Despite supposedly having millions of users (to Facebook’s 3/4 of a billion), social networking pioneer MySpace appears to be headed out to pasture. Last week, the company laid off 47 percent of its workforce, lopping off 500 employees from its nearly 1,100-person payroll. Rumors that MySpace’s parent company News Corp.…
A new survey by Interactive Age about the best law firms advising on video games and other interactive entertainment named Pillsbury one of the Top 3 firms in the nation. According to the survey, more than 530 attorneys at 30 major law firms now practice in the area of video…
In Amaretto Ranch Breedables v. Ozimals, Inc., Case No. 10-05696, the Northern District of California granted a temporary restraining order enjoining Second Life from honoring Defendant’s take down notice under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (“DMCA”). Defendant sells “ozimals” which are breadable “living” bunnies that users can purchase and take…
OnLive announced that it was awarded a patent that it alleges is a “fundamental cloud gaming patent.” The patent, USP 7,849,491, is entitled “Apparatus and method for wireless video gaming” was filed in 2002 but just issued in December 2010 after an 8 year battle with the Patent Office. According…
The Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit ruled on the Blizzard v. MDY case, largely affirming the district court’s finding that MDY’s bot (“Glider”) for playing World of Warcraft (WOW) violates the WOW Terms of Use and violates anti-circumvention provisions of the DMCA. However, the 9th Circuit found that…
Brightkite has announced that it is rolling out a new business model focusing on group text and abandoning its check-in model. According to the Brightkite blog posting, its new Android application can be your “default text messaging app, handling ALL your messaging from one app, saving you money with free…
Viacom is appealing the decision of the New York Federal Court which granted Google’s (YouTube) motion for summary judgment that it was protected against claims of copyright infringement for videos uploaded to YouTube by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act’s safe harbor provisions. Viacom believes that Google is not entitled to…
Motorola Mobility Inc. recently brought an action before the U.S. International Trade Commission (“ITC”) against Microsoft Corp. relating to the importation of the Xbox 360 console. At the center of the controversy is the potential infringement of five patents covering digital video coding and transmission. The case is In re:…
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.…
In October, tech media sources, such as CNET, were reporting that Facebook had acquired part of Zenbe’s intellectual property portfolio, in addition to hiring some of Zenbe’s key engineers. While Zenbe will stay intact, Zenbe Mail has been shut down, and the associated intellectual property, has been acquired by Facebook. …