The Game Developers Conference (GDC) 2024 held in San Francisco from March 18-22 brought together industry giants, tech companies, and emerging developers to discuss the latest trends and challenges in the gaming industry....more
The Games Developer Conference (GDC) 2024 is upon us; here are four key legal and commercial trends we think will be especially salient this year.
- Keeping AI in Check. Like so many other sectors, AI is quickly reshaping...more
According to recent data, nearly 60% of employees are either using or about to use AI in the workplace. However, just over 20% of employers actually have policies around its use.
Company leaders and boards are asking the...more
In an effort to “combat the online sale of stolen, counterfeit, and dangerous consumer products,” Congress passed the Integrity, Notification, and Fairness in Online Retail Marketplaces for Consumers Act (the “INFORM...more
Background on Kashtanova’s Comic Book -
Digital artist Kris Kashtanova registered Zarya of the Dawn, a comic book with dazzling and dystopian imagery generated via Midjourney’s text-to-image AI model, with the U.S....more
3/23/2023
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Authorship ,
Copyright ,
Copyright Applications ,
Copyright Office ,
Copyright Registration ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Machine Learning ,
New Guidance ,
Patent Applicants ,
Photographs ,
Policy Statement
How virtual engagement is reimagining the entertainment and live event experience.
Social distancing and staying at home, the cornerstones of the effort to slow the spread of COVID-19, will continue to have a profound impact...more
One year ago, the U.S. Supreme Court held in Fourth Estate Public Benefit Corp. v. Wall-Street.com that an approved or rejected application for registration is a nationwide prerequisite for initiating a copyright infringement...more
In This Issue -
How COVID-19 is Changing IP Law – What You Need to Know
The rapid spread of COVID-19 brought about massive global events that led to a dizzying array of changes—including in intellectual property law,...more
In 2019, the Council of the European Union’s Committee of Permanent Representatives approved a Directive on Copyright in the Digital Single Market to respond to developments in the modes and markets for creation, production...more
1/27/2020
/ Best Efforts Clauses ,
Copyright ,
Copyright Infringement ,
Data Collection ,
Data Privacy ,
Digital Single Market ,
DMCA ,
E-Commerce ,
EU ,
EU Directive ,
European Commission ,
Exemptions ,
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
IP License ,
Licensing Rules ,
Media ,
Member State ,
Online Platforms ,
Publishers ,
User-Generated Content
With consumers, gamers and lawmakers expressing concerns about whether loot boxes are predatory or contribute to gambling-like behavior, game developers can take steps to minimize the possibility of their games inviting...more
1/24/2020
/ App Developers ,
Apple ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Gambling ,
Gaming ,
Google ,
Loot Boxes ,
Microsoft ,
Nintendo ,
Online Gaming ,
Online Platforms ,
Parental Consent ,
Public Meetings ,
Sony ,
Web Developers
In This Issue -
Influencer Marketing: Top Business and Legal Considerations for 2020 -
Although influencer marketing is an ever-larger part of marketing budgets, questions have arisen about the longevity of influencers as a...more
1/23/2020
/ Booking.com ,
Congressional Investigations & Hearings ,
Copyright ,
Copyright Infringement ,
Domain Names ,
EU ,
EU Directive ,
FOIA ,
Generic Marks ,
gTLD ,
Influencers ,
Marketing ,
Online Endorsements ,
Online Platforms ,
Online Reviews ,
Patents ,
Popular ,
Privacy Laws ,
Small Claims Court ,
Social Networks ,
Trade Secrets ,
United States Patent and Trademark Office v Booking.com BV ,
USPTO ,
Websites
In a unanimous decision this month, the U.S. Supreme Court held that a copyright claimant cannot sue for infringement until the U.S. Copyright Office has granted or rejected the application to register the copyright. In...more
3/22/2019
/ Appeals ,
Copyright ,
Copyright Exhaustion ,
Copyright Infringement ,
Copyright Registration ,
Damages ,
Fourth Estate Public Benefit Corp v Wall-Street.com LLC ,
SCOTUS ,
Solicitor General ,
Split of Authority ,
The Copyright Act ,
Uniformity
On February 27, 2019, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission announced a record-setting $5.7 million fine to popular short-form video sharing platform TikTok, formerly known as Musical.ly, as part of a consent order over...more
3/12/2019
/ COPPA ,
Data Collection ,
Due Diligence ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Extraterritoriality Rules ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) ,
Mergers ,
Online Safety for Children ,
Parental Consent ,
Privacy Policy ,
Website Owner Liability
Bitcoin is often portrayed as an untraceable method of payment that facilitates illicit activities by enabling criminals to make and receive payments without being tracked. This depiction implies that users transacting in...more
4/6/2018
/ Bitcoin ,
Blockchain ,
Copyright ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Currency ,
Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) ,
Intellectual Property Litigation ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
International Trade Commission (ITC) ,
IP License ,
Misappropriation ,
MPEP ,
Music Industry ,
On-Sale Bar ,
Patent Applications ,
Patent-Eligible Subject Matter ,
Patents ,
Popular ,
Privacy Concerns ,
Right of Publicity ,
Trade Names ,
Trade Secrets ,
Trademark Infringement ,
Trademarks ,
Virtual Currency
A Smooth Patch in a Rough Road? Governmental Transition and Intellectual Property -
Whenever a new Congress convenes, some IP issues come to the fore while others take a back seat. Transition to a new administration in the...more
2/10/2017
/ Administrative Appointments ,
America Invents Act ,
Appeals ,
Article III ,
Barack Obama ,
Cheerleaders ,
Copyright ,
Copyright Infringement ,
Copyright Office ,
Data Breach ,
Denial of Certiorari ,
Disparagement ,
DMCA ,
Exclusive Licenses ,
Fashion Design ,
FDCPA ,
File Sharing ,
First Amendment ,
Free Speech ,
Google ,
Injury-in-Fact ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Inter Partes Review (IPR) Proceeding ,
International Trade Commission (ITC) ,
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) ,
IP License ,
Lanham Act ,
Lee v Tam ,
Lenz v Universal Music Corp. ,
Misappropriation ,
Non-Appealable Decisions ,
Non-Practicing Entities ,
Online Videos ,
Oracle ,
Patent Trial and Appeal Board ,
Patents ,
Petition for Writ of Certiorari ,
Popular ,
Privacy Laws ,
SCOTUS ,
Section 337 ,
Software Developers ,
Spokeo v Robins ,
Standing ,
Star Athletica v Varsity Brands ,
Takedown Notices ,
Tariff Act of 1930 ,
Trade Secrets ,
Trademark Registration ,
Trademarks ,
Trans-Pacific Partnership ,
Trump Administration ,
Uniforms ,
USPTO ,
YouTube
Mean Girls v. The Right of Publicity: Lessons Learned From the Lohan and Gravano Lawsuits -
On September 1, 2016, a New York appellate court ended two closely watched right of publicity lawsuits brought by Lindsay...more
11/17/2016
/ Abstract Ideas ,
Biotechnology ,
CLS Bank v Alice Corp ,
Confidential Information ,
Copyright ,
Copyright Infringement ,
Damages ,
Dismissals ,
Exclusive Licenses ,
Fantasy Sports ,
Free Speech ,
Getty Images ,
Inversion ,
IRS ,
License Fees ,
Lost Profits ,
Mergers ,
Misappropriation ,
Name and Likeness ,
NCAA ,
Offshore Companies ,
Patent Infringement ,
Patent-Eligible Subject Matter ,
Patents ,
Popular ,
Preemption ,
Public Domain ,
Right of Publicity ,
Royalties ,
Satire ,
Section 101 ,
Software Patents ,
Student Athletes ,
Subsidiaries ,
Tax Rates ,
Trade Secrets ,
Trademark Infringement ,
Trademark Registration ,
Trademark Trial and Appeal Board ,
Transfer Pricing ,
Transfer Taxes ,
Transformative Use ,
USPTO ,
Video Games
The Court of Justice of the European Union ruled on September 8, 2016 that websites that merely link to infringing material (instead of copying it) can be liable for copyright infringement. If this decision, GS Media BV v....more
Supreme Court Expands Discretion to Award Enhanced Damages for Patent Infringement and Eliminates the Federal Circuit’s ‘Seagate Test’ -
In Halo Electronics, Inc. v. Pulse Electronics, Inc., the U.S. Supreme Court...more
8/19/2016
/ 35 U.S.C. § 284 ,
Common Law Claims ,
Copyright ,
Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA) ,
Dilution ,
DMCA ,
Domain Names ,
Enhanced Damages ,
Halo v Pulse ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Judicial Discretion ,
Lanham Act ,
Likelihood of Confusion ,
Marijuana Related Businesses ,
Misappropriation ,
Musical Sound Recordings ,
Paris Convention ,
Patent Infringement ,
Patent Trial and Appeal Board ,
Patents ,
Preponderance of the Evidence ,
Safe Harbors ,
SCOTUS ,
Seagate ,
Standard of Proof ,
Standard of Review ,
The Copyright Act ,
Trade Secrets ,
Trademark Registration ,
Trademarks ,
Trans-Pacific Partnership ,
TRIPS Agreement ,
USPTO ,
UTSA ,
Video Recordings ,
Willful Infringement
Supreme Court to Weigh In on Damages for Design Patent Infringement -
Recent decisions from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit regarding damages available in design patent cases highlight the court’s...more
5/19/2016
/ Administrative Proceedings ,
America Invents Act ,
Copyright ,
Criminal Liability ,
Damages ,
Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA) ,
Design Patent ,
EU ,
European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) ,
Fair Use ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Patent Infringement ,
Patent Litigation ,
Patent Trial and Appeal Board ,
Patents ,
Popular ,
Takedown Notices ,
Trademarks ,
Trans-Pacific Partnership ,
USPTO ,
Utility Patents
Following the invalidation of the US-EU Safe Harbor by the Court of Justice of the European Union in October last year (see From a Safe Harbor to a Privacy Shield), the U.S. Department of Commerce and the EU Commission have...more
European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation to Usher in Sweeping Changes Affecting Data Protection and Privacy Practices of European and U.S. Companies -
In December 2015 the European Commission published a...more
3/16/2016
/ Attorney's Fees ,
Dismissals ,
Disparagement ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
First Amendment ,
First Sale Doctrine ,
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) ,
Inter Partes Review (IPR) Proceeding ,
International Data Transfers ,
Kirtsaeng v. John Wiley & Sons ,
SCOTUS ,
The Copyright Act ,
USPTO
Judge Leval Illuminates Google Books Fair Use Issues -
Second Circuit Affirms Summary Judgment for Defendant in Massive Copying Case -
Based on the defense of fair use, the Second Circuit affirmed summary judgment...more
The CJEU’s Decision on Safe Harbor and its Effects on US Technology Companies -
On October 6, 2015, the Court of Justice of the European Union (“CJEU”), the European Union’s highest court, issued a groundbreaking...more
10/9/2015
/ Data Protection ,
Data Protection Authority ,
EU ,
EU Data Protection Laws ,
Facebook ,
International Data Transfers ,
National Security Agency (NSA) ,
Personal Data ,
Popular ,
Privacy Policy ,
Safe Harbors ,
Schrems I & Schrems II ,
Surveillance ,
Technology ,
Technology Sector ,
US-EU Safe Harbor Framework
28 U.S.C. § 1782: A Powerful Tool in Global Disputes -
As the number and complexity of cross-border and multi-jurisdictional disputes increase, companies can use 28 U.S.C. § 1782 to obtain evidence from U.S.-based...more
10/1/2015
/ 28 U.S.C. § 1782 ,
America Invents Act ,
Claim Construction ,
Copyright ,
Cross-Border ,
Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA) ,
Discovery ,
Evidence ,
Foreign Jurisdictions ,
Global Disputes ,
Google ,
Intellectual Property Litigation ,
Kimble v Marvel Enterprises ,
Likelihood of Confusion ,
Multi-Jurisdictional Litigation ,
Patent Royalties ,
Patents ,
POM Wonderful ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Rule 11 ,
Testimony ,
Trade Secrets ,
USPTO
The Ninth Circuit has finally weighed in on the long-running saga of the “dancing baby” video case (the “baby” in the video is now a 9-year old), and its opinion could have long-lasting effects on fair use and how copyright...more