Posts tagged Law 
EFF petitions US government to resurrect abandoned games
The Electronic Frontier Foundation filed a petition to the Library of Congress and the United States Copyright Office this week over the modification of abandoned games, particularly those that require an online connection to prevent piracy. The EFF is seeking a change to current laws that would de...
Report: Capcom aims patent infringment suit at Koei Tecmo
Capcom has filed suit against Koei Tecmo alleging that the Dynasty Warriors publisher infringed on key Capcom patents in recent games, according to a Sankei report translated by Siliconera. The patent in question refers to backwards compatible content being transferred from a game to its predece...
Oakland's 80-year pinball prohibition ends
Oakland, California, has lifted its long-standing ban on pinball machines, making it legal to play pinball in the city for the first time in almost 80 years. Oakland's ban stretches back to the 1930s, when several cities in the United States adopted laws restricting the sale and public display o...
Bungie ordered to recoup Marty O'Donnell's founders' stock
A court-appointed arbitrator has ruled that Bungie must return the founders' stock it stripped from former Halo composer Marty O'Donnell following his contentious dismissal earlier this year, reports VentureBeat. As our readers are no doubt aware, founders' stock in Bungie is now quite valuable,...
Former Silicon Knights dev sentenced in child pornography case
Former Precursor Games and Silicon Knights designer Ken McCulloch was sentenced this week in an Ontario Court of Justice in St. Catharines, Canada on child pornography charges. Judge Joseph Nadel sentenced McCulloch to 12 months of time served; McCulloch has been jailed since his arrest in late Jun...
Sins of a Solar Empire dev discusses 'Rebellion' lawsuit
Following two years of legal battles, Ironclad Studios has been granted the right to use the word "Rebellion" in the title of its latest space exploration epic, a decision it hopes will set a precedent for the increasingly litigious gaming industry. "Rebellion Developments [developer of Alien vs...
Hearing on 38 Studios' potential lobbying violations set for next week
Rhode Island Secretary of State Ralph Mollis has issued letters to four individuals, requesting their presence in court on July 1 to determine if attempts were made to lobby lawmakers following the costly collapse of game developer 38 Studios. "Our office has been diligently investigating who, i...
Georgia passes law giving $25 million in video game tax breaks
Georgia governor Nathan Deal today signed a bill that will grant local video game developers $25 million in tax credits, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. The legislation, part of House Bill 958, will give tax breaks to Hi-Rez Studios, Tripwire Interactive, and other Georgia-native devel...
Report: Anti-games Sen. Leland Yee arrested on bribery, corruption charges
California State Senator Leland Yee, noted anti-video games official, was arrested this morning on charges of bribery and corruption, SF Weekly reported. The FBI conducted a raid of San Francisco's Chinatown district, and KCRA reported that agents took "computers and other documents" from Yee's off...
Proposed GOP bill excludes violent software makers from tax credit
The recently revealed Tax Reform Act of 2014 by House Republicans has caught the attention of some folks in these here parts for preventing makers of violent video games from qualifying for tax credits. The Washington Examiner correctly points out that in the bill's executive summary (a fancy ter...
