Thanks to Daniel Takash of Captured Economy for this one: “Some good news emerging from silly litigation: Solid Oak Sketches, which holds the rights to several tattoos featured on NBA players (yes, you can copyright a tattoo) failed in its suit against 2K games for the depictions of the tattoos in the NBA 2K games. The court found that the use of the designs was not infringing because the use of the work in the video game was transformative, the degree of copying was not substantial, and that the game makers had a non-exclusive (albeit non-implied) license to the use of the tattoos when they were using the likeness of the NBA players depicted.”
Posts Tagged ‘videogames’
Employers may need to accommodate claims of “digital addiction”
“If forms of ‘digital addiction’ qualify as a diagnosed psychiatric disorder, then employees who suffer from it may be protected by the ADA.” Employers might then be obliged under federal law to enter the so-called interactive process to negotiate possible courses of action and accommodations with the affected employee, rather than lay down hard-and-fast rules for what sorts of conduct will result in termination. [Jon Hyman, Ohio Employer Law Blog]
Penny dreadfuls, Fifties comic books, Grimm’s Household Tales…
From folktale collections to videogames and beyond, the notion that violent entertainment will turn kids violent seems to live on forever no matter how skimpy the evidence [Trevor Burrus, Cato]
Sorry, your cellphone game violates Dodd-Frank
The Securities and Exchange Commission has settled an enforcement action against Forcerank, LLC, a provider of a mobile phone game that enables players to engage in fantasy stock trading for a small charge, much of which was refunded to players in the form of prizes for successful predictions. The SEC takes the position that the transactions involved, however small, fall into the class of swaps and derivatives that, under Dodd-Frank, cannot be offered to the public except under intensively regulated conditions. [Stephen Quinlivan]
Teens develop videogames, receive nastygram over their name
A game named after the Irish prehistoric site Newgrange drew a letter from a lawyer representing a rights owner to the mark “Grange.” [Seth Barrett Tillman, New Reform Club]
Class action: Pokémon Go encourages trespassing
“Attorneys representing a New Jersey personal injury lawyer have brought a class-action suit against the company they say is responsible for an ‘unlawful and wrongful’ invasion of the man’s property.” To quote from the complaint “filed against the game’s developer, San Francisco-based Niantic Inc.:”
In the days following the U.S. release of Pokémon Go, Plaintiff became aware that strangers were gathering outside of his home, holding up their mobile phones as if they were taking pictures. At least five individuals knocked on Plaintiff’s door, informed Plaintiff that there was a Pokémon in his backyard, and asked for access to Plaintiff’s backyard in order to “catch” the Pokémon.
[Jacob Gershman/WSJ Law Blog, Variety; earlier on Pokémon Go here, here]
Gotta regulate ’em all, cont’d: more on the law of Pokémon Go
Rep. Frank Pallone (D-N.J.), ranking member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, has “fired off a letter along with two Democratic colleagues demanding Pokémon Go explain what it does about how much data its users use playing the game.” [Ed Krayewski, Reason] “The Tax Aspects Of Pokémon Go” [Adam Thimmesch via Caron/TaxProf]. “How Pokémon GO Players Could Run Into Real-Life Legal Problems” [Brian Wassom, Hollywood Reporter] The U.S. Border Patrol briefly detained two teenagers from Alberta, Canada, who inadvertently crossed over into Montana in search of the imaginary creatures [AP/CTV]. Earlier on the Pokémon Go craze here; way back when we covered controversies involving Pokemon trading cards (class action lawyers sue claiming the cards constitute “gambling”; language minister of Quebec threatens maker for allowing cards to be sold in the province without French-language packaging and instructions).
Lawyers get interested in Pokemon Go
While others chase fictional creatures, some J.D.s chase questions with more tangible implications: does placing an augmented reality object on someone’s land or right of way interfere with their property rights? And if someone gets injured wandering around, is Nintendo/Niantic’s Pokemon Go to blame for creating an attractive nuisance? [Keith Lee, Associates Mind]
Free speech roundup
- Why Josh Blackman signed Wednesday’s New York Times ad protesting the AGs’ investigation and subpoenas on climate advocacy;
- Proposed revision of ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct barring discrimination by lawyers could have major anti-speech implications [Eugene Volokh]
- “Game Studio’s Plan To Deal With Critic Of Games: Sue Him To Hell” [Timothy Geigner, TechDirt]
- The Citizens United case was correctly decided, says Michael Kinsley. And he’s right. [Vanity Fair]
- Fifth Circuit ruling prescribes attorney fee award after defeat of frivolous trademark litigation under Lanham Act [Popehat]
- So what’s a good way to support teaching evolution without climbing in bed with folks who put free speech in scare quotes? [National Center for Science Education on Twitter: “Tobacco Science, Climate Denial, and ‘Free Speech'”]
Campus climate roundup
- Department of Justice: we’re going to use that Dear Colleague Title IX letter as a basis for prosecution, and colleges are going to need to crack down on speech if they want to stay in compliance [Eugene Volokh, Scott Greenfield, and FIRE, on University of New Mexico case] A brief history of how we got here from the Dear Colleague letter [Justin Dillon and Matt Kaiser, L.A. Times; my Commentary piece three years ago anticipating the basics] Why won’t even a single university challenge this stuff in court? [Coyote, earlier]
- Dangers of “safe spaces”: Mike Bloomberg’s Michigan commencement address is getting noticed [Bloomberg View, Deadline Detroit, Soave] “Slogans Have Replaced Arguments” [John McWhorter]
- Compulsory chapel will make no provision for adherents of dissenting sects: Oregon State plans training incoming freshmen in “social justice learning,” “diversity,” and “inclusivity.” [Robby Soave]
- Running various departments at George Mason U. along lines recommended by Freire’s “Pedagogy of the Oppressed”: no problem. Naming law school after Antonin Scalia: that might politicize things [Michael Greve via Bainbridge]
- USC cancels visiting panel of gaming industry stars because it’s all-male [Heat Street]
- Harvard aims sanctions at students who join off-campus, unofficial single-sex clubs [The Crimson, FIRE, background Althouse, Greenfield]
- Margot Honecker, hated DDR education minister, filled schools with indoctrination, informants. Glad that era’s over [Washington Post, Telegraph, SkyNews obituaries]