I will leave the discourse on the necessary role an end user license agreement (“EULA”) plays in the game environment for another day.[1] Instead this entry takes a quick dip into the challenges to enforcing a EULA for a game with global player base and offers a few quick suggestions for catering your EULA to address some of these pitfalls.
Continue Reading...When strolling the streets of an online virtual world that allows user-created content, it is not uncommon to see brands that you recognize. A Ferrari may roll past you in the street. The avatar walking toward you may be cushioning its steps with Nike-Swoosh-emblazoned tennis shoes. The virtual jewelry store that you pass may feature a gleaming Cartier necklace in its window. Familiar brands cushion the virtual experience with the trappings of familiar surroundings for the software user. The problem is, chances are these brand owners never created these virtual goods, and the money from their sale likely went into someone else's pockets.
Let’s start with the basics. Under a typical game development contract, a publisher furnishes the funds required to develop a game to a game developer. Understandably, access to these funds is subject to certain restrictions, expectations and other contractual obligations. Invariably, there is a provision dedicated to the handling of the rights to intellectual property created pursuant to the terms of the agreement.
Until very recently, virtual currency trading has been widely accepted in China. Billions of RMB in virtual currency have been traded online, and this amount has been increasing by 20% every year. The practice is so common that around the world, "Chinese Gold Farmers" have become a well-known staple of such popular multiplayer online games as World of Warcraft, and in many parts of the world, this is the image most commonly attributed to virtual currency trading. However, with the blossoming popularity of virtual currency trading in China, concerns have arisen that serious problems could stem from mixing virtual world economies with the real world's economy—problems such as inflation, money laundering, and gambling.
In a traditional online game, users are required to abide by the Terms of Use ("TOU"). Companies, cognizant of the fact that not everyone will comply with the TOU, implement various enforcement measures such as automated filters, user-driven complaint systems, or a more involved in-game monitoring system utilizing Game Masters. As the popularity of user-generated content ("UGC") and user-customization has increased, ensuring TOU compliance has become increasingly costly and labor-intensive. Additionally, by granting users the ability to import copyrighted materials such as facial depictions, art, literary works, or music, the inclusion of UGC in online games potentially raises Digital Millennium Copyright Act ("DMCA") compliance issues.
ARS Technica recently reported on the theft of significant amount of virtual currency from an online bank. The theft was carried out by the former CEO of the bank and the virtual currency was eventually sold for the very real amount of $5,000.
Continue Reading...Video games and feature films have a lot in common. Both tell stories and have exciting visuals and music. Although one is "interactive", recent Blu-ray HD discs are now turning linear films into more immersive, interactive experiences. Rights and talent deals for both have likewise followed a path towards convergence with terms and consideration often being negotiated and drafted the same way. Nowhere is this trend more obvious than the increasing popularity of product placement in enhancing the economic value of video games by making the game play more realistic while providing increased marketing value and good will by allowing the game developer and product owner, generally at no out-of-pocket cost, to reach new audiences.
Continue Reading...February 17, 2009 will be one of our most important historic dates. No president will be sworn into office. No one will land on the moon. Instead television in the U.S., as we know it, will simply be turned off. The switch from analogue to digital TV will be thrown at midnight. Many will awake on February 18 to find their beloved televisions don't work. Welcome to the Digital Age.
Continue Reading...When game designers introduce realistic elements in their games, sometimes unwanted side effects are produced that affect real life. Shawn Foust, head of Sheppard Mullin’s Video Game practice, discusses this Rogue Reality.
Continue Reading...On Feb. 20, 2009 the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals struck down a California law banning the sale or rental of “violent video games” to minors and requiring such games to be labeled “18” (the legal age for adults). While this decision may surprise some California lawmakers and parents, its holding is fully consistent with substantial U.S. Supreme Court precedent entitling minors to a signifi cant measure of First Amendment protection, and leaving parents with the duty to supervise “appropriate” content.
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