Square Enix, as part of its anti-piracy initiatives, has filed suit in California against several defendants claiming that they are infringing on Square's IP rights by selling replica swords modeled after swords from SE's popular Final Fantasy series. With cooperation from Homeland Security, Agents seized a crate of unlicensed swords. After the retailers refused to tell SE where they got the swords from, SE initiated this action.
Nice Try Buster!
Square claims that it must enforce their IP rights or risk losing them. They are correcto!
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Monday, February 11, 2008
Trademark Application Hints at Apple Gaming
Apple, provider of most things cool, has filed a trademark application to secure the Apple brand for "Toys, games and playthings, namely, hand-held units for playing electronic games; hand-held units for playing video games; stand alone video game machines; electronic games other than those adapted for use with television receivers only; LCD game machines; electronic educational game machines; toys, namely battery-powered computer games." While filing a trademark application sets nothing in stone, it does show that Apple is thinking in the gaming direction.
iGame...I already want it!
As Apple pushes further into the media distribution business, it makes sense for them to be brainstorming like this --> Ars Technica makes some good points about the potential uses with the Apple TV. I am excited to see just what Apple has in store.
iGame...I already want it!
As Apple pushes further into the media distribution business, it makes sense for them to be brainstorming like this --> Ars Technica makes some good points about the potential uses with the Apple TV. I am excited to see just what Apple has in store.
UK to Legally Enforce Ratings
Retreating from the current pan-European ratings PEGI, the UK government is set to introduce legally enforceable game ratings similar to those used for movies and other video content. Right now, only games with sex or "gross" violence are reviewed by the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) and given a rating. The government is also encouraging parents to monitor their children's video game time and discouraging them from placing systems in bedrooms.
UK Ratings Get Bite
Legislation like this has been introduced in America repeatedly, but is consistently shut down for violating the 1st amendment. Luckily for the UK, they have no such codified constitution to hold them back.
UK Ratings Get Bite
Legislation like this has been introduced in America repeatedly, but is consistently shut down for violating the 1st amendment. Luckily for the UK, they have no such codified constitution to hold them back.
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
Vagina Monologues in Second Life Suspended by HBO
The organizers of the Second Life Vagina Monologues have had their right to produce the VMs in SL rescinded because HBO, the owner of the broadcast rights (meaning TV, film, etc.), believes that they are infringing. Vday.org, the holders of the performance rights (theater, plays, etc.), originally granted license to the troupe, but HBO pulled its card and stopped the performances. The organizers in SL insist that the VMs are not banned, just suspended.
SL VMs Stop
The reporter for the SL Herald, Jassica Holyoke, wonders aloud if SL will become the next Grokster or Napster. That thought seems right on to me, especially if there is not much enforcement of IP rights in SL - those rights get taken away if not enforced. SL could become a virtual theater, capable of reproducing any of the greatest works (or movies for that matter). It does seem clear though that this is a broadcast and most likely falls under the purview of HBO's broadcast rights. Interesting to see how stories like these develop.
SL VMs Stop
The reporter for the SL Herald, Jassica Holyoke, wonders aloud if SL will become the next Grokster or Napster. That thought seems right on to me, especially if there is not much enforcement of IP rights in SL - those rights get taken away if not enforced. SL could become a virtual theater, capable of reproducing any of the greatest works (or movies for that matter). It does seem clear though that this is a broadcast and most likely falls under the purview of HBO's broadcast rights. Interesting to see how stories like these develop.
Virtual Goods Stolen, Police Do Nothing
Blaine, WI resident, Geoff Luurs fell victim to a heinous crime. His "friend" obtained his user name and password and wiped his FFXI account clean. Luurs did the math and claims that he lost over $3800 worth of virtual property. He called the police, but they did nothing because they believe that the goods have no real value.
My Gil is Worth Something!
I like the reaction of Mike Fahey at Kotaku, and I think that his gut is correct in believing that if the government begins recognizing virtual items as having real value, then the next logical step would be to tax them. It seems a bit like the "don't give licenses to illegals" argument in the sense that it is odd for one arm of the government (police saying the virtual goods have worth) to take an opposite stance to another arm of the government (the IRS saying they have no worth). The thing that perplexes me though is that seems well-settled to me that this stuff has value. While it may not have a physical manifestation, there are still people who are willing to buy this stuff - if a WoW gift card came out that only had a sword on it, I bet people would buy it. Virtual goods are commodities. While I agree that the tax implications are mind-boggling, and surely going to be a pain to gamers everywhere, virtual goods will be thought of the way they should be, as valuable property, for better or worse.
My Gil is Worth Something!
I like the reaction of Mike Fahey at Kotaku, and I think that his gut is correct in believing that if the government begins recognizing virtual items as having real value, then the next logical step would be to tax them. It seems a bit like the "don't give licenses to illegals" argument in the sense that it is odd for one arm of the government (police saying the virtual goods have worth) to take an opposite stance to another arm of the government (the IRS saying they have no worth). The thing that perplexes me though is that seems well-settled to me that this stuff has value. While it may not have a physical manifestation, there are still people who are willing to buy this stuff - if a WoW gift card came out that only had a sword on it, I bet people would buy it. Virtual goods are commodities. While I agree that the tax implications are mind-boggling, and surely going to be a pain to gamers everywhere, virtual goods will be thought of the way they should be, as valuable property, for better or worse.
Friday, February 1, 2008
European Patent Filings Show Possible Wii Adaptations
Recently published patent applications from Nintendo show some pretty *interesting* ideas for Wii accessories. Of note is the Wiimote charger, which would be nice...the rest of the ideas, well, from the pictures they do not look as stunning.
Wiibear? Wiibike? Wiiboard? They all sound cooler than they look...
Before any reader goes too bonkers about how stupid these drawings look, remember that patent drawings are very rough, and may not correspond with the product envisioned exactly. For example, the teddy bear shot could just be an illustration of using the Wiimote with a toy not traditionally affiliated with games (or something like that). Although, the idea of using a teddy bear to control a game sounds...innovative. Yes, innovative...
Wiibear? Wiibike? Wiiboard? They all sound cooler than they look...
Before any reader goes too bonkers about how stupid these drawings look, remember that patent drawings are very rough, and may not correspond with the product envisioned exactly. For example, the teddy bear shot could just be an illustration of using the Wiimote with a toy not traditionally affiliated with games (or something like that). Although, the idea of using a teddy bear to control a game sounds...innovative. Yes, innovative...
Blizzard Settles with In Game Dollar, IGD No Longer in WoW
Blizzard, with the help of mega-firm Sonnenschein, Nath, and Rosenthal, secured a settlement, including a permanent injunction against In Game Dollar to prevent them from "engaging in the sale of [WoW] virtual assets or power level services, making any use of the [WoW] in-game communication or chat system to advertise any website, business, or commercial endeavor, or sending messages to the [WoW] servers, the [WoW] in-game communication or chat system [...] if such messages mention or advertise any commercial endeavor." In addition, the business is blocked from investing in any other business that are doing any of these things.
IGD Got Pwned!
As faithfully reported by Ben Duranske at Virtually Blind, this case is not setting precedent because it is a settlement. Still, this case will serve as a beacon of hope for those who hate the influence of gold farmers, power levelers, and others that make MMOs unfair to all those who log endless hours. Significant also is the enforcement of the terms of service - there has been much buzz about whether these terms of service contracts are contracts of adhesion (meaning, since the consumer is given no real choice about the terms of the contract, the contract may be void if the terms are too lop-sided), but at least for now, WoW's ToS stood up.
IGD Got Pwned!
As faithfully reported by Ben Duranske at Virtually Blind, this case is not setting precedent because it is a settlement. Still, this case will serve as a beacon of hope for those who hate the influence of gold farmers, power levelers, and others that make MMOs unfair to all those who log endless hours. Significant also is the enforcement of the terms of service - there has been much buzz about whether these terms of service contracts are contracts of adhesion (meaning, since the consumer is given no real choice about the terms of the contract, the contract may be void if the terms are too lop-sided), but at least for now, WoW's ToS stood up.
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