Video Games
The Price for Pokemon - How Much Are Childhood Icons Worth Protecting?
The Value of the Pokémon Franchise If you were born in the late 1980s or early 90s or have young children, you have probably encountered a red-cheeked mouse called Pikachu or any of the hundreds of other Pokémon that exist in the Pokémon media franchise. While the premise of catching colourful creatures is rather straightforward, […]
Big Telecom versus Video Games: Big Implications
As reported on Kotaku.com – "British Telecommunications, a multinational mega-conglomerate with origins dating back to the 1800s, is suing Valve, a video game company that can't count to three". British Telecommunications (BT) alleges that on-line services offered by Valve infringe on four U.S. patents held by BT. The patents at trial are broadly worded and could implicate […]
Australian consumer protection body calls Steam's return policy a bunch of hot air
If you're a gamer, you're probably familiar with the Steam game distribution platform, estimated to account for 75 percent of all online game purchases. Online game purchases have surged in recent years, owing greatly to their convenience -- one can buy a game from home and play it nearly immediately. However, as sales have grown, […]
The Legality of "Player" Generated Content
With the rising popularity of video and computer games, a new form of user generated content ("UGC") and a whole new set of intellectual property issues is emerging. Science fiction web series such as Red vs. Blue use copyrighted graphics and characters from the popular Xbox video game Halo to create new comedic content parodying first person shooter […]