This report analyzes the classification that each country has adopted for video games, and provides, in the final section, a tentative classification of these complex works, considering their nature, the elements they are made of and the creative process.

Video Game Law is aimed at game developers and industry professionals who want to better understand the industry or are in need of expert legal guidance. Given the rise in international competition, the increasing complexity of video game features, and the explosive growth of the industry in general, game developers can quickly find themselves in serious trouble, becoming vulnerable to copyright infringement claims, piracy, and even security breaches. Not every video game company has the financial resources to retain in-house counsel–which Video Game Law seeks to address by discussing many of the common pitfalls, legal questions, and scenarios facing the industry. S. Gregory Boyd, Brian Pyne, and Sean F. Kane, the most prominent, sought after, and respected video game attorneys in the country, break down the laws and legal concepts that every game developer and industry professional needs to know in order to better protect their game and grow their company. KEY FEATURES: • Provides a solid understanding of intellectual property (IP) concepts and laws, including copyright, trademark, trade secret, and other protections that apply to video games and how each can be employed to protect a company’s unique and valuable IP • Explores cutting edge legal issues that affect the gaming industry, including gambling, virtual currency, privacy laws, the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, tax incentives, and relevant piracy laws • Provides an overview of legal and privacy vocabulary and concepts needed to navigate and succeed in an industry that is constantly growing and evolving • Provides illustrative examples and legal concepts from the video game industry in every chapter

The video game industry is big business, not only in terms of the substantial revenue generated through retail sales of games themselves, but also in terms of the size and value of parallel and secondary markets. Consider any popular video game today, and you most likely are looking at a franchise that includes not only the game itself and all of its variants but also toys, books, movies, and more, with legions of fans that interact with the industry in myriad ways. Surveying the legal landscape of this emergent industry, Ron Gard and Elizabeth Townsend-Gard shed light on the many important topics where law is playing an important role. In examining these issues, Video Games and the Law is both a legal and a cultural look at the development of the video game industry and the role that law has played so far in this industry’s ability to thrive and grow.

This Handbook provides a scholarly and comprehensive account of the multiple converging challenges that digital technologies present for intellectual property (IP) rights, from the perspectives of international, EU and US law. Despite the fast-moving nature of digital technology, this Handbook provides profound reflections on the underlying normative legal dilemmas, identifying future problems and suggesting how digital IP issues should be dealt with in the future.

This edited volume explores the intersection between the coded realm of the video game and the equally codified space of law through an insightful collection of critical readings. Law is the ultimate multiplayer role-playing game. Involving a process of world-creation, law presents and codifies the parameters of licit and permitted behaviour, requiring individuals to engage their roles as a legal subject – the player-avatar of law – in order to be recognised, perform legal actions, activate rights or fulfil legal duties. Although traditional forms of law (copyright, property, privacy, freedom of expression) externally regulate the permissible content, form, dissemination, rights and behaviours of game designers, publishers, and players, this collection examines how players simulate, relate, and engage with environments and experiences shaped by legality in the realm of video game space. Featuring critical readings of video games as a means of understanding law and justice, this book contributes to the developing field of cultural legal studies, but will also be of interest to other legal theorists, socio-legal scholars, and games theorists.

This comprehensive Research Handbook interrogates and offers historical as well as contemporary understandings of property, property law and property theory. Chapters locate the role of property in key theoretical debates and examine propertyÕs place in significant social contexts, covering topics such as Indigenous property, artificial intelligence, cryptoassets, property and the art world, environmentalism and climate change.

This book analyzes the effect of policy on the digital game complex: government, industry, corporations, distributors, players, and the like. Contributors argue that digital games are not created nor consumed outside of the complex power relationships that dictate the full production and distribution cycles, and that we need to consider those relationships in order to effectively "read" and analyze digital games. Through examining a selection of policies, e.g. the Australian government’s refusal (until recently) to allow an R18 rating for digital games, Blizzard’s policy in regards to intellectual property, Electronic Arts’ corporate policy for downloadable content (DLC), they show how policy, that is to say the rules governing the production, distribution and consumption of digital games, has a tangible effect upon our understanding of the digital game medium.

If you enjoy video games as a pastime, you are certainly not alone—billions of people worldwide now play video games. However, you may still find yourself reluctant to tell others this fact about yourself. After all, we are routinely warned that video games have the potential to cause addiction and violence. And when we aren’t being warned of their outright harms, we are told we should be doing something better with our time, like going outside, socializing with others, or reading a book. Playing video games is thus often seen at best as a waste of time, and at worst a source of violent tragedy. Why It’s OK to Be a Gamer takes on the pervasive assumption that playing video games is a childish and time-wasting hobby, and a potentially addictive and dangerous one at that. It argues instead that there are many ways in which gaming can help us flourish, for example by: developing genuine friendships and other meaningful relationships with others, helping us cultivate a virtuous personal character, giving us a unique aesthetic experience, providing us with psychological benefits, and just plain helping us relax and enjoy ourselves. Video games are not just for those with no life; on the contrary, they can help contribute to a rich and meaningful life. Key Features Introduces the philosophy of video games in a humorous and lively way with lots of engaging examples Defends gaming through a virtue theoretic approach Discusses contemporary psychology and neuroscience literature on gaming Includes discussion of gamers, video games, and common experiences of gaming

This significantly revised and updated second edition addresses the rapid development of EU copyright law in relation to the advancement of new technologies, the need for a borderless digital market and the considerable number of EU legal instruments enacted as a result. Taking a comparative approach, the Commentary provides comprehensive coverage and in-depth commentary on each of the EU legal instruments and policies, both from an EU and an international perspective. Alongside full legislative analysis and article-by-article commentary, the Commentary illustrates the underlying basic principles of free movement and non-discrimination and provides insights into the influence of copyright on other areas of EU policy, including telecoms and bilateral trade agreements.

A highly visual, example-led introduction to the video game industry, its context and practitioners. Video Games explores the industry's diversity and breadth through its online communities and changing demographics, branding and intellectual property, and handheld and mobile culture. Bossom and Dunning offer insights into the creative processes involved in making games, the global business behind the big budget productions, console and online markets, as well as web and app gaming. With 19 interviews exploring the diversity of roles and different perspectives on the game industry you'll enjoy learning from a range of international practitioners.