The eSports industry has undergone a massive growth in the recent years hitting a record market revenue of almost $1 billion. Blockchain technology could foster even more the huge market growth building trust, adding transparency and introducing new business models. Here is a brief overview of its applications and legal challenges.
Blockchain: the real fuel for eSports Read More »
There are a number of copyright issues related to the choreography of an eSports game. In these days the first (and most important) regards the protection of choreographic elements (i.e. a dance) which could appear in videogames. In Europe and in the USA, a choreographic work is protected by copyright. This is why an extended series of dances moves that is original to its creator can be protected by copyright. The above explains the law suits recently filed in the USA at the end of 2018 by several individuals in connection with famous Fortnite videogame.
If you are not familiar with Fortnite, players can buy (or earn) emotes, short avatar animations who can replicate generic acrobatic moves and dances. The Fortnite Loser Dance (so called L Dance) become famous thanks to the French soccer player Griezmann, who used this theme after scoring in the last World Cup 2018 final against Croatia.
eSports and Copyright between choreographies and UGC Read More »
Loot box regulation is a hot topic in a variety of regions. The attention over loot boxes began when a number of video games started to incorporate gaming micro-transactions for chance-based items within the game.
Previously, video games were sold as a stand-alone product and the interaction between players and the developers of the game existed only and to the extent players would have bought a sequel or an expansion pack of the video game.
Loot boxes and its regulatory implications Read More »
Italian privacy dawn raids are a hot topic and being prepared to them is crucial, especially given the potential fines provided by the GDPR. Here are the main takeaways from our event on the matter.
On the 1st of March 2019, DLA Piper had the pleasure to host – together with AIGI – an event on Italian privacy dawn raids that had as main speaker, Mr. Marco Menegazzo, the head of the department of the tax police in charge of privacy dawn raids, supporting the Italian data protection authority (the Garante) on their performance.
Top 5 takeaways from DLA Piper event on Italian privacy dawn raids Read More »
The majority of legal analysis concerning the raise of e-Sports tends to coagulate around the main stakeholders, i.e. the IP owners, the broadcasters, the sponsors and the e-athletes and teams, focusing on the appropriate way to discipline their relationships, possibly against a regulated background capable of dealing with gambling, e-doping and, more generally, with the requirements and rules set by laws, sport authorities and similar bodies.
There is however a missing piece in this picture: the audience, i.e. the increasing crowd interested to see the e-games, possibly attending live events, with the opportunity to meet their idols and see them play live.
How do you spell e-Stadium? Read More »
eSports tournaments can be subject to stringent restrictions under Italian prize promotion and gambling rules if adequate solutions are not adopted.
The eSports market is rapidly growing and the data below show a massive boost from 2012 up to now in 2019 $ 130 million to $ 1,187 million, with a further fast increase in the coming years.
eSports between Italian prize promotion and gambling rules Read More »
The growth of usage of blockchain based smart contracts in Italy might be boosted by a new law which deemed them equal to written documents in some cases.
Blockchain based smart contracts equal to written document in Italy Read More »
Over the last years we have witnessed extensive disapproval of the fashion world when dealing with collections or campaigns inspired by different cultures. As a fact, criticism on alleged cases of cultural appropriation has been rising to the stars throughout the years and does not seem to come to an end.
Generally speaking, cultural appropriation is defined as the unrecognized or inappropriate adoption of traditions, practices, ideas, etc. of one culture by members of another cultural, usually the latter being more dominant.
In recent months many fashion companies have been restyling their brands by simplifying and minimizing their visual impact: big fashion industries are dropping unique fonts, words and design features − which until now have significantly contributed to differentiate their brands from their competitors’ − in favor of most popular and common fonts, such as sans-serif.
“Less is more”, we may say.
There is a new crop of influencersin town and – read carefully – they are not real people.
Virtual influencers – influencers who are not human, but rather are CGI creations or robots – are the latest trend on social media. CGI stands for “computer-generated imagery” and it is a technology that creates pictures through the use of computers, now applied to create the new trend of virtual – but realistic – Instagram influencers and models.
In particular, the top 4 leading the group are Miquela Sousa, Bermuda, Shudu and Sophia the Robot.
Publications sharing tips on how to complete videogames and maximise bonuses might increase with the expansion of the eSport competitions. The same applies to platforms streaming videogames alone or together with eSport actions of the various players. Yet are these activities possible without the right holders’ consent?
Under Italian law, videogames are protected as a whole as copyright works like movies, whilst their frames could be protected as simple photographies (with protection lasting 20 years from their publication). Following a different opinion, videogame frames could be excluded from protection, as they may considered similar to documents, as provided by Art. 87, last sentence of the Italian Copyright Law (ICL).
Parleremo di ispezioni privacy e di come prepararsi alle stesse l’1 marzo da DLA Piper con il Colonnello Marco Menegazzo ed esperti del settore.
La sanzione di € 50 milioni emessa di recente dal Garante privacy francese, il CNIL, si è rivelata come un campanello di allarme per le società. Ad oltre 9 mesi dall’inizio dell’applicabilità del GDPR, i garanti europei stanno emettendo le prime sanzioni ai sensi del Regolamento privacy europeo e gli importi possono essere molto elevati.
Ispezioni privacy – cosa aspettarsi e come essere pronti? Read More »
After that last September Lady Gaga walked the Venice Film Festival red carpet in a pink feathered Valentino gown, next season will be all about feathers. But where do feathers come from? Are they compliant with sustainability claims and animal welfare regulations?
Since consumers are increasingly sensitive towards sustainability problems and the ecological and ethical qualities of a product can influence the purchasing choices of the average consumer, the last trend in fashion is using materials and manufacturing processes that respect the environment and local communities, along with animal welfare and working conditions. During last Milan Fashion Week, the whole fashion system met at the Green Carpet Fashion Awards launched in 2017 to celebrate the commitment of luxury fashion houses to sustainability. Ex Spice Girl, now fashion designer Victoria Beckham announced that she will stop use of exotic leathers from A/W 2019 collection of her fashion brand, already fur free. The global sportswear brand Adidas committed to using only recycled plastic by 2024. Just yesterday the French luxury group LVMH launched the first standard for responsible crocodile leather sourcing across three pilot farms.
Milan Fashion Week and Fashion Law Trends: Sustainability and green claims Read More »
The Milan Fashion Week has just started and from today we are glad to host some highlights on the major fashion law trends of this season.
Heritage is one of the major assets a fashion company holds and the ultimate tendency of this Fashion Week is to revamp old creations from the maison’s archives.
Firstly, it should be assessed whether the fashion company can use its own archives. This seems to be a plain question, however, in practice, it could happen that, despite being the owner of the physical copies of sketches and preparatory works of certain garments or motifs, the company does not hold the IP rights over such creations of the past.
Milan Fashion Week and Fashion Law Trends: Use and protection of fashion archives Read More »
The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) has launched its first “Technology Trends” Study on developments in Artificial Intelligence inventions and the EDPB issued an opinion on processing of personal data on clinical trials.
New WIPO study on A.I. inventions and EDPB opinion on clinical trials Read More »