From the first spark of a protectable idea to the delivery and distribution of a finished product, innovators have looked to our Interactive Entertainment attorneys guide clients through the complex legal, business, and regulatory issues governing the industry.

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Overview

From the first spark of a protectable idea to the delivery and distribution of a finished product, innovators have looked to our Interactive Entertainment attorneys guide clients through the complex legal, business, and regulatory issues governing the industry.

Perkins Coie is one of a very few firms that can offer a full-service approach to Interactive Entertainment clients. Drawing on our long history and deep experience at the forefront of technology, our attorneys help clients through formation and the fundraising process, answer product launch questions, protect intellectual property, identify licensing issues, and strategize about future growth.

Our clients cover the full gamut of the interactive entertainment space, from content developers and publishers to platform companies and device manufacturers. We strive to match our clients’ innovation by developing creative and thoughtful legal solutions to protect every aspect of their businesses.

Disruptive Technology and Beyond

Perkins Coie prides itself in being tied to innovation in the interactive entertainment industry. Disruptive technologies are in our DNA, working closely with blockchain, 5G, artificial intelligence and machine learning, and augmented and virtual reality technologies. In fact, one can argue that our pioneering work in the world of blockchain and digital currencies began with our representation of gaming companies developing in-game currency. It now comes full circle, representing several gaming companies looking to explore blockchain technology in their platforms and the use of non-fungible tokens (NFTs).

Our Investment in Interactive Entertainment

Our attorneys guide clients across the product and business life cycle. As the market for casual, mobile, social, and location-based games continues to expand, our lawyers diligently work with these companies on their complex business deals. We regularly work on game developer publishing agreements, licensing game assets and technology, divestiture of game assets and acquisition of game assets. We also handle all of the regulatory issues that arise in the course of representation of traditional, online, mobile and interactive or multiplayer games providers, including privacy, financial transactions, security, promotions and advertising, gambling and copyright or other liability associated with third party postings.

Areas of Focus

  • Emerging Companies & Venture Capital
  • Mergers & Acquisitions
  • Technology Transactions & Privacy Law
  • Trademark & Brand Enforcement
  • Patent Protection and Portfolio Management
  • Regulatory Compliance
  • Labor & Employment

Perkins Coie is one of a very few firms that can offer a full-service approach to Interactive Entertainment clients. Drawing on our long history and deep experience at the forefront of technology, our attorneys help clients through formation and the fundraising process, answer product launch questions, protect intellectual property, identify licensing issues, and strategize about future growth.

Our clients cover the full gamut of the interactive entertainment space, from content developers and publishers to platform companies and device manufacturers. We strive to match our clients’ innovation by developing creative and thoughtful legal solutions to protect every aspect of their businesses.

Disruptive Technology and Beyond

Perkins Coie prides itself in being tied to innovation in the interactive entertainment industry. Disruptive technologies are in our DNA, working closely with blockchain, 5G, artificial intelligence and machine learning, and augmented and virtual reality technologies. In fact, one can argue that our pioneering work in the world of blockchain and digital currencies began with our representation of gaming companies developing in-game currency. It now comes full circle, representing several gaming companies looking to explore blockchain technology in their platforms and the use of non-fungible tokens (NFTs).

Our Investment in Interactive Entertainment

Our attorneys guide clients across the product and business life cycle. As the market for casual, mobile, social, and location-based games continues to expand, our lawyers diligently work with these companies on their complex business deals. We regularly work on game developer publishing agreements, licensing game assets and technology, divestiture of game assets and acquisition of game assets. We also handle all of the regulatory issues that arise in the course of representation of traditional, online, mobile and interactive or multiplayer games providers, including privacy, financial transactions, security, promotions and advertising, gambling and copyright or other liability associated with third party postings.

Areas of Focus

  • Emerging Companies & Venture Capital
  • Mergers & Acquisitions
  • Technology Transactions & Privacy Law
  • Trademark & Brand Enforcement
  • Patent Protection and Portfolio Management
  • Regulatory Compliance
  • Labor & Employment

Traditional Games

Just like the video game industry, the $2 billion board game industry is an ever-changing environment. What's hot one year, may not even come close to the same level of success the next. We have worked with traditional game companies (DVD, card and board games) on developing their legal strategies. We have investigated and defended at trial a traditional game company in a case involving trade secrets misappropriation.

Mobile & Social Gaming

The mobile gaming industry has exploded and continues to grow, but so has the legal and practical issues that come along with business growth. Our attorneys have significant experience providing cutting-edge legal support in numerous areas to companies in the mobile gaming industry. The biggest advantage we bring to industry clients is our regulatory and technology transactions attorneys who have been advising mobile gaming clients on marketplace launches throughout their careers. Another differentiator is that we are able to combine the deal execution experience of our M&A team with the deep subject matter knowledge of our technology transaction and intellectual property attorneys

Clients in this space include Annapurna Group, Bandai Namco, Glue Mobile, Krafton, Machine Zone, Nintendo, Niantic, Nexon, Epic Games, Scopely, Inc., Square Enix, Take-Two Interactive, Tencent, to name a few.

Immersive Technology (AR/VR/XR)

Our Immersive Technology attorneys have helped pioneered the industry by advising the early innovators of XR technology and continue as it expands. We advise and represent the market leaders in immersive technology building new worlds through products, services and content, actively guiding companies to identify, anticipate and resolve legal issues raised by this evolving technology. 

For more information on our Immersive Technology vertical, please visit the site here.

2022 XR Report

Perkins Coie’s survey of 150 industry stakeholders involved in XR and next-gen technology, which encompasses technological advancements such as Web3 and the metaverse, shows that immersive technology has reached a critical point. 

View Report

eSports

We advise clients through the rise, relevance, and resiliency of eSports. The upward trajectory of eSports, both in revenue and cultural relevance, has accelerated during the pandemic, creating a distinct opportunity almost unique in the sport and entertainment space, which means potential business and legal challenges. Our clients are key players in the ecosystem, ranging from innovative entertainment powerhouses with full vertical integration, to publishers and platforms are all rapidly expanding and maneuvering to position themselves for bigger bets on eSports.

Product Development & Launch

We advise interactive entertainment clients on hundreds of product launches. Our team has the experience and depth to provide guidance on the full range of legal issues that come into play during the conception, development and implementation of a new product or service. Many of our clients rely on us to work directly with their internal business units, from engineering, product management and client services to advertising, marketing, and communications. We advise on vendor policies and guidelines, international issues, trademark and domain name rights, pricing/subscription models, tax obligations, import/export of content, OEM issues, communications regulatory issues, consumer protection, privacy and data security, content liability, and product liability.

Marketplace Development

Our interactive entertainment digital and technology core team is one of the nation’s strongest and most sought-after marketplace development counsel. We efficiently support our clients’ efforts to create, sustain, and grow vibrant marketplaces and expand our clients’ entire ecosystem of related platforms, products, and services, all while navigating the complex and often interdependent legal and regulatory landscape.

With the growth of a marketplace platform comes a shift in the role that a company could play in becoming a payment intermediary. We help clients explore the opportunity to redefine monetization and retention strategies, and increase the attractiveness of IT platforms to buyers, sellers, and all others in the gaming ecosystems to increase engagement and generate revenue.

These services include a focus on supporting clients with their efforts to create a vibrant marketplace, while navigating the complex legal and regulatory landscape without exposing the company to additional regulatory risks and obligations.

Advertising, Marketing & Promotions

We regularly counsel clients on issues including advertising claims and substantiation, sale and discount advertising, marketing and sponsorship agreements, product development, contests and sweepstakes, endorsements, and influencers, publicity rights, and promotional offers. To help ease these efforts, we have developed various samples and templates for marketing, advertising, and promotional campaigns.

The AMP group also represents brands in false advertising and unfair competition disputes and collaborates with brands to audit and improve in-house marketing and regulatory compliance programs.

Work Highlight: Product and Marketplace Development

Representation
Provided comprehensive product and marketplace launch advice to numerous marketplaces including, most recently, Oculus and Epic Games.

Our work included advising on their marketplace structure, marketplace agreements, and a suite of developer terms and conditions as well as product liability, product safety, and warning work.

 

Support Role
This support includes product counsel, product development, privacy, biometrics, technology development, and licensing and requires the Perkins Coie to team serve as a central repository of information and alignment among the internal workstreams to identify organizational and cross-group dependencies and opportunities and enable cohesive, consistent and coordinated counsel.

 

Our Current Role
Currently, we are doing several other third-party content deals and providing cross-functional support for a new products group, research group, and support for their hardware team doing international manufacturing and supply deals.

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