Since the Atari 2600 became the first widespread successful home video game console in 1977, the video game industry has to come affect most Americans, with almost three-fourths of all households playing video games of some sort. Worldwide, the video game industry generations $25.1 billion in sales and an increasing percentage of sales (about a fourth now) are digital. The video game industry employs tens of thousands of employees (almost half of which are in California), which is unsurprising given that the video game industry involves all aspects of intellectual property law.
Copyrights protect the games themselves. When software piracy is discussed, this means copyright infringement, as video games are works of expression that receive copyright protection just as novels and paintings do.
Trademarks cover video game companies’ logos and names. Trademarks also come into play with video games that are becoming more and more realistic, since companies often try to incorporate real-life trademarks that belong to companies outside of the video game world. For example, video game giant Electronic Arts (“EA”) recently filed a lawsuit against an Indiana company for EA’s use of Bell helicopters in its popular Battlefield 3 video game.
And, finally, on the topic of patent rights, video game companies have created innovative hardware and design technologies that patents protect. Technologies subject to patents at one point or another have included security features, design of internal circuit boards, proprietary information needed to run software on a console, and the motion sensor technology that the Nintendo Wii made popular.
Does your company do work in the video game industry? What growth have you seen in recent years?
Klein Trial Lawyers – Los Angeles business litigation attorneys