is the ninth state to legalize daily fantasy sports, and the eighth to do so this year. The...more
As previously reported on our blog, New York enacted a law legalizing fantasy sports (subject to certain conditions and licensing). This undoubtedly makes DFS operators and players happy. But consistent with the notion that...more
A recent 9th Circuit Court of Appeals decision confirmed that data derived from a compilation of publicly available information can constitute a protectable trade secret, particularly when a proprietary process is used to...more
Linkedin has filed a lawsuit to prevent unauthorized use of “bots” that register fake profiles on the social network and steal data about actual users. According to the suit, these acts constitute a breach of Linkedin’s terms...more
8/13/2016
/ Bots ,
Breach of Contract ,
Copyright Infringement ,
Data Theft ,
DMCA ,
Fraud ,
LinkedIn ,
Social Networks ,
Terms of Use ,
Web Scraping ,
Websites
New Jersey’s sports betting law was struck down by an Appellate court decision. The court held that PASPA (the Professional And Amateur Sports Protection Act) prohibits states from authorizing by law sports gambling, and that...more
Governor Andrew Cuomo signed into law a bill to legalize daily fantasy sports in New York. This is the eighth state to legalize daily fantasy sports, and the seventh to do so this year. With the start of the NFL season just...more
Hugely successful games attract lawsuits. Pokémon Go has been hugely successful and, predictably, has attracted a lawsuit.
In a recently filed class action, a plaintiff has alleged that a number of the GPS coordinates...more
There has been a new development in the ongoing legal battle between New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman and daily fantasy sports (DFS) operators DraftKings and FanDuel, as the two largest DFS operators agreed earlier...more
The Governor of Virginia signed into law the FANTASY CONTESTS ACT. As we previously reported, the bill defines “fantasy contest” as any fantasy or simulated game or contest in which: (i) the value of all prizes and awards...more
In January, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton issued an opinion that daily fantasy sports (DFS) is likely illegal gambling under Texas state law “[b]ecause the outcome of games in daily fantasy sports leagues depends...more
Virginia’s House and Senate have both passed a bill (SB 646) that would legalize, but regulate, fantasy sports in Virginia. All that is needed is for Governor McAuliffe to sign it into law. If passed, the law would create...more
Another lawsuit alleging illegal gambling in a social game has been dismissed. Over the last year, social gaming mobile applications have come under attack from the Plaintiffs’ bar as gambling in disguise. Plaintiffs’...more
Attorney General Peter F. Kilmartin has found that daily fantasy sports are currently legal under Rhode Island law. Kilmartin also strongly advised the Legislature to establish regulations to protect Rhode Island players....more
The Mississippi AG issued an opinion last week declaring: “Fantasy sports wagering is illegal in the state of Mississippi under current law both on a licensed gaming floor and outside of a licensed gaming floor. Any change to...more
Alabama Senator Sanford introduced a bill February 2 that would exempt fantasy from Alabama’s gambling law The bill also would establish the Fantasy Contests Act to regulate the operation of fantasy or simulated contests in...more
Hawaii AG Doug Chin is one of the latest to opine that daily fantasy sports are illegal under that state’s law. According to a press release accompanying the opinion, “Gambling generally occurs under Hawaii law when a person...more