SOUTHWESTERN LAW SCHOOL SYLLABUS, COURSE REQUIREMENTS AND GRADING CRITERIA VIDEO GAME LAW SUMMER 2007 PROFESSOR DAVID S. ROSENBAUM

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1 SOUTHWESTERN LAW SCHOOL SYLLABUS, COURSE REQUIREMENTS AND GRADING CRITERIA REQUIRED TEXTS: VIDEO GAME LAW SUMMER 2007 PROFESSOR DAVID S. ROSENBAUM Festinger, Video Game Law Professor s Printed Materials available in Print Shop. Fox, Working With Contracts: What Law School Doesn t Teach You. The course will look at the industry from three vantage points: business and contractual aspects, operational issues impacting the industry, and litigation and politics in and around the video game industry. Students are encouraged to read web-based material available about the videogame industry and use the publicly available material as a resource throughout the course to aid in understanding of the concepts and issues to be presented during the course. Some recommended websites are: Gamasutra.com, GamePolitics.com, Next-gen.biz and Escapistmagazine.com. CLASS PREPARATION: Students are expected to have read the assigned materials. Class discussion will commence with the assumption that everyone is thoroughly familiar with the assigned materials. A student who is unprepared when called upon may be marked absent for that class. ATTENDANCE: Regular and punctual class attendance is required. A student may be administratively withdrawn from this course if he or she is absent from more than 20% of the regularly scheduled class sessions. Each student is responsible for keeping track of his or her absences. Attendance will be taken at the start of class by calling roll. If you are not in your seat at the beginning of class and do not respond to the roll-call you will be considered absent. Lack of preparation, early departure, or inappropriate behavior may result in a student being marked absent. GRADING CRITERIA AND FINAL EXAMINATION: The grade for this course will be determined by performance on the final examination. The final examination will be 2 hours long and will be open book (with reference to Professor s Printed Materials). It will consist of 4-6 essay questions.

2 The essay questions will be graded on the basis of the thoroughness and effectiveness of the analysis they contain. Answers which merely state conclusions, or answers without an explanation of the reasoning and analytical process used to reach the conclusions, will receive little credit. Similarly, answers that recite abstract principles of law without applying them to the facts of the problem presented in the questions will receive little credit. EXAMINATION REVIEW AND PROCEDURE: Final examinations will be available for review and copying after the grades have been turned in. I will be happy to discuss the examination with students, but only for the purpose of discussing ways of improving the student's performance on examinations. Sound academic theory as well as university policy require that grades may be changed only for mathematical/clerical errors. OFFICE HOURS/INSTRUCTOR'S AVAILABILITY: I will generally be available one hour before and briefly after class meetings. I can also be reached by (drosenbaum@dsrlawoffice.com) and by phone. My office telephone number is (818) Appointments can also be scheduled. COURSE OUTLINE: 1. Overview of the Video Game Industry (May 31, 2007): (a) (b) Overview of Course Objectives. Industry overview: a review of the basics of the industry and statistics. (i) Gaming. Video Game Timeline: From Pong to PlayStation 3: A Brief History of (ii) Game Demographics: Who plays games? What kinds of games? What are the platforms? (iii) Key Players: (1) Hardware manufacturers: how the proprietary console (e.g., Sony s PlayStation 3 and Microsoft s Xbox 360) and handheld systems (e.g., Nintendo DS and Sony PlayStation Portable) shape the industry, and how online gaming and mobile gaming are making their own impact. (2) Publishers: The role of the game publisher. The majors. (3) Developers: The role of the game developer. Some key players 2

3 (4) Technology licensors: Middleware technology. (5) Content licensors: What is the content? Some key licensors: movie studios, sports leagues. Licensing content for games will be contrasted with other entertainment industries (iii) Market segments: discuss differences between AAA console, handheld, PC, casual gaming, serious gaming. (c) The Lawyer s Role. (d) Reading Material: Fox, Chapters 1, 2 (pp. 8 15) and 6 (pp ); Festinger, Chapter 1 (pp. 1 19). 2. Key IP Issues (June 5-7, 2007): These classes will examine how publishers and developers follow IP strategies. What intellectual property rights must be considered and which party will own or control such rights? What is realistic in today s market? How does retaining IP rights increase the value of a company? (a) Selected provisions of the US Copyright Act, Trademark Act and Patent Act and California Labor Code and Business and Professions Code will be examined to get at concepts which underlie many of the customary transactions which occur in the game industry. (b) IP Ownership: Rights of employers and employees and works made-for-hire will be examined. The role of the NDA will be examined and how the games industry deals with disclosure of ideas and how it differs with unsolicited submissions in the film and TV industry. (c) (d) Reverse engineering as a milestone in the growth of the Game industry. Reading Material: (i) Festinger: Chapter 1 (pp ); Chapter 2 (pp ). (ii) Supplement: Sections The Key Legal Relationships, Part I (June 12-21, 2007): through sample forms, agreements, and selected cases these classes will explore relationships between the key players in the industry to gain an understanding of the customs and practices in the industry. (a) Hardware Manufacturer and Publisher/Developer: console and hand-held gaming occupies the largest niche in the industry and those relationships revolve around the use of proprietary technology owned by companies such as Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony. Both publishers and developers have (and require) independent relationships with the Hardware Manufacturer. 3

4 (b) Content Licensors and Publishers: licensed content occupies a substantial segment of the games produced. The licensing phenomena will be explored, ranging from Harry Potter and Rugrats to Madden Football. How the license agreement impacts production and marketing and distribution of a game will be examined and the perils/rewards of going without a license will also be reviewed. The popularity of sports and racing sim games gives rise to legal challenges. How the game industry deals with the right of publicity and clearances. (c) Reading Material: Supplement: Sections The Key Legal Relationships, Part II (June 26 - July 10, 2007): through sample forms, agreements, and selected case reports, these classes will explore developing and distributing a video game. (a) Publisher and Developer: the primary talent deals in the games industry. Unlike the motion picture business, game development is a team concept and the long production cycles dictate the many contractual requirements which must be met to bring a game to market. For a publisher, this means managing Wall Street expectations; for an independent developer, this means learning how to survive when payment for your services is predicated entirely on a publisher s largely discretionary acceptance of their work product. In reviewing a typical development agreement, we will review the development process and how the contractual provisions are aimed at assigning risk in the industry. (b) Publisher/Developer and Middleware Supplier: middleware are tools that are used in the development of computer and video games and that relationship will be explored. This issue of open source code will also be examined. (c) Publisher and Distributor: few publishers or developers can distribute worldwide or in all media; the distribution model is examined. (d) Reading Materials: Supplement: Sections Litigation and Politics in the Games Industry (July 12 19, 2007): These classes will examine how the industry attempts to regulate itself through its rating system as to content in video games and tackles the issues of violence in video games through examination of noteworthy cases and statutory developments and corporate responsibility. Like the film and recording industries, the courts have emerged as a forum to challenge content in video games. We will examine noteworthy cases involving claims of injury and wrongful death involving video games as well as cases challenging the constitutionality of state and local statutes seeking to regulate the sale of video games to minors. (a) Tort Cases: We will examine two cases, James v Meow Media, Inc., (6 th Cir 2002) and Sanders v Acclaim Entertainment, Inc., (USDC, D.Colo. 2002), which arose out of school shootings in Paducah, Kentucky and Columbine High School. 4

5 (b) Industry self-regulation: The Entertainment Software Ratings Board is the industry s counterpart to the film and TV industry rating systems and we will examine how the system works. (c) Statutory Challenges and the First Amendment: We will examine cases challenging the constitutionality of state and local statutes seeking to regulate the sale of video games to minors. (d) Lessons in Corporate Responsibility: In the Matter of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. and Rockstar Games, Inc. How a hit game and hot coffee landed a publicly traded company in hot water with the FTC and other misadventures which led shareholders to oust the Board and the CEO. (e) Reading Materials: Supplement: Sections