Entertainment Law and the Podcast it Comes In

                  When thinking of your business and working within the entertainment field one day, it is more than a good idea to seek some sort of legal advice to help you get on the right track. I conducted an impromptu survey amongst some colleagues and friends on how they would go about acquiring said advice for a business within the entertainment industry. Most said right off the bat to hire an attorney; only a few were more specific with their suggestion to seek advice from an entertainment lawyer. Although they are both correct in a way, since at least some advice is definitely better than no advice, there are also other routes every day people do not think of. Other sources of information for aspiring entrepreneurs within the entertainment industry may come in the form of trade journals, professional blogs, and even podcasts.

                  With this post I would like to tackle on how researching through podcasts can prove to be beneficial for entertainment entrepreneurs everywhere. There are plenty of places one can go to search for podcasts and recordings of conversations that have to do with law, such as iTunes or Google Play. You can also do a more refined search and find specialty sites that cater solely to entertainment law, such as the one I went to, called Entertainment Law Update Podcast. For instance, Gordon Firemark and Tamara Bennett talk about in Episode 22 of their podcast about the importance of having proper documentation when hiring someone to do work for hire. This specific topic would probably best benefit all of the aspiring musicians within our crowd, because they start to dissect the Rebecca Black versus Ark Music incident revolving around the infamous Friday music video.  Following the work for hire topic they spoke about obscenity in media and how it affects video games and other mediums such as film. It is very interesting to hear their thoughts on how the US Supreme Court separates a parent’s responsibility for their child and the notion that the government should take that role instead. For me, as a future video game developer, I find this topic interesting because it tells me that a game we produce labeled content Mature for 17 year olds and up may not suffer in sales because retailers will physically have to ID their shoppers. In my opinion I do feel parents should make more of an effort there to curb their child’s activities should they not wish for them to see certain things.

http://www.entertainmentlawupdate.com

                  In Episode 28 of the Entertainment Law Update Podcast, they touch upon the incident we spoke about in our last post about Electronic Arts and Textron Helicopters and their trade dress infringement. This case has ramifications outside of just video games, as Gordon explains if Textron wins the battle then filmmakers may even need to acquire licenses from companies just have their vehicles shown within films. As an entrepreneur and aspiring video game developer I would be pretty difficult for my company, or any other company even, to make a game based off of real world scenarios and be forced to create made up vehicles that are not real so as to not infringe on any trade mark or design. It sounds silly, because then the moment a team comes up with their own made-up design for a vehicle, that game automatically looses its realistic feel to it. At the end of the podcast they make the difference between the EA case and a case between Batman and custom-car manufacturer. For the lay entrepreneur this podcast is a perfect go to learn a little more about copyright law and its limitations.

In Episode 32 they continue the copyright and trademark talk with other examples such as the Lady Gaga as a cosmetic trademark dispute. Here we see what happens when a trademark that exists in one industry collides with a different trademark with a similar name in another. The best advice would be to do your research beforehand and look into every possible avenue you may decide to take your brand into whether in the immediate future or not. But, in all honesty, who can really account and preplan how successful a brand or trademark may be. As game developer I hope that in the future when my company releases a game it becomes a hit and we can build a franchise around it, but in reality this is never a given. It is only natural that I am not going to start to register trademarks in the name of the video game in other industries like clothing or cosmetics even. In Lady Gaga’s case she has perfumes and cosmetics that compete directly with the Gaga Pure Platinum Company that was establish in 2000. Like I said, I do not think one can ever prepare for this sort of incident, but one can be prepared for how act and go about finding a solution towards a problem.

                  There will always be a point in a situation when we may be faced to seek physical legal counsel or representation. But for everyday research or to just learn more about the legal side of your industry you always have other options to turn to. Everyone that reads this may find themselves in different entertainment fields than I do, but that does not mean a lot of our legal issues are mutually exclusive. Podcasts such as that of the Entertainment Law Update and others out there can help us grow as leaders and entrepreneurs seeking to make our companies the best that it can possibly be. If any of you out there know of other resources our readers can look into, please share their links or information. As always, we would like to hear what your thoughts are and how this topic law applies to your field and industry. 

Video Game Developers and the Liabilities They Face

                   The ability video game developers have to create amazing and fantastical worlds and bring them to both, young and old minds alike is nothing less than phenomenal. Of course it’s one thing when you are creating something totally from scratch and coming up with every single detail of the game yourself, and another when you are creating a game based on, whether loosely or fully, on reality. Both of these types of creations have had and still have legal issues they must face from time to time. At the heart of most of the issues developers face usually tends to deal with intellectual property in some way, shape, or form. Upcoming video game developers can take note from some issues a giant in the industry has gone through and continues to go through certain legal challenges.

Cover for EA Sports' NCAA Football 2012

                  That giant is none other than mega publisher Electronic Arts (EA). Electronic Arts has been on both ends of the legal table when it comes to intellectual property. First up, with EA’s largest development department, EA Sports, they have found a lot of success with their gaming franchises from college football to world club soccer. Now here is a game that is clearly based on reality, and with that reality comes likeness and characteristics of real sports players. The problem comes when EA does not have the permission to depict certain players within their games. The best example can be shown through an article released by the Los Angeles County Bar Association in May of 2011. The article addresses EA’s NCAA Football franchise and the use of accurate “likeness” and characteristics that look eerily similar to their real-life counterparts; all of which, due to NCAA rules, cannot profit from endorsing said video games. In a nutshell, EA argues that without using a player’s actual face or name they are protected under the First Amendment to produce their game. In the end, at least in one of the many suits, a New Jersey judge ruled in favor of EA stating that since the US Supreme Court found games to be protected under the First Amendment, in this specific case they did too.

EA/Dice Battlefield 3 Image

                  Another issue EA faced this last year, dealt with their blockbuster-hit game Battlefield 3. According to two separate posts by experts working at Davis LLP, EA has had to “preemptively” sue a helicopter manufacturer after talks about acquiring rights to their helicopters for use in the video game fell through. The second post furthers the insight towards this case by stating that EA’s preemptive suit is based on nominative fair use grounds. This issue is very interesting for developers because it can ultimately open a floodgate to future lawsuits should EA fail. To make my point clearer, the way I see it is that everyone’s perception of an attack helicopter is mostly limited to what we have viewed in pictures or any previous knowledge we may have of them or whatnot. I guess the best example I can give is with the depiction of generic flat-screen TVs within the stories of video games. I am sure there is at least one TV making company out there that can argue that one of their designs has been depicted in a video game. Maybe even a damaged flat-screen on the floor of one of those battle maps in Battlefield 3? If there is one legal case any future game developer should keep on eye on, it is this one.

Zynga's The Ville vs. EA's The Sims Social

                  The last issue we find EA on the other side of the legal table, with their suit brought against social gaming company Zynga. EA argues that Zynga’s The Ville is eerily similar to EA’s own social game called The Sims Social. Within the Times Live article, they quote an expert saying that copying, with respect to what companies offer their customers in choices and products within a game, has been growing in the social gaming arena for years now.  For both of these companies this suit is just another day of doing business within this industry. Intellectual property is their breadwinner, they both need to take care of their IPs and try everything that they can from others profiting from their hard-earned creations. From a future video game developer’s perspective, protecting our IPs is something that we will all need to learn to take care of. Our IPs will be and should be our number one priority outside of creating them. Of course, it should also be said, that respecting others’ IPs should be dealt with due diligence prior to publishing any final product and practiced more often than not.

  

                  As always, we here at Pencils and Vectors, love to hear your thoughts and takes on the issues and stories we present. What is your take on one or all of EA’s issues? Are there any cases or instances that mirror those of EAs that you know about? We look forward to read your comments!