Guide To China
China's temporary games approval freeze - Your key questions answered
Niko Partners offers a complete breakdown of the current market situation in China and who it's likely to affect
Blurred Lines
European regulators claim “blurring of lines” between gambling and gaming in joint statement
"We have joined forces to call on video games companies to address the clear public concern around the risks gambling and some video games can pose to children"
Restrictive Policies
China’s block on new game licenses could be coming to an end - but fresh regulations are incoming
Calls to restrict the number of new game releases
China Lockdown
What the hell is happening to games in China?
Conspiracy or cock-up?
Spending Spree
US Librarian spends $89,000 of public money on Game of War
Adam Winger sells his home and drains retirement fund to pay back the appropriated funds
Banned
No end in sight as South Korean games companies locked out of China for over a year
No signs of issues being resolved
Games Suspended
China hasn't approved any new mobile games since March 28th
Market sees single-digit growth in first half of the year, the slowest since at least 2009
Swift Action
SwiftLife swiftly sues Taylor Swift over Taylor Swift: The Swift Life
New York computer consulting service isn't happy with a new app from the singer holding the same name as its business
Caught In The Act
Alleged stalker arrested by police claims he was just playing Pokemon Go
Report suggests man has a history of stalking the same woman
Callin' Hacks
Credit card thieves reportedly laundering money through Clash of Clans and Clash Royale
Kabam’s Marvel Contest of Champions also said to be a target
No Biggie
Nintendo’s lawsuit against Japanese publisher Colopl won’t stall White Cat Project Switch release
Console giant says these are "completely separate matters"
Legal
San Mateo County drops charges against Vungle founder Zain Jaffer
Child abuse and assault against the former CEO cleared by district attorney
Loot Boxes
French regulator concerned about loot boxes but concedes it isn't gambling
Paris proves less hostile to the practice than its Dutch and Belgian counterparts
Goodnite
PUBG Corp ends Epic Games lawsuit over PUBG and Fortnite copyright infringement claims
Brings end to battle royale spat
Ruled Out
Judge halves Facebook’s Zenimax payout to $250 million in Oculus dispute
Headset sales won’t be blocked either, Judge rules
Fallout
Warner Bros labels Bethesda lawsuit over Westworld mobile game "baseless"
Skyrim developer accused Warner Bros and Behaviour Interactive of snagging code from Fallout Shelter
Fallout World
Fallout Shelter publisher Bethesda sues Warner Bros over “blatant rip-off” Westworld
Lawsuit claims "highly similar" game design, art style, animations and features
Legal Dispute
Former Telltale CEO Kevin Bruner sues studio over alleged contract breach
Claims the developer failed to fulfil obligations after stepping down in 2017
Opinion
PUBG Corp's lawsuit against Epic's Fortnite could set an uncomfortable precedent
This market has been built on a cycle of iteration and improvement which could end if the Playerunknown's Battlegrounds firm wins this case
There Can Be Only One
PUBG Corp sues Epic over Fortnite Battle Royale
Follows threats last September and a lawsuit against NetEase
Whoops
"Lack of oversight" to blame for Overwatch art in Paladins Strike ad
Hi-Rez art director was swift to assure that the matter was being looked into
Giving Loot The Boot
Top games ruled to be breaking Dutch gambling laws with loot boxes
The authoritative body investigated 10 unnamed titles after concerns were raised by players, parents and addiction care workers
Going Offline
China’s app crackdown removes 370 livestreaming apps
Major players like Douyu and Huya also under investigation
Bust
Free-to-play casino games land four gaming companies with online gambling lawsuits
Legal action follows a similar ruling that found Big Fish Games’ casino experiences to have violated Washington state law
Legal Investigation
Report: South Korea’s FTC investigates Google Play over claims it abused market leading position
Storefront accounted for 60 per cent of all mobile app content sales in 2017
Crack Down
South Korea’s FTC deals out fines to Nexon, Netmarble and NextFloor over misleading loot box promotions
Nexon Korea hit by $887,000 penalty
Clone Dinner
PUBG developer sues NetEase over mobile 'clones' Rules of Survival and Knives Out
Lawsuit demands removal of titles
Something Of Value
Big Fish Casino constitutes “illegal gambling”, rules US federal appeals court
Case set to rumble on after victory for the plaintiff
Settlement Reality
Niantic settles Pokemon Go Fest class action lawsuit for $1.6 million
Attendees can claim for airfares, hotel expenses, parking fees and more
Tapped Out
Chinese online games portal TapTap shut down for three months as government cracks down on rule breakers
Tencent, 360, Xiaomi and more also slapped with fines
Trolls
“Patent trolls” threaten Clicker Heroes dev with legal action over virtual currency
PlaySaurus asked to pay $35 million licensing fee for violating a patent concerning the sale of virtual currency
Ace Attorney
European law firm Fieldfisher hires video games lawyer Brian Chadwick
Plans to expand games industry-related services
Hammer Time
Epic crackdown on copyrighted Unreal Engine 4 Marketplace assets
Audit to take place over the next few months
Zynga Legal
Zynga hires former Associate General Counsel for Tesla as its new Chief Legal Officer
Phuong Phillips to oversee legal affairs for the whole company
Legal Matter
Apple caught in Australian watchdog ‘error 53’ sting alleging staff misled customers over free repairs
Court documents claim staff allegedly misled investigators about rights to free repairs or a replacement
Pokemon Law
Russian blogger sentenced after posting video online of himself playing Pokemon GO in a church
Ruslan Sokolovsky found guilty of insulting religious believers and inciting hatred
Patent Battle
Chinese court overturns iPhone 6 ban that could have barred sales in the country
Beijing Intellectual Property Court rules in favour of Apple
Improbable King
King's Chief Legal Officer Robert Miller leaves to join SpatialOS developer Improbable
Taking over as Chief Legal Officer at the startup tech firm
Safe For Kids
Kid-friendly ad platform TotallyAwesome raises $2 million
Set to launch PopJam in Australia and Southeast Asia
All About Export
A history of South Korea's tough anti-gambling laws and why devs are looking to crack overseas markets
Byung Hyuk Kim shares a legal history of social casino in South Korea
Laying Down The Law
Game development law 101
Russells Solicitors' Marine Cabour on the basics
Crying Out
Former Crytek employee launches crowdfunding campaign to sue developer for unpaid wages
Claims no one has been paid for two months
Two Games, One Kingdom
NCsoft files lawsuit against Netmarble over alleged Lineage IP infringement
MMORPG Aden stood to benefit from Lineage likeness
Pokemon No
Outraged Pokemon GO players have been filing complaints with the Federal Trade Commission
Users ticked off with bans and trespassers
Uniting People
Unity appoints Ruth Ann Keene as new General Counsel
Leading the global legal team
Poke-pests
Niantic and Nintendo facing another lawsuit because of Pokemon GO players
Cussing and looking in windows
Not In My Backyard
Nintendo and Niantic facing lawsuit over Pokemon GO trespassers
Is Pokemon GO encouraging trespass, and is it profiting from it?
Small Print
What are the legal implications of Pokemon GO's success?
Ryan Garcia ponders the phenomenon
Choked By Bureaucracy
Chinese government's new mobile game approval rules already drawing the ire of indies
Indie devs take aim at SAPPRFT regulations
Privacy Breach
InMobi fined $1 million for tracking children's location without consent
FTC punishes Singapore ad firm for breach of COPPA