News of the Week; May 27, 2020

DIGITAL

  1. ‘Trump’s executive order expected to target Twitter, Facebook and Google
  2. President to Unveil Executive Order to Address CDA Section 230 Protections
  3. Newsweek Publishes Facts Optional, Wronger Than Wrong, Piece About Section 230
  4. So Wait, People Really Think The Barr DOJ’s Investigation Into Google Is In Good Faith?
  5. Why Content Moderation Codes Are More Guidelines Than Rules
  6. Proposed bill would ban microtargeting of political advertisements: Just because ads can be targeted to individuals doesn’t mean they should be.
  7. Facebook Pays Multimillion Dollar Penalty in First Case in Canada to Subject Privacy Policies to Misleading Advertising Laws
  8. Facebook Executives Shut Down Efforts to Make the Site Less Divisive: The social-media giant internally studied how it polarizes users, then largely shelved the research
  9. Bombshell report: Facebook has known that it is fomenting extremism for years — and refuses to stop
  10. Plaintiffs Push For Preliminary Approval Of $550 Million Settlement In Facebook Privacy Class Action
  11. Grandmother ordered to delete Facebook photos under GDPR: Woman must delete photographs of her grandchildren posted on Facebook and Pinterest without their parents’ permission, a court in the has ruled.
  12. Facebook launches independent “Oversight Board” for hate speech, harassment and privacy
  13. Mr Zuckerberg, Tear Down My Wall
  14. Facebook workers get remote work option—but it could come with a pay cut
  15. Former NSO Employees Says The Company Impersonated Facebook To Deploy Malware
  16. Twitter’s first fact-check on President Trump calls out “false claims”
  17. Trump Is a Problem That Twitter Cannot Fix: When a duly elected president is bent on spreading misinformation, tech companies can rein him in only so much.
  18. Twitter Grapples Anew With Its Trump Conundrum: The social media company came under fire — again — for not removing Mr. Trump’s posts that contain falsehoods.
  19. Trump, Twitter, And Free Speech
  20. When The Problem Isn’t Twitter But President Trump
  21. Delayed implementation but the UK Government remains committed to regulating online harms
  22. Neighbouring rights: interim measures imposed on Google in the press sector
  23. Democrats want to restrict political ad targeting ahead of the 2020 election: Time is running out for new rules to apply to this election
  24. The Boogaloo Movement Is Not What You Think
  25. Keeping up with the Kardashians in “Kuarantine”
  26. The FTC: Influencing the Future of the Influencers
  27. Deletion Of Comments Criticizing Chinese Government Was A Contextual Error, YouTube Says
  28. YouTube auto-deletes comments with phrases critical of Chinese government
  29. YouTube Is Considering Letting Creators Self-Limit The Reach Of Their Videos To Lessen Harassment
  30. ViacomCBS Snaps Up John Krasinski’s YouTube Web Series ‘Some Good News,’ Will Produce Future Episodes With New Host
  31. How Does John Krasinski’s Newly Sold ‘Some Good News’ Stack Up Against Late-Night Shows?
  32. U.K.-Based YouTube Prankster Morgz Signs With A3 Artists Agency (Exclusive)
  33. Top 50 Most Viewed YouTube Channels Worldwide • Week Of 5/25/2020
  34. YouTube Kids App Arrives On Apple TV
  35. BuzzFeed’s Latest ‘Unsolved’ Season Scares Up Record YouTube Traffic
  36. Netflix Cancels ‘Terrace House’ Production After Death Of Star Hana Kimura
  37. Instagram Finally Brings In Monetization For (Some) Creators With Purchasable Badges, IGTV Ads
  38. Amid Pandemic, Target Says It’s The First Mass Retailer To Launch Shoppable Instagram Posts
  39. SDNY: Instagram Sublicense Protects Against Liability for Embedding of Public Posts
  40. Addressing Possible Limits of COPPA Safe Harbors
  41. Insights: Will Apple Plusing Up Its Streaming Service Set Off Another Round Of Hollywood Consolidation?
  42. Fanbytes Launches ByteHouse, TikTok’s First U.K.-Based Creator Collective
  43. Fullscreen Looks Beyond YouTube For Latest Fully-Managed Talent Signings
  44. Digital News Network ‘The Young Turks’ Launches Twitch Channel
  45. We Lose A Lot When Podcasts Go Closed Instead Of Open
  46. Intel acquires Rivet, maker of Killer Wireless-AC gaming Wi-Fi gear
  47. Crypto hedge funds struggle to recover from “bloodbath”
  48. Gears of war: When mechanical analog computers ruled the waves
  49. Privacy and Zambonis in the Age of COVID-19: My Ian Kerr Memorial Lecture (Michael Geist)

A.I.

  1. After watching 50,000 hours of Pac-Man, Nvidia’s AI generated a playable clone
  2. The Intersection of Artificial Intelligence, COVID-19, and Copyright
  3. Recent FTC Guidance on the Use of Artificial Intelligence and Algorithms in the Age of COVID-19
  4. A Neurophilosophy of Big Data & Civil Liberties, and the Need for a New Social Contract
  5. Uncovering the secrets of Alien: Isolation’s AI

COMMUNICATIONS

  1. Looking at Changes to the FCC’s Public Notice Requirements for Broadcast Applications
  2. FCC to Consider Exemption of TV Broadcast Internet Services from Broadcast Ownership Rules and Regulations for ATSC 3.0 Non-Broadcast Services
  3. FCC Issues NPRM Aimed at One-Ring Scam Phone Calls
  4. Selective decoupling: phasing out domestic deployment of Chinese telecoms technology
  5. Team Telecom emerges from shadows and FCC cracks down on Chinese telecoms companies
  6. Making Internet service a utility—what’s the worst that could happen?
  7. New Study Tries, Fails, To Claim Community Broadband Is An Inevitable Boondoggle
  8. The FCC’s ‘Contest Rule’ and how it may affect your sweepstakes
  9. AT&T still refuses to kill misleading 5GE network icon for 4G service
  10. AT&T Won’t Stop Lying About ‘Fake 5G’
  11. Verizon Tries To Temper 5G Enthusiasm After Report Clearly Shows US 5G Is Slow, Lame
  12. OpenSignal compares 5G experiences across ten major carriers
  13. Legal challenge to OFCOM’s 5G network auction
  14. Let’s Talk About ‘Neutrality’ — And How Math Works

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

  1. Clorox v Chloretec: The Application of Vavilov in the Trademarks Context
  2. Chalk One Up to the Knock-Off
  3. Pencil Shaped Chalk Holder Is a Non-Copyrightable Idea
  4. Led Zeppelin‘s Stairway to Heaven found not to infringe copyright in Spirit’s instrumental, Taurus
  5. The Second Circuit Affirms the Dismissal of Copyright Claims against Seinfeld over Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee
  6. Second Circuit Limits Copyright Damages To Three Years Preceding Suit
  7. Copyright Damages Limited to Three Years Before Lawsuit Filing
  8. Paparazzi Suit Victims Try Unconventional Plays
  9. And the winner of the prize for best legal click bait headline from the NYT so far this year is …
  10. How A Feud Among Wolf-Kink Erotica FanFic Authors Demonstrates What The Copyright Office Got Wrong In Its DMCA Report
  11. Jerry Seinfeld Gets To Keep Driving Comedians In Cars Getting Coffee*
  12. Justices form unique alliances in holding Georgia’s annotated code not protected by copyright; Thomas dissent presses for closer review of precedent
  13. U.S. Supreme Court: States Cannot Copyright Legal Code Annotations
  14. Eighth Circuit Holds Business Information Database Copyrightable, Affirming $11.2 Million Jury Verdict
  15. CRS Examines IP Rights Abroad, Considers State Sovereign Immunity in Copyright Suits
  16. The rental of cars fitted with radio receivers does not constitute an act of unauthorised communication of musical works to the public (case c-753/18)
  17. Copyright Office Finds Aspects of the DMCA “Unbalanced” in Favor of Online Service Providers
  18. Designs and copyright protection: UK drifts closer towards Europe
  19. Stretching Copyright: Protecting online fitness workouts
  20. Lack of evidence of non-use and confusion result in POKEWORKS trademark remaining on the register
  21. Three Point Shot: Jordan’s Last Dance in Trademark Dispute Scores Big in Chinese Top Court
  22. Some Brands Have All the Luck
  23. US Supreme Court Rejects ‘Defense Preclusion’ in Trademark Suit
  24. Supreme Court Clarifies Concept of Defense Preclusion Through Lucky Brand Trademark Battle
  25. Supreme Court Rules Defense Not Barred in Subsequent Action Involving Different Trademarks, Conduct and Claims
  26. Recent Federal Court Decision Reaffirms Exceptions to First Sale Doctrine for Brands Bringing Trademark Claims Against Unauthorized Resellers
  27. Tax Service’s Registered Trademark’s Suggestiveness Presented Jury Question
  28. Replacing Rogers Test with “Genuine Artistic Motive” Test Doesn’t Change the Finale in Dispute Over WILD AMERICA
  29. The Impact of Romag Fasteners Inc. v. Fossil Inc.: Willfulness Is Not Required For An Award Of Profits In Trademark Infringement
  30. What the Supreme Court’s Romag Decision means for trademark infringement and damages
  31. ‘Maybe’ Is Not Enough: Foreign Business Fails to Obtain Declaratory Judgment for Potential Use of Trademark
  32. Third judgement in Sky v SkyKick – Louise Foster and Sarah Darby provide some take-away thoughts
  33. Tiger King Trademark Troubles
  34. A Lesson From Tiger King: Corporate Separateness
  35. General Court “shades” some light on 3D trademark registration
  36. Can you trademark a design in the EU?
  37. The Intersection of Trademarks and Open Source
  38. Trademarks rocket while designs level off: UKIPO releases latest annual filings data
  39. Pepper trumps Broccoli: EPO finds products produced by essentially biological processes are not patentable
  40. A Dynamic Reversal by the EPO’s Enlarged Board of Appeal
  41. Joint Inventorship Claim for Online Dating Patent Ends in Heartbreak, Attorneys’ Fees Award
  42. Augmented Reality/Virtual Reality Litigation Update: AR Design Innovations Litigations
  43. Determining the Article of Manufacture in Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality Design Patents
  44. Design Patents: An Underutilized Tool for Protecting Sporting Goods
  45. Rise in extended reality technology patents suggests market revival
  46. Common Patent Misconceptions – Myth #3: My idea is too obvious for patenting.
  47. Clarifying the patentability of medical use inventions in China
  48. Intellectual Property Issue-Spotting: Common Themes in Recent Ad Campaigns
  49. Federal Circuit Patent Update
  50. Protecting intellectual property in the fashion industry – debunking the myths – PART ONE: copyright and patents
  51. Protecting intellectual property in the fashion industry – debunking the myths – PART TWO: Unregistered Design Rights and Registered Designs
  52. Protecting intellectual property in the fashion industry – debunking the myths – PART THREE: Registered and Unregistered Trade Marks
  53. Copyright protection of fashion designs in Spain after Cofemel

PRIVACY

  1. Facebook Pays Multimillion Dollar Penalty in First Case in Canada to Subject Privacy Policies to Misleading Advertising Laws
  2. Just turning your phone on qualifies as searching it, court rules
  3. After FBI Successfully Breaks Into IPhones, Bill Barr Says It’s Time For Legislated Encryption Backdoors
  4. S-Town Podcast Lawsuit Settled – Reminder on Getting Releases from Podcast Subjects
  5. Banks Get Payout From Equifax Hack While Consumers Still Wait For Compensation
  6. The Grubman Ransomware Attack and What It Means for the Cyber Risks That You May Face
  7. Senate Talking Points Say Warrantless Collection Of Internet Use Data Keeps Terrorists From Killing Us
  8. Digital Media and the Right to Be Forgotten
  9. Court Tells Grandma To Delete Photos Of Grandkids On Facebook For Violating The GDPR
  10. Yes, This Site Uses Cookies, Because Nearly All Sites Use Cookies, And We’re Notifying You Because We’re Told We Have To

CREATIVITY   

  1. FTC Sues Negative Option Marketers
  2. Judge Dismisses Half-Baked False Advertising Claims Against Ghirardelli
  3. Judge Sends Devin Nunes’ SLAPP Suits Against CNN And Washington Post Off To Their Proper Venues
  4. The Law of Defamation and Political Advertising Argued in Trump Suit Against Wisconsin TV Station
  5. Bakker Claims Coronavirus Prosecution Attacks His Faith
  6. Kansas City penguins delight in their first art history lesson

GAMES

  1. Manchester United sues Sega over Football Manager trademark use: Sega and developer Sports Interactive reply that club’s name, logo have been used since 1992 “without complaint”
  2. Rainbow Six: Siege clone Area F2 has been taken offline following lawsuit from Ubisoft
  3. The Last of Us Part 2 reportedly banned in the Middle East: Upcoming hit believed to be “banned by the competent authorities” of United Arab Emirates and Saudia Arabia
  4. Naughty Dog uses new Twitter feature to block Last of Us Part II spoilers
  5. FTC Settles with Digital Game Company Over Allegedly False COPPA Safe Harbor Claims
  6. G2A confirms stolen game key sales, pays $40,000 to Factorio devs
  7. G2A to pay Factorio dev $39,600 after allowing illegal game key sales
  8. Hackers infect multiple game developers with advanced malware
  9. First Amendment May Protect Use of Trademarks As Artistic Expression: AM General LLC v. Activision Blizzard, Inc. et al.
  10. EA and NFL to extend partnership until 2025: Madden publisher could have exclusivity for football simulation games until 2026 if series “achieves certain revenue goals”
  11. EA is releasing the source code for Command & Conquer: Red Alert and Tiberian Dawn
  12. EA releasing source code for Command & Conquer and Red Alert: Code will go open source alongside Remastered Collection next month
  13. Nintendo Escapes Digital Pre-Order Dispute in EU
  14. A Place Where We Can Be Together: Animal Crossing has become a place for weddings and graduations
  15. Animal Crossing: New Horizons sold 3.6m digital units in April – It’s now the top Nintendo Switch title in lifetime digital sales and digital revenue
  16. Game Discoverability & The Nintendo Switch: Where We’re At
  17. COVID-19: Video games good for mental health during pandemic, says U of S prof
  18. NPD: US console sales in April up 163% to $420m – Video games hardware and software generated $1.5 billion last month, making it the biggest April on record
  19. Report: Video game sales increased by 73% in April, setting new records for the month (NPD Group)
  20. Worldwide digital games market: April 2020 – Game spending totaled a record-breaking $10.5B in April 2020, showing the continued strength of the medium during the COVID-19 crisis.
  21. U.S. console-hardware spending hits mammoth $420 million in April
  22. App Annie: Mobile gaming will widen its lead over console and PC titles in 2020
  23. Nexon CEO: COVID-19 has spotlighted gaming’s importance – Owen Mahoney suggests that gaming’s resilience in the face of pandemic is reflective of its broader role within entertainment
  24. The giants of the video game industry have thrived in the pandemic. Can the success continue?
  25. How COVID-19 is taking gaming and esports to the next level
  26. Don’t expect huge change in the post-COVID industry | Opinion: Expectations of radical change in the wake of the pandemic are overblown — in-person working will remain the default paradigm
  27. Why games firms are ready to go back to the office | Podcast: We discuss recent comments from Satya Nadella and Strauss Zelnick, plus PlayStation Now vs Xbox Game Pass
  28. As traffic hits all-time high, Jackbox adjusting to dev’ing from home
  29. The IGDA debuts standards, reporting system to curb bad industry behavior
  30. IGDA: “We’re not looking to call people out — we’re looking to improve the industry” – Renee Gittins on the IGDA’s push to tackle crunch, diversity and more with a database of reported bad behaviour
  31. UK Charts: Maneater debuts at No.6 as Nintendo dominates: Animal Crossing and Mario Kart claim the top two positions
  32. Seven Deadly Sins push Netmarble Q1 revenues up – The Seven Deadly Sins: Grand Cross became the mobile publisher’s second biggest game less than a month after worldwide launch
  33. How the Dauntless community taught Phoenix Labs about trust: Phoenix Labs’ Nick Clifford explores the value of building lasting relationships within your community, and how to get there
  34. Amplifier Game Invest acquires Italian developer DestinyBit
  35. Little Nightmares has sold over 2 million copies worldwide 
  36. Don’t expect next-gen console launches in China anytime soon | Opinion: The suspension of the PlayStation Store in China underlines the problems that Sony and Microsoft continue to face, says Apptutti’s Daniel Camilo
  37. Stadia exclusivity pushes PS4, Xbox One versions of Serious Sam 4 into 2021: Croteam’s upcoming shooter will launch on Google’s streaming service and Steam in August
  38. Xbox Family Settings app will help parents manage their kids’ gaming habits
  39. Xbox boosts responsible gaming strategy with Family Settings app: The platform holder discusses the evolution of its safety ecosystem and the new family features developed for its app
  40. After some high-profile opt outs, Nvidia GeForce Now swaps to an opt-in library
  41. Naughty Dog tests new Twitter feature to limit The Last of Us Part 2 spoilers: PlayStation studio cuts off replies following social media abuse over upcoming blockbuster
  42. Gamestream raises $3.8 million to grow its B2B-focused cloud gaming platform
  43. Gamestream raises €3.5m to build up B2B cloud gaming technology: Eponyme Partners leads investment round in turnkey cloud gaming service
  44. Game companies in Spain to benefit from $21.9 million in protective financing
  45. Spanish game devs to benefit from €20m in government finance: Culture industries hit by COVID-19 pandemic can apply for financing on “beneficial” terms
  46. Italy announces fund to support country’s game studios during COVID-19 crisis
  47. Italian government approves €4m fund for games developers: Trade body IIDEA’s First Playable Fund will offer up to €200,000 per prototype
  48. Slovakian games industry has nearly doubled in size since 2016: Fledgling sector expected to turnover €55 million in 2020
  49. CD Projekt’s market cap rivals Ubisoft — but not for much longer | Opinion: Polish publisher is riding high on The Witcher and Cyberpunk, but Ubisoft is about to emerge from a year of uncertainty with five AAA launches
  50. Tencent will be “taking the System Shock franchise forward”: OtherSide Entertainment’s role on the third game unclear after deal with the Chinese publisher
  51. Tencent acquires 20% stake in Marvelous, Inc.
  52. Tencent acquires 20% stake in Story of Seasons dev Marvelous for $65 million
  53. Tencent takes 20% stake in Marvelous for $65m: Investment from Chinese giant will enable Story of Seasons developer to build new and existing IP
  54. PlatinumGames dispels rumors that Microsoft is buying it – Atsushi Inaba: “That conversation has not come to our doorstep at all”
  55. Cheating in Esports tournaments – legal arguments for discouraging bad players
  56. Audi parks driver for using a ringer in charity esports race
  57. League of Legends putting ads on the playfield: Viewers of official esports matches will see Mastercard, Alienware, other brands featured on in-game banners
  58. The E-Sports and Gaming Industries Offer Vital Tools to Musicians in the Wake of COVID-19
  59. Ninja Launches Star-Studded, Six-Week ‘Fortnite’ Tournament On His Mixer Channel
  60. Ninja Teams With Killer Merch For Clothing Brand Relaunch, ‘Fortnite’ Capsule, Future Streetwear Drops
  61. Amazon Games and Bandai Namco are bringing a free Pac-Man game to Twitch
  62. Twitch signs three more exclusivity deals with top streamers: Streaming platform wars escalate as Summit1G, Dakotaz and JoshOG commit to multi-year partnerships with Twitch
  63. Twitch Inks Exclusive Streaming And Appearance Deals With Summit1G, Dakotaz, JoshOG
  64. Twitch Launches New Corporate Channel Dedicated To Gaming News, Event Coverage, More
  65. Fortnite is morphing into a movie theater with help from Christopher Nolan
  66. Christopher Nolan Premieres ‘Tenet’ Trailer Inside Fortnite, With Another Film Arriving In-Game This Summer
  67. With Theaters Closed, The Trailer For Christopher Nolan’s ‘Tenet’ Debuts In Fortnite Instead
  68. CAA Signs Facebook Gaming Creator Jonna Mae (Exclusive)
  69. Markiplier And Jacksepticeye’s Clothing Brand Cloak Digs Up ‘Minecraft’ Partnership
  70. Minecraft Dungeons review: A smashing good Diablo clone for any age
  71. Minecraft Dungeons | Critical Consensus: Mojang is commended for making a kid-friendly action-RPG, but critics question its value for more experienced players
  72. Analyst speculates on Grand Theft Auto release from Take-Two marketing spike: Publisher refutes speculation, saying unusually high marketing commitments for fiscal 2024 are to external parties
  73. AR Pokemon will soon be able to hide behind real-world objects in Pokemon Go
  74. Niantic adds ‘reality blending’ to Pokémon Go to make your virtual pals even more realistic: A new AR feature to make pokémon more believably blend with the environment
  75. Magic Leap raises $350m after mass layoffs: But augmented reality firm withdraws notice regarding potential redundancies for remaining staff
  76. Magic Leap withdraws conditional layoff notices after raising $350 million
  77. Why it took five years to build Lego Super Mario: “The only brief was: do something that only these two companies could do together”
  78. Dread X Collection: Evoking Kojima’s PT in context, not content: Dread XP’s Ted Hentschke says Silent Hill teaser and horror film anthologies inspired his approach to indie horror game dev
  79. How does a hit like Katana Zero change things for a creator?: Juggling multiple projects helped produce Justin Stander’s breakthrough hit, but he’s now looking forward to creating one thing at a time
  80. An extensive look at Maxis’ short stint in serious simulation games
  81. Don’t Miss: A classic game postmortem of Westwood Studios’ Command & Conquer
  82. Don’t Miss: Designing the Elusive Targets system in 2016’s Hitman
  83. Don’t Miss: A postmortem look at how Blizzard built Diablo II
  84. Video: A new strategy for narrative desigers
  85. Blog: Narrative vs. gameplay – A toolbox for harmonious coexistence
  86. Blog: Demystifying C#’s under-utilized superpower for game development
  87. Blog: Launch day depression (and why i’m over it)
  88. Blog: Highlights of global accessibility awareness day 2020
  89. Blog: Why new players matter to indie developers
  90. Blog: Creating stronger bonds between players and NPCs through group conflict
  91. Game Tech Deep Dive: Gears Tactics – When art meets scalability
  92. U.S. Patent no. 10,315,119: Video game with concurrent processing of game-related physical objects
  93. “Abstract Assertion of Breadth” Does Not Prove Non-Enablement: Patent on method of animating faces invideo games

Jon