Copyright and Games

About this project
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Daithi Mac Sithigh

Keith M Johnston

Tom Phillips

Lead investigator(s):
– Dr Daithi Mac Sithigh
Co-investigator(s):
– Dr Keith M Johnston
Contributor(s):
– Dr Tom Phillips
Start Date: 1st January 2013
End Date: 31st December 2013

Summary

How does copyright law (and other legal mechanisms) promote or restrain the development of business models, creative platforms and payment mechanisms in relation to the video game sector? The project considered issues such as licensing, ‘software’ and ‘artistic’ rights, and fraud, from the perspective of developers and users. The role of games as part of the development of a ‘transmedia’ was a key concern, and the extent to which legal certainty and technological innovation facilitate fluidity across platforms, was explored through a roundtable, interviews, and a ‘best practice’ guide.

Project activities

In his blog post entitled Flappy Bird in Context: Using the ‘Games and Transmedia’ Workshop to Examine Gaming’s Current Phenomenon Tom Phillips explores the controversy and context surrounding the release – and withdrawal – of one of the most successful recent mobile gaming titles. This is compared with some of the topics of discussion that arose during a December 2013 workshop organised as part of this work package. Held on 6th December 2013 at the University of Edinburgh the event attracted a range of attendees from the games industry and academia, including Brian Baglow of the Scottish Games Network, Chris Bruce from Sony Computer Entertainment Europe, Ben Farrand of the University of Strathclyde, Yin Harn Lee of University of East Anglia, Nicoll Hunt from I Fight Bears, Rami Ismail of Vlambeer, Ifty Khan, Freelance Games Journalist Rick Lane, Elaine Reynolds from Enterprise Ireland, and Mudlark‘s Matt Watkins

In Industry Talking to Industry: The Develop Conference 2013 Tom Phillips documents the experience of industry engagement at the 2013 Develop Conference in Brighton.

Project outputs include: