Common video game monetization models, like loot boxes and engagement-driven design patterns, face rising legal risk and are being reexamined under gambling, consumer protection, and children’s privacy laws....more
3/9/2026
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Consumer Protection Laws ,
COPPA ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Gambling ,
In-Game Purchases ,
Monetization ,
Online Safety for Children ,
State Attorneys General ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices ,
Video Games ,
Website Design
Generative AI is revolutionizing narrative design in games, turning every player into a co-author. But the same improvisation that makes AI NPCs so engaging also opens up new legal and platform risks. ...more
3/5/2026
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Digital Platform Liability ,
Emerging Technologies ,
Innovation ,
Machine Learning ,
Online Gaming ,
Online Platforms ,
Risk Assessment ,
Risk Management ,
Software ,
Software Developers ,
Technology Sector ,
User-Generated Content
In the precedential case Athos Overseas Ltd. Corp. v. YouTube Inc. et al., the Eleventh Circuit affirmed summary judgment in favor of YouTube, holding that notice and takedown requests, even in high numbers, do not give a...more
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed the jury’s verdict in Sedlik v. Von Drachenberg, et al. in a January 2, 2026, precedential opinion, finding that the allegedly infringing works were fair use. ...more
A Ninth Circuit panel largely upheld a lower court’s decision in Epic v. Apple, while also holding that the lower court’s total bans on commissions for linked-out purchases and restrictions on the appearance of purchase links...more
12/23/2025
/ Anticompetitive Behavior ,
Antitrust Litigation ,
App Store ,
Appellate Courts ,
Apple ,
Digital Platforms ,
Hyperlink ,
Injunctions ,
Mobile Apps ,
Monopolization ,
Sales Commissions ,
Software Developers ,
Technology Sector
The FTC recently escalated its focus on pricing transparency in the residential rental market, signaling broader regulatory risk for technology platforms that influence how rental pricing is presented to consumers. ...more
12/19/2025
/ Consumer Protection Laws ,
Digital Platforms ,
Enforcement Priorities ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FTC Act ,
Hidden Fees ,
Landlords ,
Online Platforms ,
Price Transparency ,
Property Management Companies ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Residential Leases ,
Residential Property Owners ,
Software ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices
When evaluating if two trademarks are confusingly similar, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office will consider any similarities in the marks’ appearance, sound, connotation, and commercial impression. ...more
The battle between Google and “Fortnite” developer Epic Games is set to reshape how developers, publishers, and their financial backers approach Android as a commercial platform....more
11/13/2025
/ Android ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Competition ,
Digital Marketplace ,
Google ,
Investment ,
Mobile Apps ,
Payment Systems ,
Publishers ,
Settlement Proposals ,
Software ,
Software Developers ,
Technology Sector ,
Video Games
District court orders denying motions to strike under California’s anti-SLAPP statute are not immediately appealable under the collateral order doctrine, according to a significant Ninth Circuit ruling that overturned its...more
Game developers often borrow from the real world to build more lifelike, compelling characters: a tattoo copied faithfully onto a digital athlete, a famous photograph reinterpreted as body art, a recognizable design rendered...more
In a new precedential decision, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals held in Carroll Shelby Licensing, Inc. v. Halicki that “Eleanor,” a stable of Ford Mustangs that appears across four action films, is not a copyrightable...more
The plaintiff AirDoctor sued the defendant under the Lanham Act for advertising and selling filters for use in AirDoctor purifiers. While the defendant advertised its filters as “compatible” and “replacements” for the...more
The house doesn’t always win—a federal jury awarded nearly $25 million in damages to a class of consumers in Washington State after a district court in Larsen v. PTT, LLC determined that certain “social casino” games operated...more
The Supreme Court on February 26, 2025, overturned a nearly $43 million award granted in a decades long trademark dispute between two real estate companies. The unanimous ruling emphasized that under the Lanham Act section...more
3/4/2025
/ Affiliates ,
Appeals ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Dewberry Group Inc v Dewberry Engineers Inc ,
Disgorgement ,
Intellectual Property Litigation ,
Lanham Act ,
SCOTUS ,
Trademark Infringement ,
Trademark Litigation ,
Trademarks
In a closely monitored appeal, a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit unanimously upheld a $56 million damages award against beverage company Molson Coors in Stone Brewing Co., LLC v. Molson Coors Beverage...more
1/16/2025
/ Advertising ,
Appeals ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Damages ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Intellectual Property Litigation ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Popular ,
Trademark Infringement ,
Trademark Litigation ,
Trademarks ,
Unfair Competition
In a closely watched appeal, a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit recently vacated a permanent injunction from the District of Nevada against software provider Rimini. Oracle Int’l Corp. v. Rimini St.,...more
12/23/2024
/ Competition ,
Copyright ,
Copyright Infringement ,
Copyright Litigation ,
Defense Strategies ,
Derivative Works ,
False Advertising ,
Lanham Act ,
Oracle ,
Puffery ,
Software ,
Software Developers
Effective January 1, 2025, a new California consumer protection law will require sellers of digital goods to more clearly communicate whether consumers are purchasing unrestricted ownership to that digital good or merely...more
In a closely watched case about damages and the statute of limitations under the Copyright Act, the U.S. Supreme Court held yesterday in a 6-3 decision that, so long as claims are timely, the “Copyright Act contains no...more
5/13/2024
/ Copyright ,
Copyright Infringement ,
Copyright Litigation ,
Damages ,
Discovery Rule ,
Intellectual Property Litigation ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Music Industry ,
SCOTUS ,
Statute of Limitations ,
The Copyright Act ,
Warner Chappell Music v Nealy
The Ninth Circuit has granted a rehearing en banc in Martinez v. ZoomInfo Tech., Inc. concerning the appealability of denial of anti-SLAPP motions under the collateral order doctrine.
Historically, the Ninth Circuit has...more
On November 29, 2023, a Ninth Circuit panel affirmed the lower court’s decision in Briskin v. Shopify, limiting the court’s jurisdictional reach against e-commerce platforms alleged to have violated privacy and unfair...more
The United States Supreme Court recently granted a petition for certiorari to review a Ninth Circuit decision and resolve the issue of whether, when parties enter into an arbitration agreement with a delegation clause, the...more
11/14/2023
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Arbitrators ,
Blockchain ,
Certiorari ,
Class Action ,
Coinbase ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Delegation Clauses ,
Petition for Writ of Certiorari ,
SCOTUS
Over the past year, groups of plaintiffs filed multiple copyright infringement claims against companies behind generative artificial intelligence software. These lawsuits allege that training AI models involves mass-scale...more
On October 10, 2023, California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed CA Senate Bill 365 (SB 365), set to go into effect in 2024. This bill gives state court judges the discretion to move forward with litigation in trial court while an...more
10/18/2023
/ Appeals ,
Arbitration ,
California ,
Coinbase Inc v Bielski ,
Governor Newsom ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Motion to Compel ,
New Legislation ,
SCOTUS ,
State and Local Government ,
Stays
In Spireon, Inc. v. Flex Ltd., No. 2022-1578 (Fed. Cir. June 26, 2023), the Federal Circuit took a surprising turn in which it held that it is the trademark owner’s burden to prove that identical third-party marks put forth...more
The Supreme Court’s June 29, 2023, decision in Abitron Austria GMBH v. Hetronic Int’l, Inc., No. 21-1043, ended decades of circuit splits on the standard for determining the extraterritorial reach of the Lanham Act (see our...more
7/14/2023
/ Abitron Austria GmbH v Hetronic International Inc ,
Extraterritoriality Rules ,
Foreign Jurisdictions ,
Foreign Sales ,
Intellectual Property Litigation ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
International Trademark Protection ,
Lanham Act ,
SCOTUS ,
Trademark Infringement ,
Trademark Litigation ,
Trademarks ,
Use in Commerce