All types of businesses are leveraging new and emerging business models around virtual currencies and virtual goods. Check out our video where we discuss the various legal issues that need to be addressed to safely and profitable capitalize on these significant business opportunities:
As the online gaming market slowly evolves, many companies are preparing to capitalize on it once the legislative process moves forward. In one of the latest announcements, Zynga has applied to get licensed in Nevada. According to a recent statement from Zynga: Zynga has filed its Application for a Preliminary Finding of Suitability from…
As the multi-billion market for virtual goods continues to grow, so too does the regulatory scrutiny. One area where many companies in this space may want to review is their SEC disclosure practices. At a recent conference of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, a Securities and Exchange Commission…
A weekly wrap up of interesting news about virtual worlds, virtual goods and other social media. Social Casino Games Market Now Worth $1.6 Billion The social gaming market is moving fast, as more companies take advantage of the growing online phenomenon. According to a new study by internet games…
Gametek has filed a complaint for patent infringement against a large number of game and game-related companies over a virtual goods payment patent. The patent issued based on an application originally filed September 29, 2000, and claims priority to a provisional application filed June 20, 2000. The patent issued July…
The Supreme Court has validated the ability of software developers to prevent customers from owning the copy of software they acquire. Because software developers can limit the customers rights to a mere license, they can impose restrictions that can prevent the customer from reselling the software. This is a huge…
Many people invest significant time, effort and in some cases real money to acquire virtual goods. There is great perceived value in these virtual goods. But there are a growing number of cases, where users have been the subject of hacking and other situations where they have had their virtual…
Congressman Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), a senior member and former chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee’s Communications, Technology and the Internet Subcommittee, sent a letter dated February 8, 2011 to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) requesting more information about possible consumer protection issues related to “in-app” purchases, particularly relating to kids. The…
A UK court entered a guilty plea against Ashley Mitchell, an IT guy who hacked into Zynga’s servers last year and stole 400 billion virtual poker chips. His efforts to resell them, which is against Zynga’s terms of service, netted him $86,000 and a yet to be determined jail sentence.…
American Express has partnered with Zynga to allow American Express Membership Rewards members to use their points to purchase goods in Zynga’s games. Membership Reward points are earned by using an American Express card for purchases, as well as through various promotions such double points for groceries or hotel stays.…