Wilson Sonsini - Electronic Gaming Podcast
Wilson Sonsini’s Electronic Gaming Group has worked with clients throughout the digital gaming sector, from design firms and publishers to component manufacturers and online gaming providers. This podcast series takes a closer look at the start-up world of gaming companies. What do game founders care about? What should they care about? What are the common pitfalls and traps to avoid? Each episode features a different Wilson Sonsini lawyer chiming in with their area of expertise to help guide game companies to success. This communication is provided as a service to our clients and friends and is for informational purposes only. It is not intended to create an attorney-client relationship or constitute an advertisement, a solicitation, or professional advice as to any particular situation.
Episodes
Host Mary O’Brien sits down with Tyler Cloutier, founder of Clockwork Labs, and Wilson Sonsini partner John McGaraghan to discuss the groundbreaking decision to open source BitCraft.
Conversation Highlights:
- Introduction to BitCraft Tyler shares insights on BitCraft Online, a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) centered around survival crafting and community interaction.
- Understanding Open Source Versus Sou...
Host Mary O'Brien is joined by Wilson Sonsini regulatory partner Georgia Ravitz and senior counsel Scott Cohn as they discuss the U.S. consumer product safety laws and considerations for e-gaming companies.
Conversation Highlights:
- an introduction to Georgia Ravitz and Scott Cohn, and their summary of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and the Consumer Product Safety Act (CPSA),
- an overview of gaming companies' ...
Host Mary O'Brien is joined by Wilson Sonsini technology transactions partner Gary Greenstein as she interviews SonyAI attorney and Wilson Sonsini alumna Tiffany Georgievski to discuss artificial intelligence (AI) and the gaming industry.
Conversation Highlights:
- Tiffany Georgievski’s career path and focusing on AI,
- a primer on Generative AI,
- AI and the gaming industry-a history and modern application,
- the evolution of AI and p...
Host Mary O'Brien is joined by Wilson Sonsini corporate partner Craig Sherman as she interviews Bungie General Counsel Don McGowan to discuss forging strong attorney-client relationships.
Conversation Highlights:
- Don McGowan's career path,
- what it means to be a General Counsel,
- forming attorney-client relationships and ethical obligations,
- factors to consider when choosing an attorney to represent them,
- best practices to maximi...
In this special episode, Wilson Sonsini corporate partner Jonathan Chan interviews Justin Woodward, co-founder and creative director of Interabang Entertainment, co-founder of the Media Indie Exchange, the founder of Black Voices in Gaming, and the lead adviser on the Black Game Dev Fund.
Conversation Highlights:
- the state of gaming and publishing and the current market,
- financing trends for developers,
- working with publishers, ...
Host Mary O'Brien is joined by Wilson Sonsini technology transactions partner Barath Chari as she interviews Parth Naidu, founder and CEO at SIDO, an e-sports research group, to discuss the legal issues in e-sports gaming.
Conversation Highlights:
- an introduction to Barath Chari and Parth Naidu and their experience in the gaming industry,
- the evolution of e-sports industry,
- the growth of e-sports and legal considerations,
- insig...
Host Mary O'Brien interviews Wilson Sonsini technology transaction attorneys John McGaraghan and Andrew Poling to discuss open source software and considerations for gaming companies.
Conversation Highlights:
- an introduction to open source software,
- different types of open source and use in the gaming industry,
- risks of open source, and
- best practices to maintain compliance with open source.
Meet the Host:
Host Mary O'Brien interviews Wilson Sonsini antitrust and competition attorneys Thomas Pflock and Brendan Coffman to discuss antitrust laws and potential impact for gaming companies.
Conversation Highlights:
- an introduction to antitrust and competition laws,
- antitrust relevancy to start-up/early-stage companies,
- regulatory considerations for gaming companies,
- recent deals and their regulatory impact, and
- antitrust and competiti...
Host Mary O'Brien interviews Wilson Sonsini partner Paul Gadiock exploring the convergence of the gaming and healthcare industries.
Conversation Highlights:
- Electronic gaming moving into digital healthcare
- Overview of the FDA and government regulations surrounding healthcare
- Implications of misclassification: wellness vs. medical device
- Regulatory strategy for gaming founders: seeking and obtaining FDA approval, and other cons...
Host Mary O'Brien interviews Wilson Sonsini partner Adam Shevell, and their conversation takes us through the wild, wild west of non-fungible tokens (NFTs).
Conversation Highlights:
Adam's passion for video games has been prevalent throughout his life carrying over into his career today. This episode's highlights include:
- What are NFTs?
- Commercializing NFTs—purchasing and selling these assets as well as claiming ownership
- Recen...
Host Mary O'Brien talks to Wilson Sonsini partners Aaron Hendelman and Gary Greenstein as they dig into copyrights and trademarks in gaming.
Conversation Highlights:
- Copyright and trademark protections for gaming founders— what are they, and when to establish ownership?
- Adding third-party assets to games and relevant agreements and licensing considerations.
- What does trade dress protect?
- What is "Fair Use?"
Meet the Host...
In this episode, host Mary O’Brien chats with Wilson Sonsini partners Barath Chari and Jason Storck as they highlight employment considerations for gaming founders.
Conversation Highlights:
- Classification—Employee or Contractor
- Global workforce—team members outside the U.S. and laws that apply
- Agreements to protect the company's intellectual property
- Legal issues with remote work including taxation and cybersecurity
Meet...
In this episode, host Mary O’Brien interviews Wilson Sonsini partner Scott McKinney as he provides a general overview of intellectual property (IP) rights and why it matters for gaming founders.
Conversation Highlights:
As a gamer himself, Scott delves into the various ways to protect a gaming company, including:
- building off a platform engine to open-source software;
- establishing IP ownership and relevant agreements in securi...
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