DIGITAL

1. Ontario Superior Court denies certification of Cambridge Analytica class action
2. Ontario Court Sets Out New Tort of “Harassment in Internet Communications”
3. Anonymous internet commenter fails to set aside default judgment
4. Yet Another Story Shows How Facebook Bent Over Backwards To Put In Place Different Rules For Conservatives
5. Facebook to reverse Australia news ban after lawmakers alter bill
6. Facebook Caves To Australia: Will Restore Links After Government Gives It More Time To Negotiate Paying For News Links
7. Right to post: Australia calls Facebook blocks an assault on a sovereign nation: Health Minister Greg Hunt has turned up the rhetorical dial after Facebook blocked Australian news media this morning.
8. Facebook news ban is “arrogant,” Australia will not be “intimidated,” PM says
9. The Bizarre Reaction To Facebook’s Decision To Get Out Of The News Business In Australia
10. Why Is Facebook’s Decision to Restrict News in Australia So Significant?
11. Australian News Sites Shocked & Upset To Learn They Don’t Need To Rely On Facebook For Traffic!
12. Facebook’s Australian News Ban Did Demonstrate The Evil Of Zero Rating
13. Beware the Unintended Consequences: Some Warning Signs for Canada from the Australian Government Battle With Facebook (Michael Geist)
14. The Complexity of Internet Content Regulation – A Conversation with CIPPIC’s Vivek Krishnamurthy (Michael Geist)
15. Microsoft throws Google under the bus in European news fight
16. The Librarian War Against QAnon
17. TikTok Removed Nearly 350,000 Videos For Violating Election Policies
18. New ‘TikTok For Black Creatives’ Incubator Unveils Inaugural Class Of 100 Creators
19. Arizona’s $24-Million Prison Management Software Is Keeping People Locked Up Past The End Of Their Sentences
20. YouTube Removes PewDiePie’s Cocomelon Diss Track, Citing Harassment And Child Safety Policies
21. Is Mandated Sideloading The Answer To App Store Deplatforming?
22. YouTube Will Begin Letting Underage Users Onto Its Flagship Platform — With Parental Supervision
23. Five Things Platforms Can Do Today to Fight Disinformation
24. Indian Government Requires Educational Establishments To Obtain Its Approval For The Subject Matter And Participants Of International Online Conferences And Seminars
25. Tech groups sue Maryland to block new digital-ad tax from going into effect
26. How Oregon’s Top Wildlife Official Got Sued Over His State’s Hunting App
27. Is Section 230 Just For Start-ups? History Says Nope
28. North Dakota’s New Anti-230 Bill Would Let Nazis Sue You For Reporting Their Content To Twitter
29. Attacks On Internet Free Speech In Malaysia And Indonesia Demonstrate Why Section 230 Is So Important
30. Content Moderation Case Study: Senator Asks YouTube To Block Al Qaeda Videos (2008)
31. Content Moderation Case Study: Chatroulette Leverages New AI To Combat Unwanted Nudity (2020)
32. The Grim Consequences of a Misleading Study on Disinformation: An influential study relies too heavily on news reporting – which has only recently acknowledged the social media manipulation problem at all.
33. Social media manipulation by political actors now an industrial scale problem prevalent in over 80 countries – annual Oxford report
34. Congressional Jawboning of Internet Services Isn’t Actionable–AAPS v. Schiff (Eric Goldman)
35. Doctor Can’t Win Default Judgment Over Patient’s Yelp Review–Mirza v. Amar (Eric Goldman)
36. An Account Suspension Case Fails Again–Perez v. LinkedIn (Eric Goldman)
37. UK Supreme Court says Uber drivers are not independent contractors
38. Uber: Bankrupt engineer Levandowski is hiding millions from creditors
39. Maryland First State to Adopt Digital Ad Tax
40. Hosts Of Gimlet Media’s ‘Reply All’ Step Down After Allegations Of Toxic, Anti-Union Behavior
41. Can YouTube Teach Facebook A Better Way To Handle News Content In Australia And Beyond?
42. YouTube Shutters 7 Remaining ‘YouTube Spaces’ Globally, Doubling Down On Pop-ups And Virtual Programming
43. YouTube launches new destination for sports fans and expands its YouTube Select CTV offering
44. YouTube Announces 2021 Slate Of More Than 30 Kids’ Originals
45. YouTube TV To Offer $30 Add-On Bundle Comprising HBO Max, Showtime, And Starz
46. This Week In Social Video: Mars Landing, Rick Lax, Happy Gilmore
47. Spotify Will Enable Podcasters To Charge For Monthly Subscriptions, Slates Broader Rollout For Video Podcasts
48. TikTok without filters
49. TikTok Locks In Multiyear Partnership With UFC
50. David Dobrik’s ‘Dispo’ App Reportedly Eyeing Series A Funding Round At $100 Million Valuation
51. Logan Paul Sells $5 Million Worth Of NFTs Ahead Of His Pokémon Box Break
52. MrBeast Says His Burger Brand Sold One Million Sandwiches In 2 Months
53. Creator Community Standard Launches In-House Studio Offering Production Resources To All Digital Creators
54. A Teenaged Tech CEO Tries To Sneak In After Curfew And Finds His Mom Waited Up For Him
55. Internationalized domain names: definition, challenges, and status
56. The bitcoin blockchain is helping keep a botnet from being taken down
57. Virtual Currency Platform Settles NY AG Charges for Unlawful Trading
58. Treasury Secretary Skeptical of Bitcoin
59. SEC halts trading of iced tea company that pivoted to blockchain
60. SEC Delists the Iced-Tea Company that Added “Blockchain” to Its Name
61. The rise of the online divorce
62. Another route for resolving technology disputes?
63. Is Quantum Computing about to actually become useable – even useful?
64. Roundup of Some Influential 1990s Internet Law Articles (Eric Goldman)

A.I.

1. Copyright in works created by artificial intelligence: issues and Perspectives
2. Artificial Intelligence and Patents: Inventing Inventors
3. Takeaways | Requiring Human Inventorship – Opportunities to Advise Whether to Prohibit, Permit, or Require Listing an AI Algorithm as an Inventor – Eastern District of Virginia & European Patent Office
4. Legal Aspects of Artificial Intelligence (v3.0)
5. The AI research paper was real. The “co-author” wasn’t
6. Google fires top ethical AI expert Margaret Mitchell: The tech giant claims Mitchell violated staff codes of conduct.
7. AI and Privacy Are on a Collision Course
8. AI can write a passing college paper in 20 minutes: Natural language processing is on the cusp of changing our relationship with machines forever.
9. CMA continues its focus on digital markets with a call for evidence on the use of algorithms
10. Will the Final Chapter Come? FDA’s Action Plan for Oversight of Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning-Based Medical Software
11. Trust, transparency and meaning: success factors in effective AI projects
12. Video: Improving the AI of Mafia III

COMMUNICATIONS

1. Court Tosses Devin Nunes’ Silly SLAPP Lawsuit Against CNN
2. California can enforce net neutrality law, judge rules in loss for ISPs
3. California Poised To Defeat Broadband Industry In Scrum Over Net Neutrality
4. ‘Net Neutrality Hurt Internet Infrastructure Investment’ Is The Bad Faith Lie That Simply Won’t Die
5. Comcast reluctantly drops data-cap enforcement in 12 states for rest of 2021
6. AT&T and Frontier have let phone networks fall apart, Calif. regulator finds
7. Cox’s bad customer service stymies users who don’t want upload speeds cut
8. The DOJ/FCC ‘Fix’ For The T-Mobile Merger Is Looking More And More Like Theater
9. Chattanooga Built Its Own Broadband Network. Now It’s The Top Ranked ‘Work From Home’ City In The US
10. New Bill Tries To Ban Community Broadband. During A Pandemic.
11. FCC Pressured To Let Libraries Bridge Broadband Access During The Pandemic
12. Apple is already working on developing 6G wireless technology
13. Apple beats Samsung in phone sales for first time since 2016
14. Maryland Electric Cooperative Launches Broadband Subsidiary
15. House Republicans propose nationwide ban on municipal broadband networks
16. LG enters fray with Google, Amazon, Roku for TV operating system dominance
17. China blocks BBC World News in Tit-for-tat move following CGTN Ban in UK
18. ASA rejects a complaint that a Johnnie Walker ad encouraged immoderate drinking
19. CARU Encourages Advertisers to Focus on Diversity and Inclusion
20. Broadening the Definition of Express and Implicit Representation in Children’s Advertising

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

1. Canadian consultation on extending the general term of copyright open through March 12
2. Extra, extra, read all about it: new Canadian Bill proposes remuneration for use of journalistic works online
3. Time to Pay the Copyright Piper? A Digital Media Platform Copyright Reckoning for Journalists is Upon Us!
4. Meghan Markle gets summary judgment – but is she the sole author of her letter?
5. Duchess of Sussex wins summary judgment in copyright and privacy claims
6. Duchess of Sussex v Mail on Sunday & MailOnline
7. HHJ Hacon decides ownership of Virtual Forensic Computing software created during course of employment.
8. Karma: Twitch Replaces Live Metallica Concert With 8-Bit Music To Avoid Copyright Madness 
9. Understanding the Boundaries of Using Copyrighted Learning Materials in Distance Learning 
10. Hooray for the Public Domain: A prequel to The Great Gatsby sees the light of day!
11. A Closed Book: No Past Infringement, No Reading Between the Lines into the Future
12. Third circuit panel revises half-baked trade dress functionality decision
13. 9th Circuit swivels on trade dress functionality doctrine in favor of iconic Herman Miller office chairs
14. Apple Settles Trademark Opposition With PrePear Recipe App After The Latter Makes A Barely Perceptible Change In Logo
15. A Registration is a Trump Card
16. Peloton Seeks To Invalidate ‘Spinning’ Trademark Held By Trademark Bully
17. FyreTV Porn Service Asks 11th Circuit Panel To Resurrect Dumb Trademark Suit Against Amazon Over FireTV
18. USPTO Provides Guidance in View of ‘Booking.com’
19. Trademark registrability of generic.com domain names following US Supreme Court decision on Booking.com
20. Fairtrade Fortnight
21. Protecting product appearance through trademark and design registrations
22. Domain Name Dispute Resolution Options: Features, Benefits and Other Considerations for Selecting Between UDRP and URS
23. Federal Circuit Clarifies When Appellate Review Triggers Patent Term Adjustment
24. Federal Court Dismisses Limitation Period Defence in Patent Infringement Action under Section 8.2 of the PM(NOC) Regulations 
25. Canadian courts are interpreting supplementary pharmaceutical patent protection more broadly than their EU counterparts
26. Lack of enablement in Amgen v Sanofi and Regeneron
27. Federal Circuit Axes Amgen Antibody Patents, Finding Lack of Enablement
28. Judge Schofield Rejects Application of Rare Equitable Estoppel Defense
29. 2G or Not 2G: Patent License Applies to Future Generation Wireless Networks
30. Boom in M&A shifts semiconductor patent landscape 
31. Patent Office Issues Guidance on Indefiniteness
32. When is someone “authorised” to use a patented invention for the services of the Crown and therefore immune from patent infringement?
33. John Deere Promised To Back Off Monopolizing Repair. It Then Ignored That Promise Completely.

PRIVACY

1. Evidence of Harm Required To Advance Class Action Following Data Breach
2. Uber Denial of Class Action – Alberta Court Denies Certification of Privacy Class Action
3. Alberta court confirms competent Testator’s right to privacy
4. Why Transparency Won’t Save Us
5. Treasury Oversight Says IRS Should Consider Getting Warrants Before Buying Location Data From Data Brokers
6. Ninth Circuit Sends Alexa Surreptitious Recording Case to Arbitration–Tice v. Amazon (Eric Goldman)
7. Data Breach Plaintiff Doesn’t Have Standing in the Absence of Fraud or Identity Theft–Tsao v. Captiva
8. The First Circuit Court of Appeals confirms government’s expansive authority to search electronic devices
9. Think Before You Pack that Laptop—Searches at the U.S. Border May Compromise Personal and Corporate Data
10. Microsoft says SolarWinds hackers stole source code for 3 products
11. Global social media company should take measures to prevent app developers from transmitter users’ sensitive data
12. Private firms can’t protect us from digital attacks. Government must step in.
13. Post-IDFA Alliance forms to prepare for Apple privacy changes
14. New browser-tracking hack works even when you flush caches or go incognito
15. Clearview and Blackbaud – Where are we, how did we get here, and where are we going?
16. To pay or not to pay: Another regulator weighs in on the decision to pay a ransom
17. GDPR in practice for North American companies: Key takeaways from Jan 21. 2021 Webinar
18. LAPD Asked Ring Users To Turn Over Footage Of Anti-Police Brutality Protests
19. Firefox 86 brings multiple Picture-in-Picture, “Total Cookie Protection”

GAMES

1. Oxford University Study Shows Small Correlation Between Playing Video Games And ‘Well Being’
2. Illinois politician proposes a Grand Theft Auto ban
3. New Illinois Bill Would Expand Restrictions on Video Games
4. Case Study: How ADL Used Custom Consumer Research to Measure Harassment & Disruptive Behavior in Online Games
5. Epic giving out virtual currency after loot box settlement
6. Epic Games settlement awards in-game cash to Fortnite, Rocket League players
7. Epic will pay off class-action loot-box settlement with in-game currency
8. UK antitrust tribunal blocks Epic’s case against Apple
9. Epic Games attacks Apple in antitrust complaint to EU: Apple’s position as a gatekeeper for what apps can appear on iPhones or iPads has already attracted EU antitrust scrutiny
10. Valve gets dragged into Apple and Epic’s legal fight over Fortnite
11. Apple turns to Valve for information in legal battle with Epic
12. Valve pushes back against Apple’s attempt to rope it into the big Epic v. Apple dispute
13. Bethesda faces lawsuit over Fallout 4 DLC: The company faces charges of deceit for not including its Creation Club in the game’s Season Pass, which could delay Microsoft’s ZeniMax takeover
14. Class-action suit takes aim at Google Stadia’s 4K claims
15. Google Faces Class Action Over Claims that all Stadia Games Support 4K
16. Google Disbands Stadia Game Developers And Signals Potential For More Trouble Ahead
17. Stadia Fallout: Nobody Can Address Stadia Games’ Bugs Because Google Fired All The Developers
18. Luna, Amazon’s cloud gaming service, is no longer invite-only on some devices
19. WallStreetBets agitator Keith Gill faces class action lawsuit over Gamestop Reddit Rally
20. Robinhood says GameStop volatility was a “1 in 3.5 million” black swan
21. GameStop, Musk, and the threat to decentralization (Andres Guadamuz)
22. GameStop CFO resigns
23. GameStop CFO Jim Bell resigns
24. SEC Commissioner Peirce Reaffirms Agency Mission in Light of GameStop
25. Microsoft Unveils Xbox Accessibility Guidelines Version 2.0
26. Biden admin plans executive order to address chip-shortage woes
27. Semiconductor shortage hitting console production to be investigated by White House
28. Chip shortage may threaten PlayStation 5 supplies at Christmas
29. PS5 DualSense drift — this teardown just revealed the cause
30. Gran Turismo 7 for PS5 just hit a major delay
31. Gran Turismo 7 delayed to 2022
32. CD Projekt Red issues DMCA to prevent spread of stolen Gwent code
33. CD Projekt issues DMCA takedowns to halt spread of illegally obtained source code
34. Report: Some CD Projekt devs unable to work after ransomware attack
35. Take-Two DMCA takes down reverse-engineered GTA source code
36. Take-Two reportedly takes down reverse-engineered GTA3, Vice City source code
37. What a woman games journalist experiences in a week
38. Developer banned from Steam for naming studio Very Positive
39. Steam’s new controller reporting lets devs know how their games are played 
40. Burning Crusade Classic leaks ahead of BlizzCon
41. Diablo II Resurrected tops BlizzCon announcement flurry
42. Hardsuit Labs dropped as Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines 2 developer
43. Microsoft’s accessibility guidelines are a great start — but we can go further | Opinion
44. Nvidia nerfs cryptocurrency mining capabilities on newest graphics card
45. Here’s why Glu is an excellent strategic fit for EA
46. EA, BioWare cancel Anthem’s sweeping overhaul
47. BioWare cancels plans for Anthem rework, shifts focus to Dragon Age and Mass Effect
48. Crusader Kings III helps Paradox to best financial year in history
49. Paradox reports best year ever in 2020
50. Paradox removes Hardsuit Labs as Bloodlines 2 developer, title delayed indefinitely
51. Unity report shows mobile games ad revenue grew 8% in 2020
52. January digital games spending reaches $11.6bn
53. Super Mario 3D World holds off FIFA resurgence | UK Boxed Charts
54. Valheim tops 500,000 concurrent players on Steam in under three weeks
55. Valheim has sold over 3 million copies in 17 days
56. Paradox reveals new subscription service for Crusader Kings 2
57. Paradox rolls out Crusader Kings II subscription plan to make DLC more accessible
58. Nintendo delivered a strong Direct, but fan impatience grows | Opinion
59. GameMaker to add next-gen support
60. HP acquires HyperX
61. Soccer Manager gets £3m investment
62. Notre Dame sitting out of EA Sports College Football for now
63. EA completes $1.2 billion acquisition of Dirt developer Codemasters
64. EA completes $1.2bn Codemasters acquisition and hopes to “revolutionise” racing games
65. Thunderful acquires Bridge Constructor publisher Headup in €11m deal
66. Thunderful acquires Bridge Constructor publisher Headup for $13.3 million
67. Thunderful Group full-year revenues rise to $374m despite Q4 profit drop
68. Bandai Namco take minority stake in Might & Magic dev Limbic Entertainment
69. Roblox to begin trading shares in March
70. VSPN reportedly considering IPO
71. Bungie scaling up to expand Destiny ‘into additional media’ and create new IPs
72. Bungie opening Amsterdam publishing office
73. Instant mobile game platform Artie raises $10m seed fund
74. Instant mobile game platform Artie secures $10 million in funding
75. ‘LinkedIn for gamers’ Efuse raises $6m 
76. BebopBee lands $2m in funding
77. Netmarble acquires Kung Fu Factory 
78. Netmarble US to acquire NBA Ball Stars dev Kung Fu Factory 
79. Lucid Sight acquires multiplayer engine Colyseus 
80. Fandom acquires digital games marketplace Fanatical
81. Larian opens UK development studio to work on Baldur’s Gate 3 
82. IronSource acquires playable and video advertisement platform Luna Labs
83. Tencent grabs minority stake in TerraTech developer Payload Studios
84. Saudi sovereign fund invests over $3 billion in major game publishers
85. Saudi investment fund acquires shares in Activision Blizzard, Take-Two, and EA
86. Live-action Twisted Metal TV series moving forward
87. Cambrian’s new game design program launches in September
88. Top Streamer Dr Disrespect To Release Comedic Memoir On March 30 
89. Omaken Sports forms “Nordic powerhouse of esports” with Heroic acquisition
90. OverActive plans Toronto esports arena: Owner of Toronto Ultra and Toronto Defiant says 7,000-seat, $500 million venue projected to be complete in 2025 
91. YouTube Millionaires: For 17-Year-Old ‘Fortnite’ Enthusiast Ryft, “The Future Is Looking Very Bright”
92. CAA Signs Fast-Growing Facebook Gaming Creator Zack ‘ZLaner’ Lane 
93. Striker VR raises $4 million for VR gun peripheral
94. Sony developing ‘next-generation VR system’ for PlayStation 5
95. Sony announces new PSVR hardware for PlayStation 5
96. Sony just confirmed PSVR 2 for PS5 — these are the biggest upgrades
97. Next-Gen VR Dev Kits for PS5 Shipping Soon with “completely new VR format”
98. Sony Confirms Next-Gen PSVR is Coming, New Controllers to Feature DualSense Tech
99. PlayStation’s commitment is a huge boost to the VR market | Opinion
100. Carmack: Facebook-Oculus Acquisition ‘Not A Perfect Outcome’ But Still ‘Correct’ For The Company 
101. VR specialist NDreams becomes a third-party publisher with $2 million fund
102. Making terms and acquisitions more accessible to users
103. The legend of The Legend of Zelda 
104. The secret to Final Fantasy XIV’s longevity lies in the room its devs are given to innovate
105. Let them fight! Mortal Kombat red-band trailer gives fans what they want 
106. Minit devs launch Minit Fun Racer, with all proceeds to go to charity
107. Don’t Miss: In It To Minit – Designing a world of one-minute adventures
108. Blog: A market status and design analysis of Autochess
109. Blog: How game developers can tackle the climate crisis
110. Blog: Urban Japan and megacities expert discusses Cyberpunk 2077 
111. Blog: Writing slapstick and narrative as one
112. Blog: My full time indie developer life – Year 4
113. Don’t Miss: Blizzard’s postmortem of Diablo II
114. Don’t Miss: Making Oxenfree’s narrative unfold like a free-flowing conversation

Jon

DIGITAL

1. The Tort of Internet Harassment: A new tort with an extraordinary remedy
2. Ontario Superior Court recognizes new cause of action addressing internet harassment
3. Ontario Superior Court recognizes new tort for online harassment
4. Court Refuses to Order Removal of Social Media Posts Alleging Employer was Racist
5. Parler’s ownership offer to Trump and possible Russian ties probed by Congress
6. Parler CEO says board fired him for planning to ban “neo-Nazi” groups
7. Various States All Pile On To Push Blatantly Unconstitutional Laws That Say Social Media Can’t Moderate
8. If We’re Going To Talk About Discrimination In Online Ads, We Need To Talk About Roommates.com
9. 25 Years Later: A Celebration Of The Declaration Of The Independence Of Cyberspace
10. Can A Community Approach To Disinformation Help Twitter?
11. Facebook moves to scale down political content
12. Google, Facebook tell SCOTUS it should be harder for you to sue them
13. Indian Government Threatens To Jail Twitter Employees For Restoring Accounts The Government Wants Blocked
14. Huawei Attempts To Rebuild Trust By Using… Fake Twitter Telecom Experts
15. Without Twitter, Trump Is Left To Write Tweets He Would Have Said On Paper
16. With Trump gone, Huawei tells Biden it’s not a security threat
17. Not just Facebook: Snap, Unity warn Apple’s tracking change threatens business
18. Soon, you may be able to change the default music service in iOS
19. Sorry, small-phone lovers: The iPhone 12 mini was Apple’s 2020 sales flop
20. Klobuchar targets Big Tech with biggest antitrust overhaul in 45 years
21. Senators Warner, Hirono, And Klobuchar Demand The End Of The Internet Economy
22. Platform mergers and antitrust: This paper sets out a framework for addressing competition concerns arising from acquisitions in big platform ecosystems.
23. Lingerie Brand Adore Me Accuses TikTok Of Targeting Videos With BIPOC, Plus-Size, Disabled Models
24. Oracle’s TikTok acquisition reportedly “shelved” indefinitely
25. Trump And Oracle’s Dumb TikTok Cronyism Falls Apart
26. 20-Year-Old Nashville Man Allegedly Shot Dead While Attempting YouTube Robbery Prank
27. Sony picks up minor stake in From Software parent company Kadokawa Corporation
28. Microsoft Offers To Break The Web In A Desperate Attempt To Get Somebody To Use Its Widely-Ignored Bing Search Engine
29. Raspberry Pi OS added a Microsoft repo. No, it’s not an evil secret
30. The Definitive Guide to Clickwrap
31. We’re Living Our Lives On The Internet, And We Can’t Be Free If It Isn’t.
32. Smartmatic Sues Two Trump Lawyers And Three Fox News Hosts For $2.7 Billion-Worth Of Defamation
33. Now It’s The Democrats Turn To Destroy The Open Internet: Mark Warner’s 230 Reform Bill Is A Dumpster Fire Of Cluelessness
34. Senators Propose Substantial Revisions to Section 230’s Protections for Online Providers
35. Proposed Sec. 230 rewrite could have wide-ranging consequences
36. The Many Reasons To Celebrate Section 230
37. Section 230 Lets Tech Fix Content Moderation Issues. Congress Should Respect That
38. How To Think About Online Ads And Section 230
39. How Section 230 Makes My Life Better (A Celebration of Its 25 Year Anniversary) (Eric Goldman)
40. Comments on the “SAFE TECH” Act (Eric Goldman)
41. Content Moderation Case Study: Twitch Allows Users To Enable Emote-Only Chats (2016)
42. Content Moderation Case Study: Twitter Attempts To Tackle COVID-related Vaccine Misinformation (2020)
43. TikTok’s Sale To Oracle, Walmart Indefinitely Shelved, As Biden Administration Conducts Its Own Cybersecurity Review
44. Instagram Building Vertical Scrolling Experience For Stories, Just Like TikTok
45. Instagram Will Begin Making Reels Including A TikTok Watermark “Less Discoverable”
46. Whalar Launches First All-Black Creator House, ‘The Crib Around The Corner’
47. Former YouTube Employee Launches ‘BlackOakTV’ Streaming Service To Superserve Black Viewers And Creators
48. Sports YouTuber KOT4Q Partners With Malka, Up North Management For Weekly YouTube Series
49. YouTube’s lo-fi music streams are all about the euphoria of less
50. MrBeast’s ‘MrBeast Burger’ Ghost Kitchen Concept Arrives In Canada
51. David Dobrik Shows Off New $9.5 Million Mansion, Unveils Video Version Of ‘Views’ Podcast
52. ASA upholds another complaint against an influencer social media ad
53. In A First, Shopify To Integrate Checkout Technology Directly Within Facebook And Instagram
54. Universal Music Yanks Catalog From Triller, Slams Service For Withholding Artist Payments
55. Disney fires Mandalorian’s Gina Carano over “abhorrent, unacceptable” posts
56. Netflix acquires the rights to all 22 Redwall books, plans film and series
57. HBO Max signs “adult” cartoon series based on Scooby-Doo’s Velma
58. New report on Apple’s VR headset: 8K in each eye, potential $3,000 price tag
59. Texas Dept. Of Public Safety Issues Amber Alert For Victim Of Horror Doll Chucky
60. Joint Chiefs of Tax Enforcement to Investigate Tax Fraud Arising Out of FinTech and Cryptocurrency
61. A terabyte isn’t what it used to be—14% of Internet customers use more
62. 25 years ago today, the internet declared its independence — for better and for worse
63. ‘I’m Not a Cat,’ Says Lawyer Having Zoom Difficulties

A.I.

1. Protecting AI Innovations Through Trade Secrets and Patent Protection
2. A.I. and machine learning tools in financial services should expect regulatory scrutiny
3. Apple’s car project could put it on a collision course with Tesla
4. The Collision of AI’s Machine Learning and Manipulation: Deepfake Litigation Risks to Companies from a Product Liability, Privacy, and Cyber Standpoint
5. In Defense of AI
6. Why the resignation of the Dutch government is a good reminder of how important it is to monitor and regulate algorithms
7. AI Regulation Under the New US Administration
8. New UK AI Roadmap published
9. Will AI Create More Problems Than It Solves in Recruiting?
10. Amazon will use cameras and AI to monitor delivery drivers
11. AI Update: The Future of AI Policy in the UK
12. AI: cure for or cause of discriminatory outcomes in healthcare?
13. FDA Publishes Action Plan for Oversight of Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning-Based Medical Software
14. Code Red: The FDA’s Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning Action Plan Poses Potential Risks for Medical Device Makers
15. U.S. Advances AI Innovation with NAIIA
16. BAILII grants Oxford University unprecedented access to case data for AI analysis in historic agreement
17. Video: The AI of Assassin’s Creed Origins
18. MintzTech Connect Industry News: Spotlight on Turing Enterprises 

COMMUNICATIONS

1. Conservative MP Files Amendment Calling on the Government to Withdraw Bill C-10 (Michael Geist)
2. Why The Secrecy on Bill C-10?: How the Liberals Abandoned Their Commitment to Consultation, and Transparency in Pushing Their Broadcast Reform Bill (Michael Geist)
3. Vancouver’s TSN 1040 off the air after Bell suddenly pulls the plug: Vancouver’s most popular sports radio station shut down Tuesday morning, surprising fans and staff alike
4. Bell abandoning all-sports format at radio stations in Vancouver, Winnipeg, Hamilton
5. Why Laid Off Bell Sports Journalists Should Form A Worker Co-op: We cannot rely on legacy corporate media to save the journalism industry. It’s time to build something better.
6. DOJ Drops Ridiculous Trump-Era Lawsuit Against California For Passing Net Neutrality Rules
7. Want a New Radio Station? FCC Proposes Procedures for a July 2021 Auction, Lists Channels to be Sold, and Imposes a Freeze on Certain Applications
8. Authorities bust SIM-swap ring they say took millions from the rich and famous
9. 16 States Ask The FCC What The Hell Is The Point Of The Verizon Tracfone Merger
10. ISPs step up fight against SpaceX, tell FCC that Starlink will be too slow
11. SpaceX plans Starlink phone service, emergency backup, and low-income access
12. SpaceX Starlink passes 10,000 users and fights opposition to FCC funding
13. SpaceX Starlink opens preorders, but slots are limited in each region
14. Appeals Court Tells Lying Cop No ‘Reasonable’ Officer Would Think It’s OK To Tear Gas Journalists For Performing Journalism
15. Big Game, Ad Claims: Reflecting on Super Bowl Advertising Tactics
16. The Importance of Advanced Telecommunications Networks to Modern Healthcare
17. ASA rules that Ladbrokes TV ad showed gambling behaviour that was socially irresponsible
18. How Cubans make island Internet work for them

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

1. Federal Court trusts technology to prove infringement
2. Is This Beverly Hills Cop Playing Sublime’s ‘Santeria’ to Avoid Being Live-streamed?: Police in Beverly Hills have been playing music while being filmed, seemingly in an effort to trigger Instagram’s copyright filters. 
3. Latest Anti-Accountability Move By Cops Involves Playing Music While Being Recorded In Hopes Of Triggering Copyright Takedowns
4. Celebrity tattoo artist Kat Von D sued for inking Miles Davis design? Tats crazy!
5. Desire v. Manna Textiles (USCA, 9^th Circuit): Holds only one statutory damages award available where defendant supplied infringing work to other defendants, even when those other defendants exploited infringing work.    
6. Carlini v. Paramount Pictures Corp. (USDC, California): Court action brought alleging film “What Men Want” infringed plaintiff’s screenplay, finding access was insufficient and works were not substantially similar. 
7. Be careful what you scrape from the HiQ v. LinkedIn decision 
8. Sherlock Holmes and the copyright infringement claim
9. Protect your moves – A mix of Intellectual Property and Dance
10. Snippet Taxes Not Only Violate The Berne Convention, But Also Betray The Deepest Roots Of Newspaper Culture
11. Why Is Congress Pushing For Locking Up More Culture? 
12. SCOTUS Update – Google v. Oracle 
13. Music – Royalty Rates for Digital Transmissions 
14. Copyright year in review 2020 
15. The growing role of domains in IP 
16. What to Do when “Everything Sucks” 
17. Utah Theme Park Sues Taylor Swift Over Album Title After Exploiting It
18. Taylor Swift sued by Utah Theme Park for trademark infringement.
19. Pearl Jamm changes name to Legal Jam…to avoid legal jam 
20. SDNY Magistrate Judge Recommends that Rubik’s Cube Design is Not Functional 
21. Hanes Pop Warner’s Way: Trademark Dispute Over Pop Warner Mark 
22. How to Register a Common Shape as Your Trademark 
23. Trademarks in 2020: notable cases and developments 
24. Trade Secret Management in the United States: Top Ten Mistakes to Avoid 
25. December 2020 COVID-19 Relief Bill Finally Closes the Streaming Loophole 
26. Third Circuit Finds Pocky Trade Dress Functional, Not Protectable 
27. There’s No Sugarcoating It: Pocky’s Cookie Design Trade Dress Is Functional
28. The Doctrine of File Wrapper Estoppel in Canada: The Court of Appeal Hands Down its Decision 
29. Evidence Supports Prior Art’s Public Accessibility but Not the Board’s Adoption of an Unpresented Theory of Anticipation
30. Federal Circuit Clarifies Part of Patent Term Extension Equation 
31. Federal Circuit Says Automated Systems Are Not Abstract when Tied to Improvements 
32. The “Skinny Label” – The Federal Circuit Has Second Thoughts 
33. No Patent Eligibility Reward for Customer Loyalty Program Computer System
34. How to patent over-the-air (OTA) automotive technology 
35. Federal Circuit Agrees to Reconsider Ruling in GSK v. Teva Drug Patent Case 
36. When Fixing One Problem Creates Another: How Patent Infringement Arises Out of Product Repairs 
37. Key Insights for Obtaining FinTech Patents
38. Patents in 2020 – The year in review

PRIVACY

1. Privacy class action not certified – Setoguchi v Uber B.V., 2021 ABQB 18
2. Clearview AI’s Facial Recognition Tool Found to Violate Canadian Privacy Laws
3. Exceptions from consent in PIPEDA: facial recognition, privacy and Clearview
4. Privacy Commissioners Issue Report on Clearview AI’s Facial Recognition Tool
5. Canadian Privacy Commission Says Clearview’s App Is Illegal, Tells It To Pack Its Things And Leave
6. “Made in Canada” – What is happening to Privacy by Design under the CPPA?
7. NYT Easily Tracks Location Data From Capitol Riots, Highlighting Once Again How US Privacy Standards Are A Joke
8. Amazon Transparency Report Indicates Its Multiple IoT Devices Are Juicy Targets For Law Enforcement
9. 11th Circuit: Future identity theft risk does not confer standing
10. 11th Cir. Rejects Standing Due to Threat of Future Identity Theft & Further Deepens Circuit Split
11. Calling SCOTUS: Eleventh Circuit Invites Supreme Court to Address Circuit Split on Article III Standing for Data Incident Plaintiffs
12. Court Dismisses CCPA Claim Against Google
13. Court denies tech company’s second request for COPPA claim dismissal
14. California AG Becerra Tweets Endorsement for a Universal Opt-Out Tool
15. Chastity Penis Lock Company That Was Hacked Says It’s Now Totally Safe To Put Your Penis Back In That Chastity Lock
16. FTC Reaches Settlement with Digital Health App, Requires First Notice of Privacy Action
17. Key Takeaways from the Recent Grindr Decision and “Tentative” $11M Fine
18. The Bright Side of the Horrifying Story About a Hacked Water Treatment Plant
19. Water Treatment System Hack is a Warning to Critical Infrastructure Organizations
20. Breached water plant employees used the same TeamViewer password and no firewall
21. Turf wars: confidentiality of live (sports) data
22. Android barcode scanner with 10 million+ downloads infects users
23. Google Pixel phones will soon track heart rate using only the camera
24. Zoombombing countermeasures are ineffective in the vast majority of cases
25. Report: Google considering an iOS-style anti-tracking feature for Android
26. Cops can’t access $60M in seized bitcoin—fraudster won’t give password
27. 2020 Privacy Law Year in Review

GAMES

1. Riot Games CEO accused of sexual harassment in lawsuit from ex-employee
2. Shadow of War publisher Warner Bros. has patented the series’ Nemesis system
3. Super Nintendo World apparently took scenery from a Mario fangame
4. Merritt killer gets PlayStation memory card back after win in Federal Court: Justice Zinn ruled removal order unreasonable – that inmate permitted to having a gaming system in their cell should also have a memory card
5. Fischer v. Canada (Attorney General), 2021 FC 112
6. G.I. Bro is a Go: Copyright Dispute Over Call of Duty Poster Survives Summary Judgement
7. Activision Blizzard sued over Call of Duty character
8. Call of Duty drives record year for Activision Blizzard
9. Microsoft says terms of service mandate arbitration for Xbox controller suit
10. Microsoft creates ‘Vault’ to temporarily house Bethesda parent ZeniMax
11. PS5 DualSense controllers already have a drift problem – what you need to know: It’s not just the Nintendo Switch’s Joy-Cons anymore
12. Advocating for accessibility in video games
13. PS5’s DualSense controller also faces drift issues
14. PS5 to launch in China in Q2 2021
15. Warner Bros finally secures patent for Shadow of Mordor’s Nemesis system
16. CD Projekt Red’s internal systems “compromised” following ransomware attack
17. CD Projekt Red gets ‘cyberpunk’d’ – another ransomware attack
18. Cyberpunk 2077 developer hit with ransomware attack
19. Cyberpunk 2077 developer CD Projekt hit by ‘targeted cyber attack’
20. MP proposes bill to make console scalping illegal amid PS5 and Xbox Series shortages
21. Gaming sites are still letting streamers profit from hate
22. Can you cheat to get ahead on Steam?
23. Steam Becomes Available In China, Offers 53 Whole Games To Customers
24. Lessons from GameStop: Small Investors “100% Don’t Care” About Risk
25. Regulators forced to respond to GameStop Corp.’s historic yo-yo
26. Robinhood Sued in Class Action, Alleging Website Inaccessibility and Discrimination Against Blind Users
27. Another Speculation Is Possible: The Political Lesson Of R/WallStreetBets
28. Amazon’s next CEO vows to help struggling Amazon Game Studios bounce back
29. Bandai Namco switches management amid business unit shake-up
30. Profits dip at Bandai Namco despite rising game sales
31. Bandai Namco reports rising profits amid restructure
32. Nintendo boss says diverse Switch playerbase will help it outsell the Wii
33. Nintendo discusses Switch growth plans as console enters “middle of its lifecycle”
34. Ori director criticises developers for overhyping games with “lies and deception”
35. YouTube Releases Self-Certification Guide Specifically For Gaming Creators
36. Terraria developer cancels Google Stadia port after YouTube account ban
37. Stadia’s issues were clear from the start | This Week in Business
38. Google’s shutdowns relegate streaming to “gaming of the gaps” | Opinion
39. Digital downloads jumped 47% across Europe in 2020 | European Annual Report
40. Animal Crossing continues to dominate UK retail | UK Boxed Charts
41. Xbox Series S/X was the No.1 console of January | UK Monthly GfK Charts
42. Assetto Corsa franchise reaches €100 million in lifetime sales
43. Epic Games addresses speculation over IPO
44. Epic Games’ ability to go to war with Apple stems from its financial freedom, says CEO
45. Epic’s new tool promises high-fidelity human characters in under an hour
46. Epic Games’ new MetaHuman Creator will let devs build hi-fi humans
47. Super High-Fidelity Mario: The quest to find original gaming audio samples
48. Sony now has a stake in parent of Dark Souls dev From Software
49. Wildlife Studios launches Never Forget Games
50. EA Sports Announces College Football Video Game Revival and Another Collegiate Athlete Persona Rights Piece of Legislation is Proposed in Congress
51. EA continues its big mobile push with $2.1 billion Glu Mobile acquisition
52. EA acquires Glu Mobile in $2.1 billion deal
53. EA’s Andrew Wilson talks about the Glu acquisition
54. Leaf Mobile: Kings of Green Mountain – Darcy Taylor on building a thriving business in the “green games” market, and what the $159m acquisition of East Side Games means for Leaf’s future
55. Leaf Mobile confirms $125m acquisition of East Side Games
56. Zynga posts record revenues, record net losses
57. Digital makes up 85% of Take-Two’s $860.9 million in Q3 net revenue
58. Maple Story and mobile expansion push Nexon to record revenues
59. Ubisoft’s Prince of Persia remake postponed indefinitely
60. Assassin’s Creed Valhalla leads Ubisoft’s biggest quarter ever
61. Assassin’s Creed, Watch Dogs, and Just Dance push Ubisoft to new record highs
62. Minecraft Dungeons has crossed 10 million players on all platforms
63. Huuuge Games IPO to raise $442m
64. Vertigo Games acquires location-based VR arcade platform SpringboardVR
65. Mountaintop raises $5.5 million to accelerate development of its PvP shooter
66. Homa Games raises $15m for hypercasual titles
67. Candivore raises $12 million
68. French mobile studio Homa nets $15 million to create hypercasual titles
69. Unity reports record year despite losses
70. Revenue, downloads, and MAUs all on the rise as Unity closes Q4
71. Activision Blizzard closes out 2020 with rising revenue and profit
72. Final Fantasy VII Remake and Marvel’s Avengers boost sales at Square Enix
73. Mobile titles and domestic releases are driving revenue at Konami
74. Mobile developer Wildlife opens new studio in California
75. Match Masters dev Candivore nets $12 million to drive user acquisition
76. Focus Home Interactive opens up new Deck13 studio in Montreal
77. TinyBuild acquires three studios
78. Totally Reliable Delivery Service dev among three studios acquired by TinyBuild 
79. Nazara Technologies gets $13.7m in funding
80. Latitude raises $3.3 million for its AI platform
81. Pizza Club secures $1.5m investment from My.Games
82. Focus Home Interactive is opening a Deck13 subsidiary in Montreal
83. Kowloon Nights backs indies with funding deals for 23 titles
84. Tencent buys minority stake in DayZ developer Bohemia Interactive
85. Tencent acquires minority stake in Bohemia Interactive
86. Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury review: Everything old is new again
87. Here’s what ESRB’s ratings looked like in 2020
88. “Arcades are a crucial part of the history of video games”
89. E3 skipping in-person event again
90. Newzoo’s Esports Trends to Watch in 2021
91. Pokémon World Championships 2021 cancelled
92. ‘Why was that focusing on Miranda’s butt?’ & other dev tales from remastering Mass Effect 
93. “90 bugs left”: Rare devs talk about the nearly completed Goldeneye 007 remake [Updated]
94. Blog: Set rotations in Magic The Gathering – A mobile F2P perspective
95. Blog: Revisiting the fall of Resident Evil
96. Blog: Building an arcade cabinet for the 21st Century 
97. Video: The combat animations of Middle-earth: Shadow of War
98. Don’t Miss: How Baldur’s Gate 3 first approached the RNG of D&D-inspired dice rolls
99. Level Up: 33 Legal Tips for Game Developers and Publishers Part II

Jon

DIGITAL

1. YouTube Suspends Donald Trump Indefinitely, Demonetizes Rudy Giuliani
2. Parler’s attempt to get back on Amazon Web Services rejected by judge
3. Judge Easily Rejects Parler’s Demands To Have Amazon Reinstate Parler
4. Court Rejects Parler’s Demand That Amazon Host Its Services (Eric Goldman)
5. This site posted every face from Parler’s Capitol Hill insurrection videos
6. Facebook calls in its Oversight Board to rule on Trump ban
7. Facebook’s Oversight Board to Decide on Trump Ban
8. Oversight Board Agrees To Review Facebook’s Trump Suspension
9. Donald Trump Permanently Suspended from Twitter
10. Insights: The Donald’s Digital Death Penalty—Deplatforming, Politics, And The Future Of Social Media
11. Disingenuous, Lying, Whining, Bloviating, Insurrection Encouraging Senator Josh Hawley Given Pages Of Major Newspaper To Explain How He’s Being Silenced
12. Parole Violator Who Raided Senate Building Sold Out By The GPS Unit Attached To Him For Previous Parole Violations
13. Let’s fix Facebook’s content issues
14. California Appeals Court Says Section 230 Immunizes Twitter From Banned User’s Lawsuit
15. Dozens Of Human Rights Group Tell Congress: Do Not Gut Section 230 On Our Behalf; It’ll Do More Harm Than Good
16. Twitter is opening up its full tweet archive to academic researchers for free
17. De-platforming Is a Fix, But Only a Short-Term One
18. Have Social Media Companies Become Too Powerful?
19. Twitter launches ‘Birdwatch,’ a forum to combat misinformation
20. Planning to Sue Twitter Over an Account Suspension? YOU WILL LOSE–Murphy v. Twitter (Eric Goldman)
21. Website ADA Lawsuit Filed Against Golden State Warriors
22. NLRB Approves Workplace Social Media Policy Limiting Employees’ Online Communications
23. EFF Tells Louisiana Court Satire Is Still Protected Speech Even If The Government Doesn’t Get The Joke
24. Unfiltered: How YouTube’s Content ID Discourages Fair Use and Dictates What We See Online (EFF)
25. Big Tech worldwide nerulation: not if, but how
26. Google agrees to pay French news sites to send them traffic
27. Google: We’ll shut down Australian search before we pay news sites for links
28. Google Threatens To Pull Out Of Australia Entirely; Australians Demand That It Both Stay And Pay News Orgs For Giving Them Traffic
29. Court Tosses RICO Lawsuit Demanding $90 Million And The Dissolution Of Google For Supposed Anti-Conservative Bias
30. Google Maps will soon show COVID vaccine locations
31. Google takes Tilt Brush open source as official development comes to an end
32. Sexual Harassment: Now Digital and Still Happening
33. Silicon Valley Takes the Battlespace
34. The history of the connected battlespace, part one: Command, control, and conquer
35. Why Red Hat killed CentOS—a CentOS board member speaks
36. Antitrust and the Tech Industry
37. Role Reversal: Ninth Circuit Rejects Consumer’s Attempt to Enforce Updated Arbitration Provision in Website Terms of Use
38. Former US Ambassador Sues Apple Because Telegram Users Are Making Him Feel Scared
39. House Republicans Have A Big Tech Plan… That Is Both Unconstitutional And Ridiculous
40. How Can Conservatives Fight Back Against Big Tech? For A Start, Just Be Sane Again.
41. Not just MagSafe: Apple reminds users not to hold iPhones near pacemakers
42. Apple reports double-digit sales booms for every product category in Q1 2021
43. Loon’s bubble bursts—Alphabet shuts down Internet balloon company
44. FTC Reaches Multi-Million Dollar Settlement With Ticket Brokers in its First BOTS Act Case
45. Southwest Airlines Sues to Stop Web Scraping of Fare Information
46. Labor Board Approves Carefully Crafted Social Media Policies
47. FOSTA Survives Constitutional Challenge–US v. Martono (Eric Goldman)
48. Comments on the “Protecting Constitutional Rights from Online Platform Censorship Act” (Eric Goldman)
49. Lawyer Can’t Sue Google for Bad Client Review–Lewis v. Google (Eric Goldman)
50. Content Moderation Case Study: Facebook Targets Misinformation Spread By The Philippines Government (2020)
51. Content Moderation Case Study: Social Media Upstart Parler Struggles To Moderate Pornography (2020)
52. Mirroring Qualifies for Section 230–Monsarrat v. Newman (Eric Goldman)
53. An alternate dimension: Virtual influencers
54. Instagram Launches Professional Dashboard For Creators Building Businesses
55. The Number Of Channels Monetizing Via YouTube’s Partner Program Doubled In 2020, CEO Says
56. YouTube Issues Significantly Expanded Guide To Self-Certification, Asks For Creator Feedback
57. JoJo Siwa Allegedly Swatted By Paparazzi After Coming Out As Part Of LGBTQ+ Community
58. Jake Paul Signs With Triller And Snoop Dogg-Owned ‘The Fight Club’ For April Boxing Bout
59. Jake Paul To Battle UFC Fighter Ben Askren In Upcoming Triller Boxing Match
60. Invite-Only Chat App Clubhouse To Develop Creator Monetization With Series B Funding
61. Genflow, Which Helps enceruencers Build Their Own Brands, Raises $11 Million
62. IAC’s Vimeo Raises $300 Million At $5.7 Billion Valuation, With Spinoff Slated For Next Quarter
63. Vimeo Rolls Out Lead-Generation Integrations With Mailchimp, HubSpot, Constant Contact
64. ‘Selma,’ ‘When They See Us’ Filmmaker Ava DuVernay Signs Exclusive Podcast Deal With Spotify
65. Byte, Clash Merge To Take On TikTok
66. Italian Data Protection Authority Orders TikTok To Block Underage Users Following Death Of 10-Year-Old Girl
67. This Tiktok star uses astrology to predict bitcoin prices
68. TikTok Testing Q&A Tool, Enabling Creators To More Seamlessly Respond To Viewer Inquiries
69. TikTok Launches ‘Creator Portal’, A Hub For Educational Resources, Best Practices, More
70. TikTok Helps Push 17-Year-Old Olivia Rodrigo’s “Drivers License” To No. 1 Billboard Debut
71. TikTok To Lay Off Most Indian Staffers After Country Makes Ban Permanent (Report)
72. Public Actors Without Public Values: Legitimacy, Domination and the Regulation of the Technology Sector
73. A class for itself? On the worldviews of the new tech elite
74. Evolving Trends in the Production and Distribution of Streaming Media
75. Privacy, Digitalization, Rule of Law Some Contemporary Challenges
76. Crypto Asset Regulation: Is the US or UK Keeping Up Best With This Emerging Market?
77. Break the Backlog: The Durable Conclusions from the Online Courtroom Project

A.I.

1. Valve’s Gabe Newell imagines “editing” personalities with future headsets: “Remember when Bob got hacked by Russian malware [and] ran naked through forests?”
2. Facebook’s Post-Insurrection Purge Catches A Bunch Of Left Wing Accounts In Its AI Net
3. Algorithms and consumer harm: CMA publishes new research paper and launches call for information
4. Research and analysis – Algorithms: How they can reduce competition and harm consumers (Competition & Markets Authority, U.K.)
5. A short primer on patenting AI and machine learning inventions at the European Patent Office
6. Towards a deliberative framework for responsible innovation in artificial intelligence
7. Sidewalk-robot startup celebrates 1 million deliveries
8. Waymo CEO dismisses Tesla self-driving plan: “This is not how it works”
9. AI and Life Sciences: Has protein folding been solved?
10. AI Update: UK Parliament Research Briefing on AI in the UK Healthcare System
11. Andrew Gray and the AI Boot Camp
12. Scale AI Valued at $3.5B After Series D Fundraising Round

COMMUNICATIONS

1. Report calls for powerful new federal body to regulate social media 
2. Telecoms Paused PAC Spending To Insurrectionists, But Their Umbrella Lobbying Orgs Didn’t
3. Democrat Jessica Rosenworcel replaces Ajit Pai, is now acting FCC chairwoman
4. Rosenworcel Announces Staff Appointments
5. New Interim FCC Boss Jessica Rosenworcel Will Likely Restore Net Neutrality, Just Not Yet
6. SpaceX adds laser links to Starlink satellites to serve Earth’s polar areas
7. CenturyLink, Frontier missed FCC broadband deadlines in dozens of states
8. Outgoing FCC’s Last Act Is A Delusional Report That Pretends US Broadband Is Wonderful
9. FCC Issues Declaratory Ruling on Pole Attachment Costs and Pole Replacements
10. Biden Fires Steve Bannon Protege, Who Tried To Turn Voice Of America Into A New Breitbart
11. Broadband Monopolies Keep Getting Money For Networks Never Fully Deployed
12. AT&T eats a $15.5 billion impairment charge as DirecTV debacle continues
13. AT&T may keep majority ownership of DirecTV as it closes in on final deal 
14. New US rules target use of Chinese IT and communications goods and services 
15. FCC Seeks Comment on Permitting Mobile Services in 12 GHz Band 
16. FCC’s Annual Broadband Deployment Report Shows Digital Divide Closing
17. Can public service broadcasting survive Silicon Valley? Synthesizing leadership perspectives at the BBC, PBS, NPR, CPB and local U.S. stations (Erik Martin)

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

1.  Software-Generated “Infringement Report” Supports $262,931 in Remedies For Copyright Infringement
2. Securing Copyright and Trademark Rights for Broadcasts and Promotions Related to NFL Championship Games and Super Bowl LV (55)
3. Sony Music Entertainment v. Cox Communications (USDC, Virginia: January 12, 2021): Denies ISP’s post-trial motion to reduce $1 billion statutory damages award in copyright infringement action.
4. The Tricky Issue of Joint Authorship in Copyright Works
5. BMG, Aggressive Champion Of Copyright Enforcement, Accused Of Copyright Infringement By Jehovah’s Witnesses
6. CASE-ing the Joint: The Copyright Alternative in Small-Claims Enforcement Act
7. Turns Out That Brexit Means Rotting Pigs’ Heads, And Losing An EU Copyright Exception
8. Finds Alleged Parody Fails on Copyright Fair Use Factors but Passes Rogers Test to Avoid Trademark Liability
9. Sports data rights in 2021: the outlook
10. Trademarks in 2020: Notable Canadian trademark cases and developments 
11. Are Trademark Injunctions Continuing their Awakening from Hibernation?
12. Top 5 trademark considerations every cleantech entrepreneur should know 
13. Pearl Jam v Pearl Jamm
14. Proud to Be an American, God Bless The USA, But Not Functioning as A Trademark 
15. What’s Cookin’? No Likelihood of Confusion Between Two KITCHEN Marks 
16. Tommy Hilfiger invalidates trademark piggybacking on its iconic flag logo 
17. Brizzy v. Vizzy: Molson Coors Obtains Cheers-Worthy Trademark Ruling at Fifth Circuit 
18. “Lettuce Turnip the Beet” Pun on T-Shirts Not Trademark Use, Ninth Circuit Affirms 
19. Trademarks and Expressive Works 
20. Stay A Lot More Than Six Feet From The NFL’s Trademarks! 2021 Update on Super Bowl Advertising and Promotions 
21. Laches and Acquiescence in Trademark Proceedings
22. More ‘failure to function’ refusals in 2020
23. Generic.com Terms are Not Ineligible for Registration 
24. Trademark Law Updates – Fees, Fraud and Injunction Presumptions
25. January 2021 Trademark Update 
26. US Trademark Amendment Act Will Provide New Procedures for Challenging Use Claims
27. UDRP on Gameroom.com: Facebook keeps its domain name
28. How does Brexit affect European Trademark Rights?
29. Can I keep my .eu domain name?
30. Who’s on the Line?: Protecting Your Trade Secrets on Zoom Calls
31. Pepper Spray Manufacturer’s Successful Self-Defense Reinforces Best Practices for Design Patents
32. Rothy’s v Giesswein – English Court leaves a lasting mark on EU Community design rights 
33. Federal Court of Appeal Cautions Against Use of Foreign Prosecution History 
34. Federal Court of Appeal affirms summary judgment in patent prosecutions: Court also upholds interpretation of file wrapper estoppel in precedent-setting case
35. Federal Court continues trend of granting summary judgment in appropriate patent proceedings
36. Federal Court upholds validity of two patents pertaining to ELIQUIS
37. Non-practicing entity’s allegations of patent infringement against oil sands producer /operator dismissed
38. Choueifaty patent application found to possess patentable subject-matter
39. Federal Court finds silodosin formulation patent valid but not infringed
40. Patent Appeal Board Allows Dosage Regimen Claims – No Physician Skill Needed
41. PMPRB proposes to modify Guidelines definition of “gap medicine” to include medicines sold by July 1, 2021
42. Patentee’s Success Story in a Hatch-Waxman Litigation Case
43. A New Application of an Abstract Idea Is Still Abstract: Court Affirms Dismissal Under § 101
44. Patentee Cannot Cure Lack of Written Description by Reference To Matter Present Only Foreign Priority Application
45. Happiest Baby’s SNOO patent Rocks Baby Automatically
46. Illuminating insufficiency: the English Patents Court examines “Regeneron ranges”
47. Regeneron Recast – Mr Justice Birss provides illuminating insight into the law of sufficiency
48. UKIPO “Green Channel” – can the patent system encourage more innovation in green technologies?
49. Cannabis: Patents in Europe
50. Senate Passed New Legislation to Punish Foreign Individuals and Corporations for IP Theft
51. Biden administration promises hard stance against Chinese IP abuses  
52. Intellectual Property Issues for Foreign Enterprises Acquiring Chinese Companies
53. Critical and curious terms from the world of Intellectual Property
54. Top Enforcement Issues to watch in 2021

PRIVACY

1. The CPPA’s Privacy Law Enforcement Regime
2. ADT Tech Spied On Women For Four Years Before Getting Caught By Accident
3. Britain Helps Children Learn From Home By Procuring Them Laptops Preloaded With Russian Malware
4. North Korea hackers use social media to target security researchers
5. Military intelligence buys location data instead of getting warrants, memo shows
6. NYPD Still Blowing The Public’s Money To Keep The Public From Seeing The NYPD’s Misconduct Records
7. New Yorkers Receive Postmortem Rights and Protection Against Digitization of Sexually Manipulated Content in New Right of Publicity Statute
8. Chrome and Edge want to help with that password problem of yours
9. Home alarm tech backdoored security cameras to spy on customers having sex
10. Flo Period App Gets A Wrist Slap For Sharing Private Health Data
11. United Kingdom: Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) issues statement on SolarWinds Orion compromise
12. Amazon Ring App Found To Be (Again) Exposing User Locations, Home Addresses
13. Court approves grocery store data breach settlement
14. Appeals Court Rejects Clearview’s Attempt To Dodge A State Lawsuit By Trying To Make It A Federal Case
15. 2020 Privacy Year In Review

GAMES

1. Québec law firm files latest Nintendo Switch Joy-Con drift lawsuit: Lambert Avocat seeking compensation for all Québec consumers who bought Switch controllers since August 2017
2. European Commission called to investigate into Joy-Con drift
3. BEUC calls for Joy-Con Drift investigation after receiving 25,000 complaints
4. Valve on trial for allegedly infringing controller patents: The Steam Controller is accused of being based on a patent belonging to SCUF
5. US Court dismisses Wargaming lawsuit against former employees
6. Jagex disputes Plutos Sama’s claims of ownership: RuneScape dev calls RICO lawsuit against former owner “meritless,” says it was fully acquired by Carlyle Group
7. Runescape developer Jagex has been acquired by The Carlyle Group
8. FTC Reaches Settlement with Tapjoy for Allegedly Deceiving Consumers About In-Game Rewards
9. Mobile Ad Company Settles FTC Charges Over Misleading In-Game Rewards
10. Epic’s Fortnite v Apple dispute arrives in the UK
11. How Final Fantasy VII Remake legitimizes sexuality and gender identity
12. Twitch bans Donald Trump’s account indefinitely
13. Twitch indefinitely suspends account of former U.S. President Donald Trump
14. Twitch permanently bans Trump, will update policy after Capitol siege: Streaming site says recent events have raised concerns over “rhetoric that encourages violence”
15. Twitch’s new harassment policy goes into effect today: What’s new
16. Activision Is Resisting Diversity Hiring Push by America’s Unions
17. Activision Blizzard says interviewing diverse candidates for every opening “unworkable”
18. Scavengers Studio creative director accused of belittling, screaming at, groping employees
19. Report: Scavengers Studio co-founder allegedly groped, screamed at employees
20. Scavengers suspends co-founder Simon Darveau
21. Scavengers CEO steps down, suspends creative director after abuse allegations
22. MAGFest executive director resigns after accusations of abusive behavior
23. So, Uh, What’s Up With GameStop’s Stock?
24. GameStop stock hits new highs as Redditors and stock market short sellers wage war
25. For Basically No Reason, Gamestop’s Stock Price Is Rollercoastering In A Tug Of War Being Fought On Reddit
26. The complete moron’s guide to GameStop’s stock roller coaster
27. A Fight Over GameStop’s Soaring Stock Turns Ugly: The denizens of the WallStreetBets subreddit helped push the flailing stock to dizzying heights – while a short seller alleged an accompanying harassment campaign.
28. How WallStreetBets Pushed GameStop Shares to the Moon
29. Discord bans r/WallStreetBets server (for hate speech)
30. GameStop share price reaches record high amid Reddit-driven short squeeze
31. GameStop shares continue to soar following Elon Musk tweet
32. GameStop stock soars, craters, closes up
33. GameStop stock up 135% in 24 hours, Biden administration “monitoring the situation”
34. All eyes on GameStop stock: The White House is now ‘monitoring the situation’
35. Google halts Play Store ‘review bombing’ by GameStop traders
36. Google Play bans video app for standard “.ass” subtitle support
37. The Pokémon Company takes measures against Sword and Shield hackers
38. The Pokemon Company is clamping down on Sword, Shield, and Home hackers
39. Rovio quietly shutters game streaming service Hatch
40. EA forms new studio Full Circle to revive Skate franchise
41. Codemasters directors to vote in favour of EA bid
42. Codemasters’ directors vote in favor of $1.2 billion EA acquisition
43. Huuuge Games IPO could raise almost $400m
44. Developers should be wary of the IPO’s siren call | Opinion:
45. As CD Projekt Red’s Cyberpunk woes turn legal, developers with an eye on the stock market should think carefully about doing business under that level of scrutiny
46. Cyberpunk 2077’s launch month sets digital sales record despite refunds
47. Was the Cyberpunk 2077 launch a perfect storm? | This Week in Business
48. CDPR working to navigate physical Cyberpunk 2077 returns as refunds roll out 
49. How India’s shifting political climate is influencing local game development
50. Romania: Copyright Perspective – Legal nature of Video Games
51. New York Times Decides Kids Are Playing Too Many Video Games During The Pandemic
52. Dead by Daylight studio apologises following developer comments about colourblind mode
53. Plex adds game-streaming as paid add-on, completely botches the landing
54. Xbox Live price increase reversed after less than one day
55. Microsoft’s rolled back its Xbox Live Gold price increase
56. Xbox Live Gold price hike reversed, service to no longer be required for free-to-play games: After outcry, Microsoft reverses course and goes a step further
57. Xbox U-turns on Gold subscription price hike after fan backlash
58. Opinion: Xbox’s Gold pricing flipflop & Game Pass ramifications
59. Xbox Series X|S launches help push Microsoft gaming revenue up 51%
60. Microsoft earnings: Xbox hardware sales shot up 86% with Series X/S
61. Xbox revenue up 51% in a quarter defined by Game Pass growth, Series X|S debut
62. Xbox Game Pass driving revenue at Microsoft after crossing 18 million subscribers
63. Here’s Every Game Coming to The PlayStation 5 And Xbox Series X In 2021
64. Can the games industry keep its COVID customers?
65. Epic Games Pushes Into Film With Funding For Animated Feature ‘Gilgamesh’
66. Using player-avatar relations to make more engaging and successful games: Avatars can be the key to offering more intense and satisfying game experiences, and inspiring loyalty among players
67. Steam ‘prologues’… do they really help?
68. Hitman 3 surpasses its predecessor to claim No.1 | UK Boxed Charts
69. Hitman 3 recoups project costs in under a week
70. IO Interactive’s Hitman 3 made back its dev costs in a single week
71. FIFA 21 was Europe’s best-selling boxed game in 2020
72. Switch expanding the console market, says Interpret
73. What a Wipeout spiritual successor can teach investors about games
74. Capcom raises forecasts thanks to growing digital sales
75. Capcom raises full year earnings forecast thanks to strong digital sales
76. Resident Evil VIII gets May release date, massive preview, playable demo
77. Digital sales now make up 91 percent of Focus Home Interactive’s revenue
78. Hyrule Warriors drives record Q3 for Koei Tecmo
79. Deep Rock Galactic has topped 2 million sales
80. Konami restructuring internal departments, has not dissolved games development teams
81. Tencent acquires minority stake in Dontnod
82. Tencent picks up minority stake in Dontnod for $36.3 million
83. Tencent invests 30 million euros into DONTNOD, funding self-publishing
84. Sagard NewGen nabs minority stake in Flight Simulator dev Asobo Studio
85. Blizzard absorbs acclaimed Activision studio as a dedicated “support” team
86. Vicarious Visions merged into Blizzard
87. Vicarious Visions is now a part of Blizzard Entertainment
88. DualShockers acquired by GRV Media
89. Jagex sold to Carlyle Group
90. RuneScape publisher Jagex acquired by The Carlyle Group for at least $530 million
91. Team 17 acquires Golf With Your Friends franchise for $16.4 million
92. Team17 acquires Golf With Your Friends for £12m
93. Nacon acquires Big Ant Studios for €35m
94. Nacon acquires Cricket 19 developer Big Ant Studios for $42.5 million
95. Azerion fully acquires Habbo Hotel developer Sulake
96. Habbo developer Sulake to be fully acquired by Azerion 
97. Imvu receives $35m investment
98. Together Labs nets $35 million to fund avatar-based social platform IMVU
99. MegaDev secures $1.9m for PC cheat platform Plitch
100. Huuuge ambitions: How a $300m IPO will make the Polish mobile studio last forever
101. Sagard NewGen acquires minority stake in Asobo Studio
102. Tencent made record number of games M&A deals in 2020
103. Tencent acquires majority stake in Klei Entertainment
104. Games projects raised $23m on Kickstarter in 2020
105. The rise of Fall Guys and how Mediatonic plans to take it higher
106. The Esports Industry Grew; Now It’s Time For It To Grow Up
107. PlayVS expands to Canada with GameSeta acquisition
108. Epic pledges $20 million for Fortnite esports in 2021
109. Rival Peak reaches 22m views
110. GamersNexus’ Steve Burke overclocks his YouTube channel’s best comments
111. Apple reportedly planning VR headset for next year
112. Report: Apple’s VR headset will be a pricey, high-end niche standalone
113. PSVR 2 could be the hottest VR headset yet | Patent Trawling
114. Pokémon Crystal keeps us interested by telling us less | Why I Love
115. The ‘fab four’ game marketing maxims to live by
116. Blog: The scary secrets of horror design from Silent Hill 4
117. Blog: Everything you need to know about LiveOps in 2021
118. Blog: Microtransations and the race to the bottom
119. Blog: Using data-driven lessons from Academia: School Simulator to understand discounts
120. Blog: A design discussion on Death Stranding
121. Video: Behind the massive crowds of Assassin’s Creed Unity 
122. Video: The tech behind Inkle’s interactive film scripts
123. Don’t Miss: The Cabal – Valve’s design process for creating Half-Life
124. Don’t Miss: How Monster Hunter: World’s director breathed new life into the series
125. The Last of Us Part II leads the 2021 DICE Awards nominations

Jon

DIGITAL

1. Trump deletes tweets after being banned from Twitter
2. Donald Trump has finally earned a permaban from Twitter
3. Not Easy, Not Unreasonable, Not Censorship: The Decision To Ban Trump From Twitter
4. Facebook, Instagram ban Trump through at least Inauguration Day
5. YouTube suspends Trump’s account, disables comments “indefinitely”
6. Just-Formed Alphabet Union Condemns YouTube’s “Lackluster” Response To Pro-Trump Capital Mob
7. Wednesday, January 6th: The Day The Game Of Politics Turned Into Insurrection
8. Politics Is Not A Game
9. Republican state lawmaker livestreamed himself in mob storming US Capitol
10. FBI arrests Republican lawmaker who stormed Capitol with pro-Trump mob
11. Republican lawmaker resigns after arrest for storming US Capitol
12. Identifying Insurrectionists Is Going To Be Easy — Thanks To Social Media And All The Other Online Trails People Leave
13. Insurrectionists’ social media presence gives feds an easy way to ID them
14. Dominion Voting suing “kraken” lawyer Sidney Powell for $1.3B
15. Michael Flynn and Sidney Powell banned from Twitter in QAnon purge
16. Trump social media ban will feature in future antitrust hearings
17. The real lesson of Trump’s social media silencing
18. Trump Is Banned. Who Is Next?
19. Reddit’s largest remaining Trump community banned for “inciting violence”
20. Google bans Parler from Android app store
21. Amazon cuts off Parler’s Web hosting following Apple, Google bans
22. After white supremacists storm US capitol, Apple expands racial justice initiative
23. Parler goes dark, sues Amazon to demand immediate reinstatement
24. Parler’s Laughably Bad Antitrust Lawsuit Against Amazon
25. Filing: Amazon warned Parler for months about “more than 100” violent threats
26. Parler’s amateur coding could come back to haunt Capitol Hill rioters
27. Trump, Parler, and the internet regulation fallout (Andres Guadamuz)
28. Facebook says it’s blocking posts with the phrase “stop the steal”
29. Big ISPs pause donations to 147 Republicans who tried to reverse Biden’s win
30. Snowflake Josh Hawley Seems To Think The 1st Amendment Means Simon & Schuster Has To Give Him A Book Contract
31. Some Thoughts On Twitter Pulling The Plug On Trump’s Account
32. Irony: German Chancellor Merkel Upset At Twitter For Banning Trump; Meanwhile Germany Demands Social Media Blocks Dangerous Content
33. More Plaintiffs (and Lawyers) Need To Be Reminded That YouTube Isn’t a State Actor–Divino v. Google (Eric Goldman)
34. The First Amendment: Where it is Implicated, and Where it is Not
35. A New Year, a new approach to digital regulation: the DSA and Online Harms
36. SolarWinds malware has “curious” ties to Russian-speaking hackers
37. “Baby-making machines”: Chinese tweet on Uighurs not against Twitter rules
38. Twitter takes down China’s “baby-making machines” tweet on Uighur women
39. Appeals Court: Just Because Someone Used An Email Account To Send Threats Doesn’t Make It An ‘Interstate’ Crime
40. Mossack Fonseca & Co. v. Netflix Inc. (California: Central District December 23, 2020): In libel action concerning Netflix’s 2019 film The Laundromat, district court grants anti-SLAPP motion.
41. PSA: If Someone Doesn’t Accept Your Friend Request, Do Not Threaten To Kill Them And Kick In Their Front Door
42. Goliath Beater Roku Rockets Into ‘The Streaming Decade’
43. Quibi’s $1.75B experiment ends with Roku acquisition for “less than $100M”
44. Roku Has Officially Acquired Quibi’s Pricey Programming Library
45. Internet Shutdowns in 2021 
46. The Year That Changed the Internet
47. New proposals for regulation of online platforms in Europe
48. Dear Section 230 Critics: When Senators Hawley And Cruz Are Your Biggest Allies, It’s Time To Rethink
49. New Op-Ed: People Who Understand Section 230 Actually Love It (Eric Goldman)
50. Section 230 Year-in-Review for 2020 (Eric Goldman)
51. Content Moderation Case Study: SoundCloud Combats Piracy By Giving Universal Music The Power To Remove Uploads (2014)
52. Content Moderation Case Study: Yelp Attempts To Tackle Racism On Its Platform (2020)
53. The Slope Gets More Slippery As You Expect Content Moderation To Happen At The Infrastructure Layer
54. Everything Pundits Are Getting Wrong About This Current Moment In Content Moderation
55. Twitter Bans Sci-Hub’s Account Because Of ‘Counterfeit Goods’ Policy, As Indian Copyright Case Heats Up
56. Apple allegedly working with Hyundai on electric car for 2027
57. Bummed about new Google Photos storage limits? Amazon Photos says “hi”
58. A Google smart display with radar-based sleep tracking is reportedly happening
59. How YouTube helps form homogeneous online communities
60. YouTube Re-Teams With Demi Lovato For ‘Dancing With The Devil’ Docuseries
61. YouTube Turns On Post-Roll Ads By Default On All 10-Minute, Monetizing Videos
62. YouTube Names Dr. Garth Graham Global Head Of Healthcare, In Bid To Bolster Authoritative Health Content
63. ‘#YouTubeBlack Voices Grant Program’ Unveils Inaugural Class Of 132 Creator Recipients
64. MrBeast Smashes 50 Million Subs, Though Recent Videos Have Lost A “Ridiculous” Amount Of Money
65. 100 Thieves Snags AT&T Sponsorship, Will Install Branded ‘Valorant’ Team Training Room
66. Some Uber, Lyft drivers sue over California ballot measure: Lawsuit says Proposition 22 is unconstitutional because it limits right to organize
67. Sway House Investment Spurs Tinder Founder Sean Rad To Seed $1 Million In ‘Versus Game’ App
68. Music and Social Media – Times are changing for brands on TikTok
69. TikTok Launches 3-Month Incubation Program For Black Creators
70. TikTok Breakout Noah Beck Lands Reality Series At AwesomenessTV
71. Context is key: ASA dismisses complaint against a Laphroaig whisky ad accused of linking alcohol with sexual activity
72. After corporate blunders and setbacks, Intel ousts CEO Bob Swan
73. Qualcomm will acquire chip company founded by Apple execs for $1.4 billion
74. Nvidia’s next laptop GPU generation powers a leap to 1440p displays
75. Nvidia’s takeover of Arm is being investigated by UK competition authorities
76. UK competition regulator to investigate Nvidia’s takeover of Arm
77. 2H 2020 Quick Links, Part 5 (Contracts, E-Commerce, Defamation, Censorship, & More) (Eric Goldman)

A.I.

1. UKIPO patent guidance updated for DABUS judgment
2. Landmark artificial intelligence legislation becomes law
3. Eye on AI
4. An interview with Covington & Burling discussing artificial intelligence in the United States
5. New York City proposes regulating algorithms used in hiring
6. AI Update: Provisions in the National Defense Authorization Act Signal the Importance of AI to American Competitiveness
7. Why Big Tech Wants Your Body
8. Remember Sony’s electric car from CES? Now it’s being road-tested
9. Tesla’s main self-driving rival isn’t Google—it’s Intel’s Mobileye
10. FRB Governor Promotes Financial Inclusion through AI
11. One piece of optical hardware performs massively parallel AI calculations 

COMMUNICATIONS

1. Ajit Pai offers mild criticism of Trump incitement, drops Section 230 plan
2. In His Last Two Weeks, Ajit Pai Finally Finds A Backbone And Refuses To Move Forward With Trump’s Ridiculous 230 Attack
3. Reminder – 2021 Will Include Some Off-Year Elections for State and Local Office – and FCC Political Broadcasting Rules Do Apply
4. Big Telecom Wants A Cookie For Pausing PAC Donations After Hoovering Up Billions In Trump Favors
5. AT&T kills off the failed TV service formerly known as DirecTV Now
6. AT&T Is Restoring Its Bullshit Broadband Caps Because Apparently The COVID Crisis Is Over
7. Jared Mauch didn’t have good broadband—so he built his own fiber ISP
8. 6G Hype Is Already Getting Stupid, When 5G Hype Hasn’t Even Finished Disappointing Us Yet 
9. A Few Reminders Before The Tired Net Neutrality Debate Is Rekindled
10. Report: Tencent and Alibaba may get blacklisted by the Trump administration
11. Radio, Radio: FM Radio Licenses Soon to be Available to Educational Institutions 
12. Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation – Legal compliance reminder for mobile app industry 
13. Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation – 2020 Year in Review

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

1. Eleventh Circuit Says Netflix Series Does Not Infringe Copyrighted Memoir
2. Ninth Circuit Holds Dr. Seuss-Star Trek Mashup an Infringement, Not a Parody
3. This Mashup Is Not a Place You’ll Go – Seuss Copyright Will ‘Live Long and Prosper’
4. Copyright Troll Richard Liebowitz Helps Protect Free Speech & Fair Use By Losing Yet Another Case
5. Dickinson v. Ryan Seacrest Enterprises, Inc. (USCA, Ninth Circuit, Dec. 21, 2020): Dismissal of claims by Janice Dickinson over allegedly false portrayal of her in reality television series. 
6. Copyright Royalty Board Announces SoundExchange Audits of Royalty Payments for Webcasters (Including Broadcast Simulcasts) and Other Digital Music Services
7. Digital Collections: Reflections on copyright 
8. Copyright Office Begins Review of Changes in Satellite Television Statutory License for Carriage of Local Television Stations
9. Is 2021 the year for artists to sell their music catalogues? 
10. Art law – Recent developments January 2021 
11. Use My Likeness? Over My Dead Body! 
12. Canadian Madrid Applications: Practice Note for Foreign Agents 
13. Trademark litigation: a global guide 2021 – Canada 
14. Louisville Courier-Journal Wins ‘Derby Pie’ Trademark Dispute
15. USPTO v Booking.com: Whether a “.com” can transform a generic mark into a registrable trademark under the Lanham Act 
16. The Trademark Modernization Act Establishes New Trademark Cancellation Procedures 
17. United States: Key considerations in parallel criminal and civil trade secrets cases 
18. Ten Trade Secret Resolutions to Keep for 2021 and Beyond 
19. Court Rejects Attempt to “Stretch” Patent Claim Language 
20. Watch What You Say! Prosecution History Estoppel in Canada 
21. Election Ballot Verification – A Patent Subject Matter Eligibility Analysis 
22. Patent Owner’s ex parte communications with members of Congress, the president, and PTAB APJs are sanctionable and the Board may craft its own reasonable sanctions 
23. Patent protection in the time of COVID-19
24. Why standard essential patents are now essential to you
25. The Right to Repair in Massachusetts Rolls Forward 
26. Not Patent Misuse to License U.S. Patents in Foreign Jurisdictions for “Administrative Convenience” 
27. 10 Patent Prosecution, Litigation Practice Trends From 2020 
28. What Was Old Is New Again In IP Litigation — Thanks To Suspected Russian State-Sponsored Hack
29. What Were the Top Intellectual Property Stories in 2020? 
30. Cloud computing: overview of IP issues
31. The EU / UK Trade Agreement: Three myths busted – Intellectual property

PRIVACY

1. Trends to watch in 2021 – Privacy: issues in a hyper-connected world
2. Privacy and Our New Virtual World
3. Internet-Connected Chastity Cages Hit By Bitcoin Ransom Hack
4. DOJ, US Court System Latest To Announce They’re Victims Of The Massive Solarwinds Hack
5. Proactive Steps to Address the Issues Raised after Cyberattack on U.S. Federal Judiciary’s Electronic Filing System
6. The SolarWinds hack is stunning. Here’s what should be done
7. FTC Settles With Photo App Over Use of Facial Recognition Technology
8. New York and Others Settle with CafePress Over 2019 Data Breach
9. Cops Love Body Camera Footage… When It Clears Officers Of Any Wrongdoing
10. Fifth Circuit Tosses Child Porn Conviction Predicated On Unconstitutional Searches Of Three Cellphones
11. Five Key Developments in the Privacy and Data Security Sector in 2020 and Five Predictions for 2021

GAMES

1. ESA suspends political contributions after assault on U.S. Capitol
2. ESA PAC to pause political contributions following insurrection at US Capitol
3. Twitch suspends Trump account following insurrection at US Capitol
4. Updated: Twitch, Discord suspend Trump-related accounts after Capitol assault
5. Twitch removes popular emote after pro player’s support for Capitol Hill mob
6. Twitch pulls Pogchamp emote over link to Capitol siege supporter
7. Twitch removes PogChamp emote it says was “the face of… further violence”
8. Riot and Bungie file lawsuit against Destiny 2 and Valorant cheat-maker 
9. Riot Games and Bungie file joint lawsuit against cheatmakers
10. Koei Tecmo says it will sue over bootleg Dead or Alive video
11. Dangen Entertainment settles dispute with Protoculture Games
12. Nintendo Appears To Be Using A Fan-Made Drawing Of Mario Without Artist’s Permission Or Credit
13. Legal risks and implications of hyper-realistic videogames
14. CD Projekt apologizes again for Cyberpunk 2077 on consoles
15. CD Projekt faces scrutiny from consumer protection org over Cyberpunk 2077
16. CDPR CEO blames “in-game streaming” for Cyberpunk’s console problems
17. CD Projekt leadership vows no ‘obligatory overtime’ during Cyberpunk 2077 fixes
18. Polish competition watchdog investigating Cyberpunk 2077
19. Capcom confirms at least 16,000 people affected by Nov. data breach
20. Personal information of 16,415 people compromised during Capcom security breach
21. Capcom security breach compromised personal data of 16,415 people
22. Take-Two officially ends pursuit of Codemasters following EA offer
23. Take-Two withdraws bid for Codemasters following EA offer of $1.2bn
24. Wolfenstein 3D + Super Monkey Ball = free Nazi-flattening fun!
25. Payload Studios launches incubator for underrepresented developers
26. FTC wary of Apple and Google “squeezing developers”
27. The FTC slams Tapjoy over deceptive ads, pledges to keep ‘gatekeeping giants’ in check
28. FTC Settles With Mobile-Game Platform for Misleading In-Game Advertisements
29. FTC Pursues Advertising Network that Failed to Deliver In-Game Rewards in Exchange for Payment or Personal Information
30. Federal Trade Commission orders Tapjoy to better police fraudulent advertising
31. Peter Moore: FIFA Ultimate Team is a “long way” from gambling
32. EA’s hold over Star Wars games ends with Ubisoft’s open-world announcement
33. Lucasfilm Games taps Ubisoft Massive to create new open-world Star Wars title
34. Lucasfilm re-establishes Lucasfilm Games as home for all its gaming titles
35. Star Wars games are now housed under a revived Lucasfilm Games brand
36. Disney brings back the Lucasfilm Games brand for future Star Wars titles
37. Bethesda lands Indiana Jones license
38. Bethesda, Lucasfilm tease new Indiana Jones video game
39. Lucasfilm and Ubisoft partner on Star Wars game
40. GameStop holiday sales down 3.1% in 2020
41. GameStop: Fewer stores, ‘industry-wide decline’, supply woes led to holiday sales slide
42. N95 masks, gamer style: Razer’s crazy face-mask prototype revealed
43. Video Games & the Novel (Eric Hayot)
44. Video games have replaced music as the most important aspect of youth culture
45. Forget power fantasies: pandemic-era players crave companionship | Opinion
46. What will a post-pandemic games industry look like? | This Week in Business
47. Tencent confirms 1m Nintendo Switch shipments in China
48. Amazon’s 2020 gaming best-sellers again led by gift cards, Switch games
49. Nintendo Switch dominates Top Ten as lockdown boosts game sales | UK Boxed Charts
50. 43 million games sold in the UK in 2020 | UK Annual Report
51. Number of mobile gamers increased 50% in the UK due to COVID-19
52. Core gamers generated 66% of mobile revenues in 2020
53. Newzoo sees mobile marketing upheaval in 2021
54. Nerts! is the free, pleasant six-player card game we could all use right now
55. GameFly introduces movies-only subscription
56. Tilting Point signs $10 million publishing deal with South Korean dev Storytaco
57. Best Fiends publisher Playtika launches $1.6B IPO
58. Playtika launches IPO, looks to raise as much as $1.6b
59. Roblox to go public through direct listing, not IPO
60. Roblox secures fresh $520 million investment, outlines plans for direct listing
61. Turtle Beach acquires Neat Microphones
62. Epic acquires Rad Game Tools
63. Steam saw 21% more games sold in 2020
64. Over 8 million demos played during 2020’s Steam Festivals (and other nifty Steam stats)
65. How did Rust make $1 million in Steam revenue in a day – twice?
66. Genvid targets “a huge opportunity for game developers” with Rival Peak
67. The future is digital — right?
68. What does 2021 hold for the African games industry?
69. What I learned playing 30+ years’ worth of Jeopardy! video games
70. Handheld hardships | 10 Years Ago This Month
71. Twitter says gaming posts up 75% in 2020
72. Streamer TheGrefg breaks Twitch peak concurrent viewership records
73. Twitch, Facebook see best months for viewership yet in December
74. Dolphin Entertainment acquires esports and game PR agency B/HI
75. B/HI acquired by Dolphin Entertainment
76. Financing in the Esports sector
77. Oculus Quest 2 players make up nearly half of Rec Room’s 1 million VR-using MAUs
78. Making Chestnut Grove (a game set in the pandemic) during the pandemic
79. Blog: Deconstructing the product strategy of PC Building Simulator
80. Blog: Have video games become products like any other?
81. Blog: Studying physical elements of play 
82. Blog: How many currencies should my game have?
83. Blog: How studios can prevent unauthorized spending in games
84. Don’t Miss: The challenges BioWare faced designing Mass Effect 3
85. Don’t Miss: A 2014 Lucasfilm Games postmortem, told by those who lived it
86. Don’t Miss: Leveraging physical animation to sell Force powers in Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order
87. Video: The appeal of ‘legacy’ board games
88. GI 100 | Game Changers

Jon

DIGITAL

1. Ninth Circuit Says Amazon Isn’t “Seller” of Marketplace Items–State Farm v. Amazon (Eric Goldman)
2. Amazon Acquires Podcast Network Wondery In Reported $300 Million Deal
3. Amazon still hasn’t fixed its problem with bait-and-switch reviews
4. European Union Rules: Facebook Hopes Limits on Apple, Too
5. Facebook Isn’t a Constructive Public Trust–Cameron Atkinson v. Facebook (Eric Goldman)
6. Chinese Government Sentences Journalist To Four Years In Jail For Reporting On The Spread Of The Coronavirus
7. Reddit clone Voat, home to hate speech and QAnon, has shut down
8. Computer repairman suing Twitter for defamation, seeks $500 million
9. Repair Shop Owner Who Supposedly Had Hunter Biden’s Laptop Sues Twitter For Defamation… Has Lawsuit Tossed The Same Day
10. Private party app pulled from App Store by Apple
11. Ushering in a new age of accountability for big tech- UK government response to Online Harms White Paper consultation
12. EU turns the screw on Big Tech: The Digital Services Act Package
13. Revamp image rights to fight deepfakes (Andres Guadamuz)
14. Washington State Attorney General’s Office Announces $65,000 Settlement with Online Retailer for Illegal Online Tobacco Sales
15. Unimpressed Judge Tosses One Of Devin Nunes’ SLAPP Suits Against The Washington Post
16. When You Can’t Innovate, You Litigate: Oracle Gleefully Takes Credit For Attacks On Section 230 And Google
17. House overrides Trump veto, defying demand to repeal Section 230
18. McConnell introduces bill tying $2K stimulus checks to Section 230 repeal
19. Mitch McConnell Using Section 230 Repeal As A Poison Pill To Avoid $2k Stimulus Checks
20. Coalition Of Internet Companies Who Are Decidedly Not ‘Big Tech’ Raise Their Voices About The Importance Of Section 230
21. Who’s responsible for content posted on the Internet? Section 230, explained
22. Section 230 Isn’t A Subsidy; It’s A Rule Of Civil Procedure
23. 2H 2020 Quick Links, Part 2 (Section 230) (Eric Goldman)
24. Content Moderation Case Study: Profanity Filter Causes Problems At Paleontology Conference (October 2020)
25. Content Moderation Case Study: Understanding Cultural Context To Detect Satire (2020)
26. Elsevier Wants To Stop Indian Medics, Students And Academics Accessing Knowledge The Only Way Most Of Them Can Afford: Via Sci-Hub And Libgen
27. After 2020’s Crucial Role In Our Lives, Social Media Will Face A Far More Critical 2021
28. Discord Raises $100 Million, Rolls Out Much-Requested Feature Amid Boom In User Acquisition
29. WW1984 lassos solid box office return, record downloads for HBO Max
30. TikTokers’ Collaborative ‘Ratatouille’ Musical To Star Wayne Brady, Tituss Burgess, Adam Lambert
31. Google Is Testing A Search Feature That Exclusively Serves Short Videos From TikTok, Instagram
32. MrBeast, Jimmy Fallon, MatPat, And More Join YouTube’s NYE Special ‘Hello 2021’
33. ‘Wonder Woman 1984’ Was Watched By “Nearly Half” Of HBO Max Subscribers On Christmas Day
34. TikTok Taps Brittany Broski, Lil Yachty To Host Live New Year’s Eve Festivities
35. Ontario Amends Rules of Civil Procedure to Embrace Virtual Proceedings and Electronic Processes
36. All I want for Christmas is an awesome new curriculum
37. Divers recover a WWII Enigma Machine from the Baltic Sea

A.I.

1. Google develops an AI that can learn both chess and Pac-Man
2. House of Lords Committee publishes new report “AI in the UK: No Room for Complacency”
3. Facial Recognition Helps New Jersey Cops Jail The Wrong Man For Ten Days
4. 2020 In Review: An AI Roundup
5. Why AI is so power-hungry

COMMUNICATIONS

1. FCC Seeks Input on FM Booster “Zonecasting” Proposal 
2. FCC Threatens Large Fines Against Landlords Who Allow Pirate Radio Broadcasts on Their Property 
3. Congress Appropriates $7 Billion to Fund Broadband Initiatives
4. Impact of Section 889’s Telecommunications and Video Surveillance Equipment Prohibitions on Federal Grant and Loan Recipients
5. Verizon’s Latest 5G Innovation: A 5G ‘DSS’ Network That’s Slower Than 4G
6. Comcast’s Pandemic Price Hike Bonanza Continues
7. FAA finally sets rules for piloting small drones

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

1. Ninth Circuit Provides Holiday Win to Copyright Owners with Fair Use Decision
2. Neoprene Tote Bags: Watertight Not Copyright
3. Corellium notches partial victory in Apple iOS copyright case 
4. The Man With The Tiger Tattoo Prances Forward*
5. Copyright Claims Board To Be Established; Criminal Streaming Law 
6. Substantial similarity in copyright: It matters where you sue
7. EUIPO report on online copyright infringement of film, TV and music – so what’s popular?
8. 2H 2020 Quick Links, Part 1 (Copyright) (Eric Goldman)
9. US Trademark and Copyright Reforms Accompany COVID-19 Relief 
10. A brand story: Santa and Coca-Cola 
11. Girl Scouts Continuing To Fight Boy Scouts Of America Over Trademarks, Branding 
12. Congress Passes the Trademark Modernization Act
13. Avoid New Trademark Email Scams
14. Brexit – Are you prepared? Pending UK Trade Mark proceedings: 3 key points to remember 
15. UDRP: hydroquébec.com 
16. Design disputes: combatting copycats with a collection of IP rights – Freddy SPA v Hugz Clothing Ltd 
17. Snapshot: procedure for design registration in USA
18. Quebec Court finds price and revenue calculation provisions of amended PMPRB Regulations unconstitutional 
19. Federal Circuit Finds Video Signal Conversion Claims Patent Ineligible 
20. Senators Tell The USPTO To Remove The Arbitrary Obstacles Preventing Inventors (Especially Women Inventors) From Getting Patents 
21. Why Everyone Is Patenting Software Inventions 
22. Inventions behind the music: From Eddie Van Halen to Michael Jackson and beyond 
23. Towards a Better Patent System for Europe: The Unified Patent Court (UPC)
24. Chinese Court Rules that It Can Set Patent License Terms outside China 
25. The Wuhan Submarine surfaces at Christmas, to be met by a Texan TRO
26. Lewis Hamilton’s IP struggles highlight some important issues
27. Cloud computing: A brief overview of intellectual property issues “in the cloud” 

PRIVACY

1. Responding to the SolarWinds Breach: Compliance and Oversight Considerations
2. ICO issues statement on potential data breaches resulting from the recent SolarWinds Orion cyber-attack
3. United Kingdom: Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) issues statement on SolarWinds Orion compromise
4. Five Things to Do in Response to SolarWinds Compromise
5. Marriott and BA fined a combined £38.4m for data security failures
6. Tweeting Tardy: Twitter fined $500,000 for GDPR breach
7. Canada: Watch out, GDPR – Canada proposes strict new privacy law framework backed by significant fines
8. Brexit Deal Keeps EU-UK Data Flows Open as Parties Pursue Mutual Adequacy
9. The Deal is There! EU-UK Trade Agreement Facilitates Data Transfers
10. Brexit Deal Copied And Pasted Recommendations For Netscape, Outdated Encryption
11. How your digital trails wind up in the hands of the police
12. How Sweepstakes Compliance Can Save Your Reputation
13. Can a litigant use an access request as a means of obtaining quasi-discovery?
14. Still Not ‘Going Dark:’ Device Encryption Still Contains Plenty Of Exploitable Flaws
15. 2020 had its share of memorable hacks and breaches. Here are the top 10
16. The decade-long quest to stop “Spamford” Wallace

GAMES

1. CD Projekt Red investors sue company over Cyberpunk 2077 debacle
2. Apple reportedly warns devs of more app takedowns in Chinese App Store
3. What makes for a good game publishing contract?
4. Nier: Automata surpasses 5 million shipped
5. Steam’s end of year bonanza gets ‘experimental’
6. Blackstone makes big investment in mobile ad firm Liftoff
7. Parents Who Gift Quest 2 to Kids Under 13 Years Old are in for an Unfortunate Surprise
8. Games of the Year 2020 | Xbox Game Pass
9. Moving Out | Games of the Year 2020
10. Gamasutra’s Best of 2020: Kris Graft’s top 5 games (+1)
11. Gamasutra’s Best of 2020: The top 10 games of the year

Jon