Video Game Law: Everything You Need to Know About Legal and Business Issues in the Game Industry

by S. Gregory Boyd, Sean F. Kane, Brian Pyne

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 - Video Game Law addresses 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 to better protect their game and grow their company.

Genres: Gaming

254 pages, Hardcover

First published June 20, 2018

Reviews

[Anjar Priandoyo]

Video Game Law (Boyd et al 2019) is the first book that I read on gaming industry. Although its coming from legal perspective, where the legal issues such as IP (as publisher), Agreement (as distributor), and Business (operation, privacy, tax). However it also cover the popular topics such as: Virtual Item Regulations, this to some degree including Virtual Currency (open: Bitcoin, closed: Robux)

It is interesting, that in the past, we did not use the word "Digital" but "Virtual" which is the same. It is also interesting that in the past intellectual property, is also consider "metaphysics"

This is very good book, as every latest book -e.g this one written in 2019 will consider all the related issues such as blockchain.

Notes:
More than 150 years ago, Joseph Story, an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, called intellectual property “the metaphysics of law” and described its distinctions as being “almost evanescent.”. Cryptocurrency is generally designed to have no inflation (once all the currency has been produced), in order to maintain scarcity and, hence, value. Cryptocurrencies are also designed to ensure that funds can neither be frozen nor seized.

Financial Crimes Enforcement Network
Crytocurrency: decentralized (open) token
Digitalcurrency: centralized (closed)

[Julien]

This won't be a bedside table book by any stretch of the imagination, but it's accessible enough to teach non-lawyers among us quite a lot of useful things.

I regret that it is so focused on the intricacies of the US legal system, although it has enough international points of view to be useful elsewhere as well.

Overall a useful read, and a good reference book to keep at hand.

[Eli]

This book offers a wide range of legal and business topics to professionals who want to know more about the legal landscape of the video game industry.