From Atari and Pac-Man to Pokemon Go and Beyond: The industry of video games

From Atari and Pac-Man to Pokemon Go and Beyond: The industry of video games

The modern entertainment software industry is constantly changing, trying to keep pace with the demands of gamers and the accelerated technological evolution. From Pong to Pokemon Go, there is a vertiginous and accelerated history of evolution; the world reached the 8th generation of consoles and it is a matter of few months to confront with new developments. Video games become increasingly complex and more expensive to develop, requiring the inclusion of elements that are protected as rights of third parties: art, designs, brands, voice, image and identity of people; the “loan” of characters between this industry and the film; original music composed specifically for a video game, etc. This particular industry is one of the most creative in the world of entertainment and one of the most interacting with others. It is an industry in which intellectual property has a relevant weight to ensure its continuity. Our speakers will present, on the one hand, what should be considered to integrate rights for the realization of video games and, on the other, the challenges that the industry confronts on issues of enforcement, extraterritoriality issues of laws with the “I accept/conditions of use”; the discussions that have been opened regarding the use of “safe harbors” and “notice and take down” and other issues.