The Quarterly Journal of Judicial Law Views

The Quarterly Journal of Judicial Law Views

Intellectual Property Protection for Player-Generated Content in Video Games

Authors
mehdi zahedi
shirin sharifzadeh
allame tabatabai university
Abstract
Nowadays video games are fast becoming one of the most popular media of choice. For more than thirty years now video games are amongst us. At the start being a new form of entertainment for the youth only, in no time it has grown into a medium enjoyed and used for various purposes by consumers of all ages. The global market for video games is still expected to grow substantially in the upcoming years and the legal framework for protection of video games becomes more and more significant.
Intellectual property rights protect video games from different aspects. Copyright safeguards the creative and artistic expression that goes into the software , music, story and characters of game. Patents protect the next generation hardware or technical solutions as well as the inventive game play or game design elements. Trademarks protect the name and logo, game title and subtitle. Trade secrets can be used to safeguard customer mailing lists, pricing information, publishers contacts, developers contacts and deal terms However, due to an inherent characteristic of video game, it faces major challenges. In some video games, the player has a role to play in changing production. His participation in such a way that each game for each player can be different from the other players. Players often create their own unique content. This paper addresses a number of the intellectual property law aspects of the protection of video games and discusses is this player-generated content protectable and it so, who owns it?
Keywords
Video Games
copyright
Player-Generated
Derivative works
GreenspanDavid, (2014), Mastering the game: business and Legal Issues for Video Game Developers, Creative industries-No.8, Wipo publication, No.959E.
Hill Adam,et al (2003), IGDA , Intellectual property Rights and the video Game Industry.
Taylor T.L. ,(2007),pushing the Borders : player participation and game Culture, Structures of Participation in Digital Culture ,ed. J. Karaganis, public lives of Users, New York: SSRC.
Brown Peter &Raysman Richard (2006), Property Right in Cyberspace Games and other Novel Legal Issues in virtual property, the Indian Journal of law and Technology ,volume .2.
Burk Dan L ,Electronic Gaming and Ethics of Information ownership,(2005), International Review of Information Ethics, Vol.4.
Dean,Drew.S ,(2016),Hitting Reset:Devising a New Video Game Copyright Regime,University Pennsylvania Law Review,Vol 164.
Fenzel,Cristin (2007) , Still life with “ spark” and “sweat”: the copyright ability of contemporary art in the united state and united kingdom, Arizona journal of international & comparative law, Vol 24.
Grosheide. F.Willem,Roerdink Herwin andThomas Karianne,(2014), Intellectual Property protection for video games ( A view from the European :::union::: ), Journal of International Commercial Law and Technology ( JICLT ), Vol.9,No.1 .
kelly Jennifar Lloyd &plassaras Nicholas A. ,(2015), Copyrighting player – Generated content in video Games , Intellectual property, Winter Bulletin , Fenwick & west LLP.
Kuehl,John,(2016),Video Games and Intellectual Property:Similarities, Differences and a New Approach to Protection,Cybaris,An Intellectual Property Law Review,Vol 7.
Pina Pedro,(2011), Computer Games and Intellectual Property Law : Derivative Works, Copyright and Copy left , Business, Technology and Social Dimensions of Computer Games: Multidisciplinary Developments, Kristin klinger, information science Reference, US.
Ros Vioral and Livadariu Andreea (2014),Originality-Condition for Protection of Scientific Works, Challenging of the Knowledge Society .Intellectual Property Law, Nicolae Titulescu University House Romania, Vol 4 (1) Thesis.
Sotomi,Joseph,2005,Originality in Copyright : A Contested Issue, Intellectual Property Law, Dissertation LW556, University of Kent England.
Stern Electronics ,Inc v. Harold Kaufman 669 F.2d 852 (1982) United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.
Micro Star v. FormGen Inc , 154 F.3d 1107United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit .