Legal

Welcome to the IGDA Legal Special Interest Group.

The IGDA Legal SIG is a community of game industry professionals and enthusiasts who are interested in legal issues related to video games. Our main goal is to foster collaboration and dialogue among game developers, publishers, students and all interested parties to support the growth and innovation of the video game industry.

We also provide and share resources to anyone in the video gaming industry looking for tips and best practices about how to handle various legal topics, such as contracts, intellectual property, data privacy, cybersecurity, and more. These topics can have a significant impact on the success and sustainability of their projects.

Join this Legal SIG to network with other game professionals, collaborate on legal projects, and exchange tips and best practices on legal issues. Students are also invited to join this SIG to discover the legal side of the game industry and seek mentorship from experienced game professionals for their career goals.

Focus and actions

Video games are not only fun and creative, but also increasingly complex and regulated. Game developers and publishers need to be aware of the legal risks and obligations that affect their work, such as intellectual property rights, data protection laws, privacy policies, and cybersecurity requirements. These legal issues can have a significant impact on the success and sustainability of their projects.

By way of example, many games today collect and process personal data from players, such as names, email addresses, and even payment information. Developers must comply with applicable data protection laws, such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in the European Union, or the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) in the United States, to ensure the privacy and security of player data. Non-compliance can have severe consequences: for example, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced in December 2022 that the creator of a popular video game was required to pay a total of $520 million in relief over allegations the company violated the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) and deployed design tricks, known as dark patterns, to dupe millions of players into making unintentional purchases.

That is why this Legal SIG exists: to provide a platform for game industry professionals and enthusiasts to share their knowledge, experience, and insights on legal matters related to video games. Whether you have a legal background or not, you can join this SIG to network, collaborate, and learn from your peers in the game industry. Students are also welcome to join this SIG to explore the legal aspects of the game industry and seek guidance for their career development.

Join the community!

LinkedIn Group: LinkedIn

Discord Group: Discord

Who We Are

Paul Lanois

Paul Lanois

Legal SIG Chair

Director, Fieldfisher

California, USA

Resources

General

Legal Guide to Video Game Development, Second Edition (American Bar Association, 2016)
Legal Challenges in the Games Industry in 2023 – Odin Law and Media
Legal Issues in Video Game Development: In-Depth Overview (yellowbrick.co)

Artificial Intelligence

Generative AI: Privacy Risks & Challenges (Fieldfisher webinar)
GamerGPT: What to Consider When Considering Generative AI in Gaming (Greenberg Traurig)

Data Privacy

Epic Games / FTC $520M Settlement – what does this mean for Children’s privacy in Europe? (Fieldfisher)
The Microsoft / FTC $20M Settlement – how to stay ahead of the game in children’s privacy (Fieldfisher)
Children and Gaming: Spotlight on Privacy, Consent and Personal Data Management (Connect On Tech)
Data protection trends in children’s online gaming (IAPP)
Essential Law for Game Devs: A game dev’s guide to data privacy (LootLocker, The Game Backend Platform)

Data Privacy Texts

USA – Children Online Privacy Protection Rule
California – Bill Text – AB-2273 The California Age-Appropriate Design Code Act
UK – Introduction to the Children’s code (ICO)
UK – Top tips for games designers – how to comply with the Children’s code (ICO)
Canada – Gaming and personal information: playing with privacy (Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada)

Intellectual Property

Level Up: A guide to the video games industry-level one-creation-development (Clifford Chance)
Ready (Or Not) Player One: AI Forces Intellectual Property to Gaming’s Forefront (Gamma Law)
Propaganda in War Video Games: A Legal Minefield for Developers (Gamma Law)
Videogame Development: A Quest for IP (wipo.int)

Platform Regulation / Content Moderation

Could the UK’s Online Safety Bill change gaming worldwide? (Fieldfisher)
Building games safely online: The Online Safety Bill (taylorwessing.com)
Digital Services Act (DSA): Dark Patterns and other current issues (taylorwessing.com)
Response to the Regulation of Video Games under the Youth Media Protection Act: A Public Health Perspective – PMC (nih.gov)
The Online Safety Bill: What the games industry needs to know about the new law
Update: How Ofcom is preparing to regulate online safety (Ofcom)

Consumer Protection

New Player? European Parliament Resolution aims to power up European video game industry (Fieldfisher)
EU consumer and minor protection rules: what’s next for the video games industry? (Dentons)
Impact of the EU’s Digital Content Directive on the Video Games Industry (Taylor Wessing)
Essential Clauses in Game EULAs: A Comprehensive Guide for Developers (Strebeck Law)
Responsible Gameplay (Video Games Europe)

Regulatory / Merger Control

Stiff competition: The difficulty of appealing a CMA decision in a merger review (Fieldfisher)
Playing on harder difficulty: increased challenges for the video games industry in 2023 (Taylor Wessing)
General Court finds geo-blocking of video games breaches EU competition law (Osborne Clarke)

Loot Boxes

New loot box transparency guidance in the UK – is it game-changing? (Game Industry Biz)
Netherlands and Spain propose tighter regulation on loot boxes (Fieldfisher)
Loot box State of Play 2023: A global update on regulation (Game Industry Biz)
Loot Box Regulation State of Play 2023 (Center for Open Science)
Loot box regulation in the EU – loading status (Dentons)
Microtransaction Regulations in Gaming: What Developers Need to Know (Strebeck Law)
Loot boxes in video games: update on improvements to industry-led protections (www.gov.uk)
UK House of Lords calls for loot boxes to fall within the scope of gambling legislation (Fieldfisher)

Esports

Global Recognition of ESports and Laws and Regulations All Over the World (The Law Tree)
Issues in Esports Law (Gamma Law)
European Parliament resolution of 10 November 2022 on esports and video games (europa.eu)

Blockchain / Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs)

Video Game NFTs: Top Legal Considerations for Developers (Wilson Sonsini)
NFTs in video games: a level-up for a fast-growing industry? (Media Writes)

Metaverse

Want To Get Involved?

Here’s how to reach us:

Fill out the Contacts webform at the bottom of this page;
Join our Linked In group;
Join our IGDA Legal SIG Discord server; or
Join the general IGDA Discord server.

Support Us

Show your support by logging into your IGDA member account and selecting this SIG as a primary or secondary affiliation in your profile. The roster is for HQ and not yet visible to SIG leaders, so be sure to contact us through the form below as well.