Pokemon
A revised class action settlement over Pokemon Go’s placing of digital targets on private property was submitted Thursday for approval by a federal judge in California.
Read morevideo games
Activision Shareholders Sue After Company’s Split With ‘Destiny’ Developer
(CN) – Shareholders are suing video game company Activision Blizzard Inc. after a schism between the company and Bungie Inc.
Read moreTrademark
Atari Interactive claims in a federal complaint that the video game “Foot Pong” sold by Target Corp. violates trademark on “Pong,” the first commercially successful video game.
Read moreVideo Game
A federal class action claims that Epic Games “exploits players, including minors, by inducing them to purchase in-game loot boxes” in its Fortnite Save the World game.
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Delaware Court Sides with Viacom in Post-Merger Earn-Out Payments Dispute with Harmonix Shareholders
(CN) – The Delaware Superior Court ruled in favor of media giant Viacom after former shareholders of Harmonix Music Systems, a video game company, filed suit following Viacom’s acquisition of the game developer in 2006.
Read moreDropping the Carlton
Actor Alfonso Ribeiro of “The Fresh Prince of Bel Air” fame has dropped his copyright infringement lawsuit against digital gaming company Take-Two Interactive, in which he claimed the company used his “Carlton Dance” move in its games without his permission.
Read more‘Fortnite’ Hack
A gamer claims in a class action that “Fortnite” maker Epic Games exposed millions accounts to hackers, who were able to exploit a vulnerability in the game’s code to steal players’ virtual currency and then sell it on the black market.
Read moreNot Exactly Grand Theft
The Ninth Circuit on Thursday upheld dismissal of a false advertising class action against the makers of the video game “Grand Theft Auto V,” agreeing buyers didn’t suffer serious injury from having to wait two weeks after purchase to play the online version.
Read moreDance Copyrights
In five federal lawsuits, Alfonso Ribeiro accuses Epic Games and Take-Two Interactive Software of violating copyright of his Carlton Dance in video games; Anita Redd accuses the same two companies of violating copyright of her son’s (the Backpack Kid’s) Floss dance; and Terrence Ferguson accuses Take-Two Interactive of violating copyright of his Milly Rock dance.
Read moreGuitar Hero
Consumers brought a federal class action against Activision Publishing for announcing that it will shut down Guitar Hero TV and the game’s online servers on Dec. 1.
Read moreApp Maker Accused of Tracking Data About Kids
New Mexico’s attorney general filed a federal lawsuit claiming the maker of a children’s gaming app sends kids’ location, demographic and other personal information to advertisers without parental consent, risking their safety and violating their privacy.
Read moreGame Developer Claims Kevin Hart Killed Its Dream
Comedian Kevin Hart’s teary online confession to adultery destroyed a golden opportunity for a gaming developer Hart agreed to partner with before the clip went viral, a lawsuit filed in a federal Virginia court claims.
Read moreVideo Game Sharks
A superior court class action accuses Blizzard Entertainment of unfairly and deceptively tricking video gamers, “mainly … children, teenagers and young adults,” into buying “Packs” or “Loot Boxes” for real money while playing the games “Overwatch” and “Hearthstone.”
Read moreNintendo Sues Pirate
Nintendo USA sued Jacob Mathias and Mathias Designs in Phoenix Federal Court, claiming he’s sold “a staggering number of unauthorized copies of Nintendo’s video games” on the internet, in a “brazen and mass-scale infringement of Nintendo’s intellectual property rights.”
Read moreTinseltown
Tom DeSanto — producer of “Xmen” and “Transformers” — sued Gail Gygax — the widow of Gary Gygax, creator of “Dungeons & Dragons,” claiming they formed a partnership to exploit the brand, but she tried to negotiate a video game deal without him, in L.A. Superior Court.
Read more‘Westworld’ Accused in Court of Ripping Off ‘Fallout Shelter’
Coinciding with the official release of the “Westworld” mobile game, Warner Bros. was hit with a federal complaint Thursday that says the game is a wholesale imitation, down to its bugs, of the mega-hit “Fallout Shelter.”
Read morePlayStation Settlement
A federal judge approved a $3.75 million class action settlement between Sony and purchasers of the PlayStation 3 who believed it ran a Linux operating system along with its built-in gaming system, even though a 2010 update wiped Linux.
Read moreInvasion of Privacy
A Michigan man filed a federal class action claiming Game Informer magazine, without permission, shared demographic and lifestyle information about thousands of its subscribers with third parties.
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