In the event you’re posting, blogging, or otherwise covering news of your games, note that you might potentially run into legal issues if you’re embedding photos or posts from Instagram, Twitter, or other social media platforms. Case #1: Goldman v. Breitbart et al (Twitter) Ruling: February 14, 2018, 2nd Circuit (New York) Here, the photographer […]
As I’m scrolling through my blog, I realized that I have yet to do a “what is a trademark” post. I didn’t plan for this post to be about that, so I’ll give you a one-sheet on it, and if you already know about this and want to learn how and where you should use […]
There are so many cool things being invented and implemented daily, it’s just too cool. I mean, I can use my phone or Alexa to turn my lights/tv on and off; change the temperature of my house; or yes, even have my smart house device laugh creepily at me. There may come a time when […]
I’ve discussed fair use in copyright law, but I saw this ad a little while ago for a car wash (at a Chevron Station, no less) and I wanted to do a post on the differences of fair use in copyright law as opposed to trademark infringement (NOTE: This applies to U.S. law only). Copyright […]
I was recently talking with a friend about a situation that is likely all too common: a small-time development company picked a name for themselves and received a cease & desist letter for the use of their company name once they started getting some publicity. This post explores a hypothetical situation and options you could have if […]
If you are working (or worked) on a game with one or more people, with the intent to earn money from it (at some point), you might already be in a partnership, which can carry some serious financial risk to you if things go really well (or really poorly). Creating partnership agreements (documents outlining the […]
If you intend to release your game on an app store, provide content to users, or collect data from users on your site, you’re going to run into the need for at least two of the three policies above, if not all three. Do you know what they do or how they differ? If you […]
As a developer, newbie or otherwise, you’ll eventually get to the point where you realize you want to release your game in some way or another. At that point in time, if not much–MUCH–sooner, you’re hopefully going to consider whether you need some sort of legal documents or protections in place before you go full […]
Welcome to Part 2! My heart sings with…actually, my voice is bad enough, you don’t need to know how my heart sings, knowing you’ve returned for more torture. Fair Use By Game Users What is most often copied by users is either gameplay footage or characters/storylines, rather than making other games with copyrighted content. […]
Fair Use in Video Games – Part 1: Fair Use Basics ‘Fair use’ is generally in reference to copyright law, as fair use in trademark law is much simpler and far more literal. To say the least, fair use is a heavy hitter in copyright law—meaning it’s a complicated subject, but because it potentially offers […]
First things first: the WGA is an integral organization to film and television production, and serves a highly important function to the industry. This post is not a criticism of the WGA, but more so of the myth I encountered in film school that we didn’t really need to bother registering with the copyright office, since registering […]
Hi! My name is Lauren Hanley-Brady, and I have a passion for entertainment law. I like to talk about the law and dispel what myths I can, as well as answer common legal questions game devs might have. Thanks for stopping by! While I am a licensed attorney, this is just my blog, and nothing […]