News
Mass DMCA Takedown Requests Issued on Twitch
Mass DMCA Takedown Requests Issued on Twitch 📢 This week, we've had a sudden influx of DMCA takedown requests for clips with background music from 2017-19. If you’re unsure about rights to…
Determining the Article of Manufacture in Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality Design Patents
There’s a super interesting article just published in the AIPLA quarterly journal by one our (Banner Witcoff’s) law clerks, Sonia Okolie, on design patents within augmented and virtual reality. She does a…
Nintendo Escapes Digital Pre-Order Dispute in EU
Nintendo Escapes Digital Pre-Order Dispute in EU Nintendo’s digital pre-order policy has been found to not violate EU consumer rights laws. Following hearings in December 2019, the EU court dismissed the lawsuit…
Blizzard Takes New Stance on Custom Game IP
Blizzard Takes New Stance on Custom Game IP Following the release of the remastered edition of Blizzard Entertainment’s classic real-time strategy game “Warcraft 3” as “Warcraft 3: Reforged,” Blizzard also updated its…
Crytek Delays Launch of Lawsuit Against Star Citizen Devs Before Suddenly Settling
Crytek Delays Launch of Lawsuit Against Star Citizen Devs Before Suddenly Settling Crytek GMBH v. Cloud Imperium Games Corp. and Roberts Space Industries Corp., United States District Court for the Central District…
Video Game Chic
Video Game Chic In a totally unexpected twist, luxury fashion brand Louis Vuitton has announced a partnership with video game developer Riot Games to design in-game champion skins for the game League…
Hot Sauce Dismissed in New York Court
Hot Sauce Dismissed in New York Court Champion v. Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc., Supreme Court of New York, New York County Decided May 10, 2019 Case No. 158429/2018 Celebrity entertainer Phillip “Hot…
Duke Nukem Goes Retro in Music Copyright Suit
Duke Nukem Goes Retro in Music Copyright Suit Robert C. Prince v. Gearbox Software LLC et. al. United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee, Northern Division Case No.: 3:19-cv-00380…
Summer Job with the Patent Arcade
Summer Intern – Patent Arcade Washington, DC Banner Witcoff, a recognized leader in the practice of intellectual property law, is seeking a summer intern to work in its Washington, DC office for the summer…
False Start for Paparazzi in Copyright Suit
False Start for Paparazzi in Copyright Suit Xclusive-Lee Inc. v. Hadid, Case Number 1:19-cv-00520, United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York A copyright infringement lawsuit against supermodel Gigi…
Angry Birds Sues Chicken Restaurant Over Trademark Dispute
Angry Birds Sues Chicken Restaurant Over Trademark Dispute Rovio Entertainment Ltd. v. Mary Mkhitaryan d/b/a Angry Birdz Chicken United States District Court for the Central District of California Case Number 2:13-cv-05401 Filed…
Capcom Wins Long-Running Patent Suit Against Koei Tecmo
Capcom Wins Long-Running Patent Suit Against Koei Tecmo On September 11, 2019, Japanese game developer Capcom announced that Japan’s Intellectual Property High Court ruled in favor of the developer in their patent…
Nintendo Escapes Vice Grip in ITC Challenge
Nintendo Escapes Vice Grip in ITC Challenge Certain Portable Gaming Console Systems with Attachable Handheld Controllers and Components Thereof United States International Trade Commission Inv. No. 337-TA-1111 This ITC Investigation involved allegations…
Case Update: Iron Maiden Holdings Ltd. v. 3D Realms Entertainment ApS
Iron Maiden Holdings Ltd. v. 3D Realms Entertainment ApS Complaint Filed May 28, 2019 United States District Court Central District of California 3D Realms has now responded to the suit, filed by…
Running Man Stars Suing Epic Games for Fortnite Dance
Running Man Stars Suing Epic Games for Fortnite Dance Brantley et al. v. Epic Games, Inc. et al., Civil Action No. 8:19-cv-00594-PWG United States District Court for the District of Maryland Filed…
University Attempts to Trademark THE Most Common Word
University Attempts to Trademark THE Most Common Word In other news, The Ohio State University has recently filed a trademark application, No. 88571984, with the United States Patent and Trademark Office on…
Super Mario Mischief
Super Mario Mischief A new web-based game recently popped up and gained fame fairly quickly on the Internet. The game features the familiar red plumber in a familiar atmosphere as he jumps…
Iron Man’s Iron Defense
Iron Man’s Iron Defense Horizon Comics Products Inc. v. Marvel Entertainment LLC et. al., Case Number 1:16-cv-02499 United States District Court for the Southern District of New York Filed April 4, 2016…
Indie Developers Change Game Name Over Bethesda Trademark Dispute
Indie Developers Change Game Name Over Bethesda Trademark Dispute On May 1st, 2017, No Matter Studios announced that they changed the name of their game “Prey for the Gods” to “Praey…
Federal Circuit Affirms PTAB Obviousness Ruling
Federal Circuit Affirms PTAB Obviousness Ruling Game and Technology Co. Ltd. v. Activision Blizzard Inc. et al. Case Number 18-1981 U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, June 21, 2019 To…