Did Nintendo finally release a Pokémon videogame with guns? Oh, wait, it’s not Pokémon at all – it’s Palworld, a game released by Pocket Pair, a different Japanese videogame company. If you missed it, Palworld was released...more
Gaming publishers wield the authority to establish competition and tournament guidelines for their games, shaping the landscape of esports events. This influence is particularly evident in Nintendo’s approach to Super Smash...more
Who owns the family video game console? The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California recently held that the parents do, even if they don’t play it....more
When a patent owner loses at the International Trade Commission (“ITC”), can it hire new counsel and try again in district court? That question will be answered in Gamevice, Inc. v. Nintendo Co., Ltd. et al, No. 3-18-cv-01942...more
GENUINE ENABLING TECHNOLOGY LLC V. NINTENDO CO., LTD - Before Newman, Reyna, and Stoll. Appeal from the Western District of Washington. Summary: A finding of prosecution disclaimer must be supported by an unambiguous...more
Like a lot of kids growing up in the 1980s, Nintendo was a big part of my childhood. A game that stands out for a lot of us is the original Legend of Zelda. That game put you in a very large, 8-bit world where you roamed...more
Main Quest - ‘Mint’ Conditions: NFTs and Video Games - Over the course of the past year, nonfungible tokens (NFTs) have transformed from a relatively niche product for those in the cryptocurrency sector to an increasingly...more
Any fan of Nintendo games and consoles can tell you that the company’s most iconic virtual villain is King Bowser Koopa, generally referred to as simply “Bowser.” In a strange instance of life imitating art, Nintendo filed a...more
While most patent disputes involving gaming companies are located in district courts, the ITC remains a viable option for at least some gaming disputes, where a patent owner can have the U.S. government bar importation of...more
On Tuesday I wrote about how Epic Games’ CEO Tim Sweeney was engaging Apple on at least three battlefronts. I missed a battlefront and I’m here today to rectify that mistake. I mentioned Epic’s groundbreaking and lucrative...more
Dramatically escalating the growing tension with China (despite considerable ambiguity in its language), the White House issued executive orders that would “ban all ‘transactions’” with ByteDance, the Chinese owner of TikTok,...more
ExecuPharm Data Stolen in Ransomware Attack Published on Internet - In a growing trend, pharmaceutical company ExecuPharm became the victim of a ransomware attack on March 13, 2020, by the CLOP ransomware group, which...more
Nintendo has shut down some NNID logins and has told Switch owners to lock down their accounts following a series of fraudulent attacks. Nintendo has confirmed that it suffered an attack by hackers who accessed some accounts...more
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
In the inaugural issue of Video Gaming / E-Gaming Law Update, we explore the legal risks and consumer protection issues surrounding "loot boxes" and summarize recent judicial decisions and new litigation filings that may...more
2017 was a year of significant developments to Canadian IP law and practice, with important court decisions and numerous legislative amendments. We have taken the opportunity to review the top 10 highlights from the past...more
Judgments and Awards - On August 31, 2017, a jury in the Northern District of Texas returned a verdict of patent infringement in favor iLife and against Nintendo. The case went to trial after the Federal Circuit on July...more
The software engineer who first coded the popular “John Madden Football” (now Madden NFL) computer video game has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to allow expert witness testimony to support his software copyright claim, over 25...more
In 2015, the U.S. Tax Court issued its ruling in the case of David W. Laudon v. Commissioner, TC Summary Option 2015-54 (2015). The case may not raise or even resolve any novel tax issues, but it reminds us of what is...more
The Supreme Court’s recent holding in TC Heartland settled several points of law: first, 28 U.S.C. § 1400(b) is the “sole and exclusive provision controlling venue in patent infringement actions; second, the broader venue...more
Proceedings for infringement of U.S. Patent No. 8,005,303 (Recognicorp, assigned from IQ Biometrix) resulted in an appeal decided on 28 April 2017, which decision was reviewed in this space by Michael Borella, and also...more
Addressing patent eligibility of software patent claims, the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit found that a patent directed to abstract subject matter, even with a mathematical formula in the patent claims, did not...more
Study of the background to Recognicorp, LLC v. Nintendo Co. (Fed. Cir. 2017), the subject of Michael Borella's earlier posting, reveals basis for his concerns about lack of analysis of the detailed disclosure of the...more
Recognicorp, owner of U.S. Patent No. 8,005,303, sued Nintendo for infringement in the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon. After a transfer to the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington and...more
It's been a costly week for intentional infringers of intellectual property (IP) rights. In two separate decisions, the Federal Court of Canada has awarded $1 million in punitive damages. These are among the highest punitive...more