Wilson Sonsini attorneys Gary Greenstein, Mary O'Brien, and Patrick Messenger will appear on the panel titled, "The Battle Royale of IP."

Game developers regularly leverage real world concepts, ideas, music, brands and people to provide commentary on real world events or to build a more realistic world for gamers to explore. In order to incorporate intellectual property owned by a third party, game developers must have an understanding of the permissions or approvals necessary to do so or alternatively, the legal defenses to claims of unauthorized use to enable them to avoid litigation and liability.

By incorporating real-world examples from a number of lawsuits and our own first-hand experience, this session will provide an overview of (a) copyright and trademark concepts relevant for game developers, (b) the legal steps necessary to incorporate third-party content into games, (c) when a use may be a “fair use,” and (d) the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (“DMCA”) and how it can be critical for a company that permits users to create worlds and add content to their game play.