The FTC recently posted a press release (FTC Press Release) on their settlement with Twitter, Inc. over charges that the company failed to protect users’ private information. The charges against Twitter stem from several high-profile incidences where hackers were able to gain administrative control of Twitter to: view nonpublic user…
Google has prevailed on summary judgment in a lawsuit brought against it by Viacom for widespread copyright infringement due to uploading of copyrighted content to its YouTube site. Viacom was seeking $1billion in damages, alleging that Google was aware that users were committing copyright infringement by uploading songs and other…
On June 15, 2010, Amazon was awarded U.S. Patent No. 7,739,139 entitled “Social Networking System.” Some have said this relates to fundamental aspects of “friending” and data sharing in social networks. If the patent is truly as broad as some say, what impact might this have on Facebook and other…
In a recently filed complaint (Actus Complaint.pdf), a patent holding company has sued over a dozen major companies for alleged patent infringement. The suit alleges infringement of 4 patents that relate to virtual currency or “electronic tokens”. The patents include United States Patent No. 7,328,189; 7,249,099; 7,177,838; and 7,177,838. The…
Social gaming powerhouse Zynga has joined forces with 7-Eleven to begin selling items branded with its popular gaming titles in 7-Eleven stores throughout the US and Canada. The six week promotion will include more than 30 products, including Slurpees and Big Gulp drinks, all with redemption codes that will allow…
This Federal Trade Commission has launched a campaign to educate tweens (kids ages 8 to 12) about advertising so they can become more discerning consumers of information. Called Admongo, the goal of the campaign is to boost advertising literacy by: Raising awareness of advertising and marketing messages Teaching critical thinking…
Join Pillsbury for an evening with social game entrepreneurs, venture capitalists and legal analysts. This event will cover a number of recent trends and changes in social gaming business models. We will also discuss the current venture climate, what VCs are looking for in a social gaming company and ways…
Nickelodeon has announced a virtual good platform for its Addicting Games site. According to Dave Williams, a Senior VP and GM, he sees virtual goods as a huge opportunity and by developing its own virtual goods platform, Nickelodeon minimizes the burden on developers to create their own platforms. This launch…
As further evidence that Virtual worlds technology is useful to all types of entities, including the Federal Government, the USDA recently announced an award of a virtual world contract to four companies: Advanced Software Systems, INC; Avaya Government Solutions INC; Science Application International; and Three Wire Systems LLC. The solicitation…
Linden Research Inc. and its CE Philip Rosedale have been named as defendants in a class action lawsuit relating to the ownership status of virtual property in Second Life, the popular virtual world in which users can realize significant gains from buying and selling virtual real estate (land and buildings),…