Internet & Social Media Law Blog

This week, Nintendo shocked the gaming industry when it announced a partnership with DeNA, a company that makes free-to-play games for mobile phones. Historically, Nintendo has been resistant to releasing their well-known games on mobile devices, so the partnership represents a possible shift away from games that are exclusive to Nintendo’s gaming consoles.

Nintendo’s classic titles will likely not be pushed to mobile devices. For now, Nintendo and DeNa plan to develop new software from the ground up for mobile devices.

To read more about the partnership between Nintendo and DeNA, including Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata’s thoughts on mobile gaming, please click here.

Each year, the Virginia Serious Game Institute invites applicants to reside in the business incubator located on the George Mason University – Prince William Campus in Prince William County, Virginia. Each application requires the submission of a business plan summary, or company one-page summary. Applications are considered on how well the business plan or proposal encompasses the development of product software, hardware, or Information Technology services and financial feasibility. An advisory board of distinguished investors and industry experts judge and select the qualifying candidates. This year capacity has increased to allow seven new start-ups to enter the VSGI.

For more information, and to find out more about the submission process, please read the VSGI’s News Release.

The VSGI, the only institute of its kind on the East Coast, and one of only four global affiliated facilities, supports and accelerates early-entry entrepreneurship into the simulation, modeling, and serious game design industry. Its mission is to support translational applied-research, rapid prototype development, high-value knowledge job creation and regional economic development through start-up business incubation and spin-out of high growth companies leading to commercialization.

On February 27, 2015, California Assemblyman Matt Dababneh,
chairman of the state’s Banking and Finance Committee, introduced Assembly Bill 1326, which would prohibit a person from engaging in California in the business of “virtual currency” without a license from the California Department of Business Oversight, unless such person otherwise qualifies for one of a limited number of exemptions. The Department of Business Oversight is the state agency that regulates a variety of financial services,
products, and professionals, including money transmitters.

To read more, please see this article on Digital Currency Council.

Former Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, BNP Paribas and Societe Generale bankers have announced a new futures and options derivatives-trading platform for bitcoin. The derivatives, tied to the price of bitcoin, will enable businesses and investors to hedge their digital currency exposure. Will this be a turning point for bitcoin?

http://www.cnbc.com/id/102456187

A mobile app that collects users’ location data while the mobile app is not in use should clearly disclose such practices and provide users with choices. Failure to do so could give rise to an FTC claim of deceptive practices.

For more information, please read our Client Alert.

The University of Amsterdam’s Institute for Information Law will be holding its third annual Summer Course on Privacy Law and Policy from July 6-10, 2015. The course will focus on privacy law and policy related to the Internet, electronic communications and online and social media. It will feature a faculty of leading experts from the EU and the US who will explore the recent developments in this rapidly changing field and explain how businesses, governments and others can achieve their goals within it.

The course, which will meet in a historic house along one of Amsterdam’s most beautiful canals, will employ a seminar format designed to provide not only practical information about the latest developments, but also big picture, strategic insights into where the field is headed in the future. It is particularly suited to private sector lawyers,
government officials, NGO staff, academics, PhD students and others who work in the areas of privacy and data protection law. The seminar format promotes interaction among participants and faculty, and incorporates a range of practical exercises to apply the knowledge. Enrollment is limited to 25 participants.

Those who wish to secure a place are encouraged to apply soon.  Additional information–including a list of faculty, a detailed course program and a link for online registration–is available at http://www.ivir.nl/courses/plp/plp.html.

Link to the course flyer: http://www.ivir.nl/syscontent/pdfs/76.pdf

For questions, please contact course organizer Dr. Kristina Irion:
informationlaw@uva.nl

Course location: De Rode Hoed, Keizersgracht 102, Amsterdam

Further to the early 2014 policy that relaxed the restrictions on the foreign equity ratio in value-added telecommunications business in the Shanghai Free Trade Zone (“Shanghai FTZ”),
on January 15, 2015, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (“MIIT”) promulgated a new policy, i.e., the Opinions on Lifting Restrictions on the Foreign Equity Ratio for Online Data Processing and Transaction Processing Business in the China (Shanghai) Free Trade Zone (the “New Policy”), according to which, any foreign equity ratio restriction on foreign investment in e-commerce operations (under the category of online data processing and transaction processing businesses) was removed in the Shanghai FTZ. As such, foreign investors are now allowed to establish a 100 percent wholly foreign owned enterprise (a  “WFOE”) in the territory of Shanghai FTZ to operate e-commerce business. In the New Policy,
MIIT authorized the Shanghai Municipal Telecommunication Administrative Bureau to implement the New Policy, review foreign investors’ applications and issue the relevant qualification/operation licenses to foreign-invested e-commerce companies.

For more information, please see our Client Alert.

Unlike New York, Kansas, and Texas, which have either published proposed regulations or formal guidance, some states, such as California, have indicated that they are still trying to determine whether Bitcoin and other virtual currency activities are subject to licensure and regulation under their money transmitter laws.  On January 27th, the Commissioner of the California Department of Business Oversight, the state agency that licenses and oversees California money transmitters, issued a statement that it “has not decided whether to regulate virtual currency transactions, or the businesses that arrange such transactions, under the state’s Money Transmission Act.”  This statement was issued in response to Coinbase’s January 26th announcement that it has launched Coinbase Exchange, the first regulated bitcoin exchange based in the U.S.  The Department of Business Oversight warned that California consumers should be aware that Coinbase Exchange is not regulated or licensed by California.

The founder of Silk Road, the black market website where illegal goods were bought with bitcoin, was found guilty on all 7 counts, including money laundering, drug trafficking and computer hacking. While this is an unfortunate result for Ross Ulbricht, who faces life in prison, the enforcement against illegal uses tied to bitcoin will only help the crypto-currency in the long run. The early adopters of many new technologies are the bad guys. Bitcoin is no exception.

Bitcoin and other crypto-currencies are enabling and will continue to enable transformational change in financial payments and public ledger transactions,
but it is imperative for anyone operating in the space to understand the legal issues that go along with this.