With the meteoric rise of Pinterest, many companies are leveraging its popularity. One way this is happening is that Brands are creating contests and promotions around users “pins.” This is a growing trend in the use of social media for contests, promotions and sweepstakes. However, this is an area that…
As the online gaming market slowly evolves, many companies are preparing to capitalize on it once the legislative process moves forward. In one of the latest announcements, Zynga has applied to get licensed in Nevada. According to a recent statement from Zynga: Zynga has filed its Application for a Preliminary Finding of Suitability from…
As the multi-billion market for virtual goods continues to grow, so too does the regulatory scrutiny. One area where many companies in this space may want to review is their SEC disclosure practices. At a recent conference of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, a Securities and Exchange Commission…
Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) recently introduced S. 3636, the Gift Card Consumer Protection Act of 2012, which would ban expiration dates and specified fees for inactivity or services on gift certificates, store gift cards, or general-use-prepaid cards (“Cards”), including those issued in connection with loyalty, award and promotional programs (“Loyalty…
Kickflip, which does business under the name Gambit, sued Facebook for allegedly monopolizing the “virtual currency” market used in online games by requiring game publishers to use Facebook credits. It is also alleges tortious interference with Gambit’s contracts and prospective business opportunities. The complaint alleges: · That Gambit was a…
A weekly wrap up of interesting news about virtual worlds, virtual goods and other social media. Social Casino Games Market Now Worth $1.6 Billion The social gaming market is moving fast, as more companies take advantage of the growing online phenomenon. According to a new study by internet games…
The U.S. Copyright Office recently issued its exemptions to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998 (“DMCA”). The exemptions, effective as of Oct. 28, 2012 define the limited circumstances that users are allowed to circumvent technology that prevents access to copyrighted works, e.g., content encryption schemes. The exemptions are reviewed…
Zynga and Facebook revised their two year-old agreement that provided special terms to Zynga as compared with other game companies publishing via the Facebook network. Going forward Facebook will treat Zynga with the same rules as it applies to all other game developers. These revisions prevent Zynga from driving gamers from…
Due to “legal and regulatory pressure” Dublin-based Intrade will no longer accept bets from US customers and all existing US customers must exit their trades and close their accounts. Intrade operates a real-money based prediction market. This announcement from Intrade came just hours after U.S. regulators filed a civil complaint…
The Director of the USPTO recently explained why patents are “innovation currency,” how they create jobs and how they add significantly to the economy. He also explained why this is driving the multi-billion dollar acquisitions of patents and high-profile patent wars in the mobile space. The Director also acknowledged that…