News
News: Microsoft considers licensing Xbox software IP
Microsoft chairman Bill Gates has hinted that the company is considering licensing the software underlying the Xbox games console to outside companies, in a bid to expand its market share. Read the…
News: Grokster loses at Supreme Court
I would be remiss for not mentioning it. Read the opinion here.
News: In-game property for RENT
Want to play massively multiplayer online games, but don’t want to spend time building up your character’s stats? A new service, GamePal.com, gives anyone the ability to bypass the countless hours it…
News: Xbox game counts in real life
From today’s Washington Post Express: “GAMERS: In an apparent first, the Kansas City T-Bones and Schaumburg Flyers will let the results of two people’s X-Box [sic] baseball game count for the first…
News: Gamer’s Manifesto
A friend of ours forwarded us this link to “A Gamer’s Manifesto.” It’s an interesting read, and I agree with some of it’s “20 things gamers want from the seventh generation of…
News: Speculation regarding Atari’s future
CNN is running a story with some interesting speculation regarding the future of gamemaker Atari.
Ponderous: In-game virtual property
Ok, so I’ve started a new category, dubbed “Ponderous,” to indicate posts that are neither a Case summary, case Update, or News. Ponderous posts represent interesting legal topics of discussion that we…
News: Death over MMO In-game property – Gamer gets life sentence
A chinese gamer who killed a fellow gamer, in real life, over a virtual item from the game has been sentenced to life in prison, with the possibilty of parole in 15…
News: Pandora’s Cube employees plead guilty in Xbod mod case
As you may recall, the Department of Justice coordinated a raid in early December, 2004, on three Pandora’s Cube stores in the Washington, DC, suburbs where the stores were selling — in…
News: Tecmo Settles Nude Patch Lawsuit
Japanese publisher and developer Tecmo has settled its lawsuit against fan website Ninjahacker.net, after more than four months of legal action. The lawsuit began after Tecmo accused the site’s operators of creating…
News: Video game developers and actors want more money
A couple posts on the Workplace Blog highlight the allegation that video game programmers often work insane hours without getting properly paid for them, and union actors want a piece of the…
News: B.A. in Mortal Combat? It’s about time!
In what is being compared to the first filmmaking schools of the ’30s and ’40s, the University of Denver Department of Computer Science is offering four new degree programs: Bachelor of Arts…
News: Game Institute launched; IP more important than ever
The below press release was released yesterday by Gatlin Education Services, which is now offering classes to teach individuals how to hone their skills for use in the video game industry. Citing…
News: Video Game Industry Continues Strong Growth
The following Reuters release provides more evidence that the video game industry continues to increase its market share. A company’s intellectual property in its video games can provide critical legal protection to…
TechBit: MTV debuts next Xbox!
Not exactly of a legal nature, but certainly of interest to our audience: There will be a half-hour global premiere, with a performance from The Killers, airing exclusively on MTV channels around…