Events
Attorneys
- Gregory P. Barbee
- Craig Cardon
- Kenneth J. Carl
- James M. Chadwick
- Shaun C. Clark
- Guylyn Cummins
- Robert A. Darwell
- Stacy J. Dollarhide
- Paul W. Garrity
- Ryan S. Hilbert
- Riaz Karamali
- Edwin Komen
- Stephen S. Korniczky
- Benjamin R. Mulcahy
- Michael D. Orlando
- Brian J. Pass
- Thayer M. Preece
- Dylan J. Price
- Kent R. Raygor
- Jason R. Schendel
- Mukund H. Sharma
- Marc A. Sockol
- Richard E. Troop
- Carlo F. Van den Bosch
Video Game
Interactive entertainment companies often differ from other companies in their business models and their cultures. It is important that their legal counsel understand the subtleties of the interactive entertainment industry and their business goals and values. Our goal is to provide legal advice that anticipates many of the emerging issues in this evolving industry. Our relationships and experience with interactive media developers and online service providers allows us to provide strategic and practical advice that protects the client without undermining the integrity of its products. We recognize the influence legal decisions can hold over game design and we are dedicated to tailoring our services to provide clients with the advice they need to make the best games possible.
Interactive Age named Sheppard Mullin as one of the top two law firms serving the video game industry, based on a survey conducted by the publication. Our team draws upon a variety of legal fields to provide the following services to the video game industry:- Intellectual property rights clearance, acquisition, disposition, licensing and protection
- Handling employment issues stemming from programmer “crunch time” provisions
- Statutory interpretation and application (FCC, CDA and DMCA)
- First Amendment protection (including obscenity, defamation and privacy issues)
- Structuring and enabling content development, production and distribution for interactive entertainment properties
- Innovative finance structures for game production budgets
- Creating resilient licensing and merchandising agreements
- Performing mergers and acquisitions
- Supporting branded entertainment efforts through legally sound promotions and advertising campaigns
- Minimizing risk and reacting to legal disputes arising from service downtime
- Structuring End-user License Agreements and Terms of Service
- Anticipating tax ramifications of online transactions
- Developing effective User Generated Content policies
- Executing the full range of Web 2.0 transactions
Press Releases
Articles
- July 11, 2011, The Recorder
- 9th Circuit Court of Appeals struck down a California law banning the sale or rental of “violent video games” to minors and requiring such games to be labeled “18”
March 3, 2009, Los Angeles Daily Journal - Unwanted Side Effects in Video Game Design
September 30, 2008, Game Daily - 2nd-year associate creates firm's video game practice
August 25, 2008, The Recorder
