Continuing the exploration of fandom, and its associated legal snares, we turn to cosplay. Costumed play, cosplay for short, is the hobby, and sometimes profession, of dressing up as a character from fantasy, comics, tv, movies, video games, or any … Continue reading
Much to the delight of the app-gaming community, Dong Nguyen, the creator and designer of “Flappy Bird”, announced via Twitter on March 19th that the game will return to the app market, although “not soon”. It had been suggested that … Continue reading
The issue of who owns what can be a sticky one, particularly when talking about something intangible, like intellectual property. Ownership can be transferred in just a few phrases. Ownership can be shared. Ownership can be divided piecemeal between several … Continue reading
It’s been all over the news. The video game industry is having a problem with trademarks because the idea of ownership doesn’t seems to align well with the goals of creativity. This is particularly evident in the recent media coverage … Continue reading
With the King candy trademark saga winding down, it’s an appropriate time to work through some developer reactions and their possible legal implications. Many took to the internet to voice their concerns, frustrations, confusion, and rage at the situation. Others … Continue reading
By this point, nearly everyone has an opinion on whether or not King should be able to register a trademark for dictionary terms like “candy” and “saga.” This is, in part, because both words have long histories in the video … Continue reading
I just had a new article published in Cybaris, the Intellectual Property Law Review at the William Mitchell College of Law. The piece is titled “Intellectual Property 2.0: Revisiting the Copyright and Trademark System for a Digital Reality.”It’s available for … Continue reading
At Law of the Game, we pride ourselves on being fans of popular culture, games, and terrible puns. Imagine our glee when the following story emerged. Justin Bieber’s legal team is embroiled in a lawsuit with app developer RC3 over … Continue reading
I was interviewed for a piece on Ars Technica, which went up this afternoon. It’s another good read. Check it out! Disclaimer The content of this blog is not legal advice. It only constitutes commentary on legal issues, and is … Continue reading
I was recently featured in an interview on IndustryGamers regarding the recent social games “infringement” issues (Zynga/Nimblebit, SpryFox/LOLApps, etc.). Check it out! Disclaimer The content of this blog is not legal advice. It only constitutes commentary on legal issues, and … Continue reading
