In a recent legal ruling, a jury has found gaming giant Activision liable for $23.4 million for infringements on multiplayer gaming patents held by Acceleration Bay. The two infringements were divided, with one valued at $18 million happening in World of Warcraft, and another totalling $5.4 million occurring in two Call of Duty games. This…
Microsoft Corporation and Activision Blizzard are seeking Chancery approval for their $69 billion merger. This follows the two tech giants’ desire to conclude a parallel case that has been ongoing since November 2022. The case was initiated by an Activision shareholder, the Swedish pension fund Sjunde AP-fonden. This suit is viewed as a significant step…
Anyone who’s gotten a tattoo knows part of the fun is being able to display it off at will. Tattoos are often deeply personal forms of expression, regardless of the teasing you might receive for your choice of design or placement. But a fun twist comes into play when you view the ink from an…
The French supermarket group casino is restructuring its operations and has hired a restructuring lawyer, evidently appointing him as their General Counsel (GC). This move appears to be part of the company’s efforts to rebuild and stabilize its operations amidst challenges. The action taken by the supermarket group aligns with the perspectives of many companies…
DraftKings Inc., on Monday, announced the appointment of Lori Kalani as the company’s first Chief Responsible Gaming Officer. Kalani, a partner at Cozen O’Connor and co-chair of the law firm’s state attorneys general practice, will now focus on implementing consumer safety and protection practices across the gaming platform. Read More A seasoned expert in consumer…
The birth of the internet, sparked by the adoption of the TCP/IP common communications protocol in 1983, created an open, public digital infrastructure with ubiquitous access expectations. In this realm, financial regulators at bodies such as the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Federal Reserve largely did not view internet protocols as within their…
A former aide to Supreme Court Justices John Roberts Jr. and Brett Kavanaugh, D. Zachary Hudson, has now emerged as one of the highest-paid company lawyers within the United States’ gaming industry. After working with the influential casino tycoon Sheldon Adelson, Hudson’s career trajectory stratospherically soared. Hired as the global general counsel for the Las…
Online gaming and sports betting firm, GAN Ltd., recently made headway in handling claims made by its former chief legal officer involving wrongful termination, whistleblowing allegations, and objections to the hostile work environment. A United States federal court in California has mandated that the dispute between the parties will be settled in arbitration. The former…
In a recent trademark litigation, lottery platforms Jackpot.com and Jackpocket were pitted against each other. A panel comprising of three judges from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit upheld a district court decision admonishing Jackpocket’s claim against Jackpot.com. The panel unanimously held that the term ‘jackpot’ is generally understood and used within…
Ivana Kovacevic, the group general counsel of Australian gaming, wagering and media company Tabcorp, firmly advocates the benefits of legal tech. One of Kovacevic’s key tips for general counsel keen on garnering support for legal tech in their corporations is the introduction of eSignatures. This simple yet effective tool has brought about significant improvements across…
Ivana Kovacevic, group general counsel for Australian gaming, wagering, and media company Tabcorp, provides some sage advice for fellow general counsels seeking to encourage legal tech adoption within their organizations: start with eSignatures. She points to the benefits of applications like DocuSign, which she says serves the business side of operations by streamlining the signing…
Electronic Arts (EA), a leading company in the gaming industry, recently announced that it will be cutting 5% of its workforce, equating to approximately 670 employees. This decision has been reported as a response to evolving customer demands and a renewed focus by the company. In a memo to the staff, EA’s CEO, Andrew Wilson,…
In a recent development that left the legal world abuzz, Epic Games has harshly criticized Apple’s demand for $73.4 million in legal fees. This dispute stemmed from a California federal court’s antitrust battle over the tech giant’s App Store payment fees. Epic Games contends that Apple’s assertions are unsound in several dimensions. Firstly, Epic maintains…
King & Spalding LLP has taken the lead in this week’s edition of Law360’s Legal Lions. This comes after a California federal jury conferred a $42.9 million award to mobile game platform Skillz, in a patent infringement case against its competitor, AviaGames. The decision represents another significant win inked onto the firm’s patent law portfolio….
Fanatics Holdings Inc., a sizable sports apparel and collectibles business, has made a strategic move to enhance its push into sports betting by hiring additional lawyers to fortify its team. The company recently hired Eva Pulliam, a data privacy and regulatory affairs partner at ArentFox Schiff, and Briana Reid, a former lawyer for the National…
The tech industry has commenced the new year with a slew of companies unveiling major job cuts, echoing the start of 2023 which saw the most severe industry contraction in over a decade. Among the companies making reductions are Amazon.com Inc., Unity Software Inc., and Duolingo. Amazon is reportedly laying off hundreds of employees across…
The future of the legal industry is being reshaped by technological innovations normally associated with consumer tech, as evidenced by some of the most pertinent discussions from this year’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES). One of the key topics was the topic of Gen Z’s rising influence within the legal sector. According to the CTA Director…
Recently, two identical defamation lawsuits filed by Grover Gaming against employees of a competing firm, Powerhouse Gaming Inc., have been allowed to proceed by a federal judge in Virginia. Grover Gaming, an electronic pull tabs provider licensed by the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services’ Office of Charitable and Regulatory Programs, alleges that Powerhouse…
The prevailing consensus emerging from Google’s landmark antitrust case is that significant shifts are on the horizon for the tech giant’s app store business. This comes after a jury decided this week, marking a first for this century, that a large tech company had infringed upon US antitrust laws. The detailed coverage of the event…
The year 2023 marked significant antitrust battles resulting from the Federal Trade Commission’s increased scrutiny under the leadership of Chair Lina Khan. Several transformative corporate deals drew the attention of regulators, causing concern among companies attempting to merge or acquire others. The regulatory landscape was marked by slow progress, abandoned deals, and a fair share…
In a noteworthy development, Nagashima Ohno & Tsunematsu, a widely respected “Big Four” Japanese law firm, has taken on the task of advising Toyo Construction, a marine construction firm listed in Tokyo, as it seeks to fend off an unsolicited buyout offer. The offer, an $833 million bid, has been put forward by Yamauchi-No.10 Family…
In an unusual industry move, Microsoft Corp. is in the process of transitioning a group of its subcontracted temporary staff into unionized positions. This decision expands the grasp of organized labor within one of the world’s largest software companies. According to an article by Bloomberg Law, the primary focus of this action will be in…
Online retail giant Amazon recently filed a lawsuit against what they have referred to as an international ring of thieves, alleging that they have swindled millions of dollars from the company through various refund scams. At heart, these scams involved purchasing products on Amazon and subsequently requesting refunds without returning the purchased goods. Bloomberg reports…
On the 3rd of September, 2023, the United Arab Emirates took a significant leap toward the modernization and regulation of its commercial gaming sector. Revealing plans to establish the General Commercial Gaming Regulatory Authority (GCGRA), this decision represents a far-reaching response to the burgeoning industry’s demand for an advanced legal framework. The GCGRA is set…
The expanding landscape of online sports wagering, with its regulatory challenges and areas of concern, notably the increased risk of gambling addiction, were the central theme of the latest episode of the Regulatory Oversight podcast. Featuring special guests Pat Moore and Jared Rinehimer from the Massachusetts Attorney General’s (AG) Office, the in-depth discussion ran the…