VIDEO GAME LAW (Fall 2018)
{Please note that this is a “live” syllabus. Last years guests, videos and slides will be included until replaced by this years. Likewise there will be rolling changes, especially until the launch of the course with respect to scheduling speakers etc. Guest speakers are always a work in progress until noted by a post to the website as confirmed.}
Allard School of Law, University of British Columbia A; Law 423C.001
Fall 2018: Wednesdays, 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Room B101
3 Credits
Jon Festinger, Q.C.
Adjunct Professor, Allard School of Law
Professor of Professional Practice (SFU) & Faculty, Centre for Digital Media
Faculty in Residence, UBC Emerging Media Lab
Honorary Industry Professor, Centre for Commercial Law Studies, Queen Mary University of London School of Law
Principal, Festinger Law & Strategy
Work: 604-568-9192 Cell: 604-837-6426
E-mail: jon@fblawstrategy.com; jfestinger@telus.net
Twitter: @jonfestinger
PSN: cdmjon
Office Hours: By appointment.
Technical Resources for Badges & Website:
Richard Tape, UBC CTLT – richard.tape@ubc.ca
Course Website: http://www.videogamelaw.allard.ubc.ca
Related Websites: http://www.commlaw.allard.ubc.ca ; https://arts-foundations.sites.olt.ubc.ca
Course YouTube Page: http://www.youtube.com/user/VideoGameLaw
(Thanks to UBC Centre for Teaching, Learning & Technology for design, implementation and continuing support)
Twitter to Website: Add #ubcvgl to tweets and re-tweets to post in Twitter widget at Course Blog
Evaluation:
Participation = 25% includes any or all of:
- attendance;
- class, website, forum contributions;
- following “Journey” and/or “Self-Socratic” protocols.
Group presentation during “Discussion Hour” = 25%. This will be based on group preparation of a Discussion Outline that must be created and handed out to the class—preferably by posting on the course website—at least five days before your particular discussion takes place, and leading the discussion for that week.
Term Paper/Major Project (18 to 20 pages or equivalent – 5000 words – any font but comic sans): 50%.
Note with respect to class participation: Factors taken into consideration are attendance, level of engagement in course related discussions & activities including contributions to http://videogame.law.ubc.ca (or equivalent email contributions to the instructor), evidence of preparation for class, contributions to in class discussions, evidence of attention to the analysis of others and consideration of how such analysis might affect one’s own. Note that “Badges” (which are part of a UBC CTLT initiative) will not be directly considered in marking, however the work you do to earn those badges are part of the grading related to participation.
Note with respect to term paper/major project: Given the dynamic and emergent nature of the subject matter, the opportunities for scholarship are vast. Cases and previous legal academic contributions have almost exclusively been non-Canadian and have generally not focused on how court decision in other jurisdictions might be resolved under Canadian law. That said you are not limited to such topics or perspectives. As well, large territories of legal interest have simply gone unexplored and even undiscovered. Grading will reward thoughtfulness, incisiveness, originality and depth of research, potential for publication/public availability as well as rigorousness of analysis and clarity of presentation. Term paper is due in hard copy form (with digital copy by email) by 4 P.M. on the last day of the exam period (Wednesday, December 19, 2018).
All Allard School of Law students are subject to the University’s rules on Academic Misconduct (http://vpacademic.ubc.ca/integrity/ubc-regulation-on-plagiarism/), and are expected to act with academic integrity at all times. Students should be especially aware of the University’s rules in relation to plagiarism. Plagiarism includes: copying the work of another student; copying or paraphrasing from a textbook or reference book, journal article, case or electronic source without proper footnoting; copying your own work that has already been submitted for another course in this degree or another degree, passing off the ideas of another person as your own. If you plagiarize, you will be subject to penalties set out in the UBC calendar. (http://www.calendar.ubc.ca/vancouver/index.cfm?tree=3,54,111,959)
In this class: 1) everyone is allowed to feel they can learn in a safe and caring environment; 2) everyone learns about, understands, appreciates, and respects varied races, classes, genders, physical and mental abilities, and sexualities; 3) everyone matters; 4) all individuals are to be respected and treated with dignity and civility; and 5) everyone shares the responsibility for making the class, and the Academy, a positive and better place to live, work, and learn. (Source: http://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/teaching-professor-blog/creating-respectful-classroom-environment/)
Website Contribution Badge Map
A. Abstract:
“When any new form comes into the foreground of things, we naturally look at it through the old stereos. We can’t help that. This is normal, and we’re still trying to see how will our previous forms of political and educational patterns persist under television. We’re just trying to fit the old things into the new form, instead of asking what is the new form going to do to all the assumptions we had before.” – Marshall McLuhan (1960)
Video games create virtual worlds that players physically interact with. In so doing video games upset the traditional media apple cart. The gamer becomes the controller of a responsive virtual world, rather than simply a passive “receiver” of images and sound.
North American video game revenues routinely surpass both domestic film box office receipts and music sales. The video game industry continues to grow faster than almost any other economic segment and is predicted to reach $100 billion U.S. in revenues by 2017 (Newzoo 2014 “Global Games Market Report“).
Vancouver is one of the largest and most sophisticated centers of video game production in the world.
The creation, dissemination and enjoyment of interactive entertainment is governed by a multi-dimensional grid of international and domestic laws relating to intellectual property, communications, contracts, torts, privacy, obscenity, antitrust and freedom of expression. The myriad legal issues currently manifest in digital media often originated in games. Video gaming has presaged the now rapid rise of real-time social media communities. By building additional levels for their favorite products gamers have for decades been engaged in crowd sourcing, user-generated content and remixing source materials. Games also consistently lead technological, interactive and creative advancements of the digital age.
Threatening intellectual property orthodoxies has, quite literally, always been part of the game. It can easily be suggested that the legal and ethical issues in all media spaces may be best and most critically explored and understood through the lens of video games. Accordingly the processes of creating and playing games constitute a useful proving ground for legal constructs applying to all media and mediums. That all of this occurs with a core demographic that includes very large numbers of children considerably complicates the resulting analysis.
The goal of this course is to continue scholarship in the area. It also forms part of a cluster of courses both at the Allard School of Law related to the media, entertainment and communications industries.
The course will be limited to twenty-four students. The pedagogic concept of the course is to map and design learning territories to be explored by the students and provide as many tools as possible for that exploration. Accordingly there are multimedia components of the course including a website containing a complete and interactive syllabus, past lectures, discussion forums and resource materials (http://videogame.law.ubc.ca/). Industry expert guest speakers appearing in person and or by remote connection also play a significant role.
B. Optional Text:
“Video Game Law, 2nd Edition” (LexisNexis, 2012) by Jon Festinger Q.C., Chris Metcalfe & Roch Ripley
C. Syllabus:
Introduction to the Course
Class 1: September 5, 2018
Logistics:
- Media-capture
- Evaluation = participation + paper + personal “Quest”
- Discussion Hour structure speakers + questions/conundrums
- Website + “News of the Week” + “What is Your Take?” + living/evolving + badges + “Journey” + “Self-Socratic”
- Pedagogy: Course as game design
Jon’s Talk – “Introduction”
Instructor bio & biases. Overview of course themes, objectives, questions seeking answers & answers seeking further questions.
What is a game? The roots of video games in play (fun) + creativity. How different/same as other media?
Why do we game?
Catalogue of firsts & barriers broken by video games: interactivity, voice over IP, open world, social, avatars (zeitgeist, memes, identity & equality).
Why the transformation to digital matters legally, psychologically and philosophically. Main metaphor: initiating content rather then receiving content (Television as “transmitter” to gamer as “transmitter’). Legal implications.
Recurring Themes of the course:
- Double Standards test (Digital Ethics).
- Legal constraints on (digital) creativity.
- Idea/Expression dichotomies.
- Creativity v. Innovation
- Moral Right(s), Copy Left.
- The diminishing Magic Circle.
- The Post IP World – contract or..?
- Right to create/Right to Mod (Right to Inter-Op too)? – Un-enumerated rights of Freedom of Expression meets Freedom of Thought. Your creation is protected, but not your right to create?
- Four memes: Creating, Connecting, Controlling, Conciliation.
- Post-structuralism and games.
- “Brain-games”
- Relating Memes of Justice & Technology
- MEdia
- A.I. & the Rule of Law
Discussion:
- Open input/comments/reactions
Materials:
1. A Brief History of Videogames – Polygon (2:54)
2. History of video games interactive timeline – Computerspielemuseum
3. Copyright Law and Video Games: A Brief History of an Interactive Medium (Draft Chapter) – Prof. Greg Lastowka
4. IGN’s 25 Greatest Breakthroughs in Video Game History – IGN January 30, 2012
5. Largest space battle in history claims 2,900 ships, untold virtual lives – The Verge July 28, 2013
6. PC Gamer Top 100 Greatest Games – PC Gamer September 2, 2015
Possible Guests
A. (Vancouver based non-law) Don Mattrick* – Formerly of Zynga, Microsoft & EA; Ian Verchere – Roadhouse Interactive; Steve Rechtschaffner – Jawbone (formerly Microsoft, EA, Nexon) .
B. (Vancouver based law) Jim Alam – Koffman Kalef LLP; Chris Bennett – Davis LLP; Brian Dartnell* – EA; Anoop Desai* – EA; Joel Guralnick – Vision Critical; Chris Metcalfe – SAP AG; Roch Ripley – Gowlings.
C. (Remote law) S. Gregory Boyd – Frankfurt Kurnit; Alan Bruggeman – Microsoft; Roxanne Christ – Latham & Watkins LLP; Ryan Calo -University of Washington Law; William K. Ford – The John Marshall Law School; Joel Linzner – EA; Don McGowan* – The Pokemon Company/University of Washington Law; Jennifer Lloyd Kelly – Fenwick & West LLP; Jas Purewal – Purewal & Partners; Sheridan Scott – Bennett, Jones; Todd Smithline – Smithline PC; Patrick Sweeney – Interactive Entertainment Law Group.
Other Possible Guests:
Dr. Florence Chee – Loyola Chicago; Mia Consalvo – Concordia University; Jullian Dibbel – University of Chicago law student; Dr. Sarah Grimes – University of Toronto iSchool; Andy Mahood – video game simulation columnist; Austin Meyer* – X-Plane; Andy Moore – Indy games developer; Dr. Richard Smith – Centre for Digital Media; Dr. Kimberly Voll – Centre for Digital Media
* = confirmations of interest received
Part A. Creating
Class 2: September 12, 2018
Jon’s Talk – “If Picasso had painted a round object…”
Are we in a game?
“Games are not IP; Video Games are IP; Explain (Part 1)”
From documents to data to art –”Why are games?” to “What are games?” to “Are games mass media or just massive media (& does it matter)?”
Video games as the return of the oral narrative. Games as conversation? Do video games emulate James Joyce’s literary techniques?
The application of real world laws to virtual environments. Is there a virtual world? Is WoW its own country? (Duranske)
What are the threshold legal/structural issues for transformative media? IP Dystopia and its symptoms.
Broken up over Breakout: Atari v. Oman – its legal and emotional fallout. The road from disrespect to eventual acceptance of games by courts (& the censoriously inclined). Introduction to the ironies of that result.
From no copyright in card games, sports, leisure as the starting point to looking at the conundrums of the idea/expression dichotomy and fixation in the digital age (Boyden #1)
The “Double Standards” ethical lens.
The Rodney Dangerfield effect – Games get no respect.
Comparing game related censorship to censorship of other kinds of information/entertainment. Blaming technology.
(Hook to next talk in terms of why expression/speech are not paramount and that the real censors are legal concepts we might not at all expect….)
Materials:
1. Bruce E. Boyden, Games and Other Uncopyrightable Systems 18 Geo. Mason L. Rev. 439 (2011)
2. IGN’s list of Culturally Censored Games
3. Stern Electronics v. Kaufman 669 F.2d 852 (2nd Cir. 1982)
4. Atari v. Oman 693 F.Supp. 1204 (1988) (U.S.D.C., D.C. Cir.); Atari v. Oman 888 F.2d 878 (U.S.C.A., D.C. Circuit.); Atari v. Oman 979 F.2d 242 (1992)(U.S.C.A., D.C. Circuit.)
Discussion Hour: Ian Verchere, Co-Founder of Session Games
[NOTE THERE IS NO CLASS ON SEPTEMBER 19, 2018]
Class 3: September 26, 2018
Jon’s Talk – John Milton Plays Grand Prix Legends
A first look at typologies of the “freedom to create” and constraints on creativity. Is it really just a matter of freedom of expression/speech versus… 1. IP; 2. Contracts; 3. Negligence; 4. Privacy; 5. Surveillance; 6. Monetization?
What are the true “Constraints on Creativity”? Creator v. Connector. Games without copyright.
Impacts & perspectives on the idea/expression dichotomy.
Fundamentals or Fundamentalism: Introductions to Privacy Literalism and IP Literalism – the positional paradoxes and political excesses of anti-piracy and pro-privacy in a video gaming context. Evolving a single standard for creators as users & users as creators.
Correlating economic growth, Rule of Law Index & I.P. stringency.
(Hook to next talk – now that we have creativity, content and contradictions accounted for, what is the next horizon? Remixing in games…next week…)
Materials:
1. Areopagitica John Milton (1644)
2. Winters v. New York 68 S. Ct. 665 (U.S. 1948)
3. Montreal v. Arcade Amusements Inc. [1985] 1 SCR 368
4. Brown v. Entertainment Merchants Association 131 S. Ct. 2729 (2011)
5. Bruce Springsteen’s SXSW 2012 keynote (audio)
Discussion Hour: Anoop Desai, Sr. Director, Business Development & Strategy, Electronic Arts (EA)
Class 4: October 3, 2018:
Jon’s Talk – Right to CreaTe or Rights of Creation
The Right to Mod? Is content original? Is “authorship” a fiction? The Right to CreaTe?
The importance of Minecraft/multi-player/open-worlds.
Modalities, histories and choices in reconciling IP & Freedom of Expression. Distinguishing the “Duke Nukem” & “iRacing” cases.
Mods and the role of “communities”. Prof. Lastowka’s “Player-Authors Project”.
The importance of the Idea/Expression Dichotomy and the right to mod as part of a rebalancing paradigm.
Moral rights & an evolving “CreatorRight”. The evolving reinterpretations of fair dealing/fair use as applied through principles of technological and content neutrality.
IP Paradoxes.
Free expression/speech & copyright: Is Fair Use/Dealing wholly within copyright or a speech right? – An analysis of the implications of the statutory history leading to “The Statute of Anne”.
A catalogue of possible ways forward including the morality of “moral rights”; the SCC “penatology”; and redefinitions of fair dealing/use as steps to a new “right”.
(Cliffhanger to next four talks – re “connecting through games”….How do we connect today?…Mostly through technology. How does the law mediate our connections? Mostly through contract being paramount to everything else…& the confusion of different technologies attracting different regulatory/legal responses. Stay tuned…)
Materials:
1. Johanna Blakley: Lessons from fashion’s free culture, TedX 2010 (16:07)
2. F. Gregory Lastowka & Dan Hunter, The Law of Virtual Worlds 92 Calif. L. Rev. 1 (2004)
3. Micro Star v. FormGen Inc. 154 F.3d 1107 (9th Cir. 1998)
4. iRacing Motorsport Simulations, LLC v. Robinson No. 05-11639 NG (D. Mass. May 28, 2009)
5. Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. and Valve Corporation v. Lilith Games (Shanghai) co. Ltd. and uCool, Inc. No. 3:15-cv-04084-CRB (U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California)
Discussion Hour: Student Discussants – Mitch Blott, Jessie Fenton, Sharon Ho, & Jeremy Saba
Part B. Connecting
Class 5: October 10, 2018:
Jon’s Talk – Connecting Ourselves: Gamer Vulnerability in Virtual Realities
Virtual Reality in games is becoming less virtual and more real. At some point not far away technology may produce fidelity so convincing to our brains that the term “Replacement Reality” would be more apt than “Virtual Reality”. Could human freedom of thought itself be challenged in such circumstances? If so what role should law play?
This talk will address the following questions:
- What is freedom of thought in today’s world?
- How should we understand and characterize harms relating to freedom of thought arising from virtual experiences?
- For what legitimate purposes might the law intervene to protect an individual from the consequences of virtual world experiences affecting freedom of thought, including the potential of being manipulated, compelled or other diminishments of free will?
- What legal principles and remedies could we apply to protect individuals from such harms?
- How might we determine the point at which free will is endangered so as to require legal intervention?
- What are the implications for technology and game companies?
Materials:
1. Steven Johnson: Where good ideas come from, TedTalks 2010 (18:07)
2. Jack M. Balkin, Virtual Liberty: Freedom to Design and Freedom to Play in Virtual Worlds 90 Virginia L. Rev. 2043 (2004)
3. Ryan Calo Digital Market Manipulation (2013)
4. Mark Lemley & Eugene Volokh Law, Virtual Reality, and Augmented Reality (2017)
Discussion Hour: Student Discussants – Shaanil Senarath & Emily Yoo
Class 6: October 17, 2018:
Jon’s Talk – Consumers & Users As Creators & Connectors: Cases, Clauses & Contexts
From Creating to Connecting. Introducing the “Post-IP World”.
Modelling models of creativity. Word alignments, networked generativity and Post-Structuralism.
Should all IP be “use it or lose it”? Is Trademark still “use it or lose it”?
Introduction to the “tattoo conundrum”.
Why don’t CD’s have an End User License Agreement while games do? Software development & the evolution of licensing.
(Hook to next talk – so what sense can we make of the significant underlying role of contract law in the video game relationships)
More Post-Structuralism in games and an introduction to potential legal implications.
Legal fictions: EULA’s; TOS’ & the consumer instinct for expediency – click-wrap cases and content ownership issues.
The problems of click wrapping and minors.
The first sale doctrine & EULA restrictions (Redigi).
…the chasm of contracting out: Remind me again, why is the prevalent regime that of millions of very similar yet (fictionally) individual contracts? The potential impact of consumer protection laws internationally on the “standard” of “standard form” contracts.
The Post-IP World. How contracts tear apart copyright expectations, policies..and well…everything.
“10 contractual clauses – 10 video game law cases”. Tracking the evolution of practical legal implementations of consumer contracts in the digital space.
(Hook to next talk – looking beyond the law of contracts, what are the legal/regulatory regimes that can apply to game technology and content?)
Materials:
1. Davidson & Associates v. Tim Jung 422 F.3d 630 (8th Cir. 2005)
2. MDY Industries, LLC v. Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. 629 F.3d 928 (9th Cir. 2010)
3. Vernor v. Autodesk 621 F.3d 1102 (9th Cir. 2010)
4. Evony, LLC v. Holland United States District Court W.D. Penn. (2011)
Discussion Hour: Student Discussants – illiam Goh, Heather Leung, Aakash Taneja, & Jeffrey Wong.
Class 7: October 24, 2018
Jon’s Talk – What’s it all about…”EULA”?: Assessing of the utility and impact of End User License Agreements (etc.)
Continuing with the fundamentals of EULA’s, ToS’, Tou’s & the like:
Creating tends to go with Copyright, which in turn comes with Constraints/Coercion. Connecting tends to go with Contracts, which in turn comes with Restraints/Control. How logical is this really?
The problem with drafting (EULA’s etc.). The re-emergence of User Rights in a contractual context? Applying the Double Standards Test to EULA’s, ToS’ and those who impose them. The need for consumer agreements for the “ bad stuff”: Interpreting the case evidence. What about Notices?
Censoring creative expression through contract terms. How important?
What the cases and pleadings imply about the need for consumer contracts like EULA’s & ToS’ as remedies: A review of the 10 cases from the previous class.
Are we parties to hundreds (thousands?) of “active” contracts that we don’t use? Does it matter? A Common Law chasm if only form matters?
If video game consumer contracts didn’t exist would the gaps be otherwise filled in? Technology, legislation and consumer protest: the future of video game contracts?
EULA’s and Loot Boxes
Materials:
1. Bragg v. Linden Research, Inc. 487 F.Supp. 2d 593 (E.D. Pa. 2007)
2. Court documents in Hernandez v. Internet Gaming Entertainment, Ltd. United States District Court for S.D. Fla., Case No. 1:07-CIV-21403-JIC, Filed May 31, 2007.
3. Sara Grimes Terms of Service, Terms of Play in Children’s Online Gaming (2007) Note: Start @ page 54 of PDF
4. A. McDonald, L. Cranor The Cost of Reading Privacy Policies (2008)
Discussion Hour: Student Discussants – Dylan Braam & Emma Thomas
Class 8: October 31, 2018
Jon’s talk – From Wheelbarrows to Holodecks: Conundrums of Technology & Law in the Future of Video-Games
Evolution of consumers as creators.
PC v. Consoles v. Mobile (parallels Eula’s v. ToS v. Crowd/Open source). Evolution of various technologies, products, content & consumers. Evolution of differing legal/regulatory regimes relating to various combinations of the above list including legal treatments, distinctions, questions & problems.
The living room war: a report from the frontlines.
Cataloguing complexities of the “cloud”. Evolving legal concepts of technological neutrality. Net neutrality. “Interop” rights?
Theme of film treatment of games: Tron(s); Gamer; Surrogates; Wreck-it Ralph.
Interactivity, immersion & virtual realities in games; legal issues/ethical conundrums. Live remixing of the real, the virtual and the fully interconnected – IP, contractual and regulatory choices, problems and dead-ends. The further issues and consequences of twisting realities through mobile, AR games, bots, augmented reality games, simulations & Kinnect-ing – living inside your own massively multiplayer 3D copier built world while wearing Google Glass. Virtual currencies, real money.
Multiple contemporaneous screens/devices – sometimes linked, sometimes not = natural fragmentation/diversity of experience. Consequences?
For example, the screen merger/multiple input dilemma: what legal standard applies when different laws, rules and regimes apply to each of the individual components onscreen? For example where a crowd-sourced defamation appears on-screen as part of a group on-line sports viewing experience, will the service provider be seen as an ISP with no liability or a publisher with liability? In other words, which screen within a screen will the Court choose as paramount; or more to the point does the combination of services within a single screen alter the legal analysis?
The not so surprising research results on the consequences of avatar choice – is virtual reality more fair and more equal then reality?
And of course, esports and the future of sport. Structures of esport leagues. Player rights and treatment.
(Cliffhanger – now that we are completely out of control, inebriated on visions of a crazy sci-fi future, we come to the next group of three talks – on Control. We have almost come full circle, from transforming old technologies to a new one, creating with it and connecting through it. We now arrive at the human instinct for order – how we control and consequently are controlled…stay tuned)
Materials
1. Atari v. Nintendo 975 F.2d 832 (Fed. Cir. 1992)
2. Sega v. Accolade 977 F.2d 1510 (9th Cir. 1992)
3. Sony v. Connectix 203 F.3d 596 (9th Cir. 2000)
4. Sony v. Bleem 214 F.3d 1022 (9th Cir. 2000)
5. Nintendo of America Inc v. King 2017 FC 246
Discussion Hour: Student Discussants – Jonah Brook, Selena Chen, Scott MacDonald, & Bastiaan van Schaik
Part C. Controlling
Class 9: November 7, 2018
Jon’s talk – Controlling Originality
“Creationism”; the legal version – exploding a few fictions & myths about originality. Devices, franchises & anti-trust/competition law responses. Reverse engineering, emulations, chipping.
The Clone Wars: deconstructing genres, technology and identity uniqueness through EA v. Zynga – Sim Social v. The Ville; Incredible Technologies v. Virtual Technologies – Golden Tee/PGA Tour Golf; Textron v. EA – Battlefield 3 Bell helicopter; and right of publicity (as opposed to copyright) cases – e.g. the retired NFL players & active college players v. EA Madden/NCAA Football cases; No Doubt v. Rockband (Activision).
Trolling for dollars? – Patents as swords in Immersion v. Sony, & the X-Plane case. “Ghost-car” patent. Feedback controllers. Are these constrictions on user rights? Should they be seen to be?
Free Expression/1st Amendment defences?
(Hook to next talk– Is virtual sex, sex? Is virtual violence, violence? Next week…)
Materials:
1. Incredible Technologies, Inc. v. Virtual Technologies, Inc. 400 F.3d 1007 (U.S.C.A. 7th Cir. 2005)
2. E.S.S. Entertainment 2000, Inc., d/b/a Playpen v. Rock Star Videos, Inc. 547 F.3d 1095 (U.S.C.A. 9th Cir. 2008)
3. Samuel Michael Keller v. Electronic Arts, Inc.et al. (U.S.C.A. 9th Cir. 2013)
Arguments before the U.S.C.A. (36:43)
4. Tetris Holding, LLC v. Xio Interactive, Inc. 863 F. Supp. 2d 394, 397 (D.N.J. 2012)
5. Noriega v. Activision/Blizzard, Inc., et al. (Cal. Sup. Ct. L.A. County, 2014)
6. Gravano v. Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc., et al.; Lohan v. Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc., et al. 142 AD3d776 (New York County Supreme Court, Appellate Division, 2016)
Discussion Hour: Student Discussants -Tom Allchurch, Sebastian Ashford, & Craig Duffy
Class 10: November 14, 2018
Jon’s talk – “Mass Effect-s”
A history of legal reactions to (video game) violence and sexism highlighted by the Dungeons & Dragons (Waters v. TSR) and Columbine High School (Sanders v. Acclaim) cases. “ What is a deviant violent videogame….as opposed to a normal violent videogame?”
Evolving roles of cultural/societal memes in legal decision making.
Sex misogyny and #gamergate in games & gaming.
Kids & games – secrets of contractual immunity.
Addiction & health issues/evidence.
Loot Boxes: Fun or not fun; fair or unfair; legal or illegal.
(Hook to next talk, so freedom has become a stronger meme then causality, but can’t we regulate “the industry”?)
Materials:
1. Watters v. TSR, Inc. 1990 U.S. App. LEXIS 8827, 904 F.2d 378 (6th Cir. 1990)
2. Sanders v. Acclaim Entertainment Inc. 2002 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 3997, 188 F. Supp. 2s 1264 (D. Colo. 2002)
3. James v. Meow Media Inc. 2002 U.S. App LEXIS 16185, 300 F.3d 683 (6th Cir. 2002)
4. Damsel in Distress: Part 1 – Tropes vs Women in Video Games – Anita Sarkeesian (23:35)
5. Sebastian Schwiddessen & Philipp Karius Watch your loot boxes! – Recent developments and legal assessment in selected key jurisdictions from a gambling law perspective (2018)
Discussion Hour: Student Discussants – Scott Ashbourne & Conor Kennelly
Class 11: November 21, 2018
Jon’s talk – Controlling the Controllers
Privacy “The Sequel”: scalability not waiver-ability. Contrast with – information gathering through games for state purposes. Layers of privacy, vulnerabilities of surveillance. EULA complicity.
Reconciling: privacy; remixing; interoperability/connectivity/net neutrality/free expression???
Regulation of the video game “medium”. Ratings, regulation and industry self-regulation. Is multiplayer gaming “broadcasting”?
Telecommunications as vehicle of regulation? Consumer protection?
(Cliffhanger to final talk. The media born of transforming other media itself comes full circle, preparing itself to be transformed…stay tuned)
Materials:
1. Oral argument in Blizzard v. BnetD
2. Oral arguments in Brown v. Entertainment Merchants Association (U.S. Supreme Court)
3. William K Ford The Law and Science of Video Game Violence: What Was Lost in Translation? (2013)
4. Cameron Russell, Joel Reidenberg, & Samyung Moon Privacy in Gaming (2018)
4. Benjamin Mako Hill, Andres Monroy-Hernandez The Remixing Dilemma: The Trade-off Between Generativity and Originality (Draft 2012)
5. Everything is a Remix by Kirby Ferguson, 2012 (36:25)
Discussion Hour: Student Discussants – Camilla Larsen, Magdelena Jacyna, Frederikke Mikkelsen, & Sebastian Kallegard
Class 12: November 28, 2018
Jon’s talk – MEdia, A.I., Video-Games & The Rule of Law
We know that at some point not far away technology may produce fidelity so convincing to our brains that the term “Replacement Reality” would be more apt than “Virtual Reality”. Could human freedom of thought itself be challenged in such circumstances. Based on current trajectories we can also project another complimentary future for media – that of algorithmically generated entertainment content uniquely and intentionally generated for each consumer. Imagine for example a big data enabled, machine learning A.I. creating a film or video game experience with your favourite actors or characters, in your favourite genre, with your favourite narrative tropes, in the style of your favourite screenwriter or game creator, with some of your favourite music, all informed by massive amounts of data including every known detail of your life, history, habits, and emotions. All just for you and no one else.
Without both transparency of data and constraints on execution, this brave new world of completely individuated “MEdia” could make it impossible to know if you are playing a game, or are a human platform being “played” as a game – manipulated, influenced or becoming addicted for the purposes of another.
This future of bespoke tailor-made content becomes all the more consequential as it is built upon our current social media infrastructure; one that powerfully mediates social norms and very directly influences how we live our lives. We are clearly moving ever further away from traditional mass media for mass audiences. Recent political events have illuminated scenarios where prospective voters received customized “news” intended to influence their democratic rights. In this context, we must ask ourselves what could happen if big data enabled, machine learning A.I. techniques are used to make entertaining content more persuasive, compelling, or even addictive? At stake is our transparency into how individuated generated media for personal consumption impacts our human agency. How should we parse the role and rule of law in such unusual terrain where we are receiving content born of our own data, which unfettered, may be used to please us or to manipulate us? In examining whether to regulate or not to regulate these new possibilities, we will explore those legal principles that reinforce human agency, individual freedom, and sovereignty over our personal contributions to that content.
Materials:
1. Lawrence Lessig on “Aaron’s Laws -Law and Justice in a Digital Age”, Harvard 2013 (1:43:03)
2. Bruce Schneier & Jonathan Zittrain on IT, Security, and Power, Berkman Center 2013 (1:30:21)
3. Jonathan Zittrain, Minds for Sale, Berkman Center, 2013 (1:17:03)
Discussion Hour: Student Discussants:
Group 1 – Lara Borshoff, Mette-Marie Hamann, Klara Kiselberg, & Camilla Lynge
Group 2 – Craig Baptie & Shay Dolev
Steps in Personal “Journey” (Optional)
- Over the first couple of weeks in class, aided by “News of the Week” and your own curiosity, identify a question relevant to video game law that you are curious about.
- Write a post (or email) of half a page (approximately 250 words) during the month of September 2017 identifying your question, why you are interested in it, the results of any initial research, and any theories you may have.
- Come to classes, review “News of the Week”, follow your curiosity wherever it may lead you, and look for as many different perspectives as you can find on your chosen question. Then write a one page (approximately 500 words) post or email during October 2017 about what you have learned about your question and any reflections you have on it, including legal, ethical or multi-disciplinary considerations you have identified.
- Continue coming to classes, keep reviewing “News of the Week” and then write a concluding half a page (approximately 250 words) post or email during November 2017 answering your chosen question as best you can, and including any reflections you feel appropriate.
- There is no prohibition of overlap between this exercise and your ultimate term paper, nor of course is there any requirement that they be related.
Communications Law