Month: January 2019

University of Washington announces launch of new esports arena on campus

The University of Washington is the latest college to cater to the burgeoning esports industry.  It was announced on Tuesday that the University of Washington would furnish its student activities building with a space for esports events.

It will make the UW the largest public, higher education institution in the nation and the first university in the state of Washington to have a dedicated esports arena.

The 1,000 square foot gaming center is set to open this spring and will be the center for casual and competitive gaming and virtual reality.  A portion of the UW’s Student Technology Fee will fund this arena.

The arena will bring together a community of gamers as well as an opportunity for research in game development and tools for expanding broadcast opportunities according to former Washington Gaming Association President Kevin Zhou and UW alum.

With the expansion of the sport, esports scholarships are being offered by universities as the industry is growing at a rapid rate.

Students will be $3.50 an hour or $30 for 10 hours; UW faculty and staff will pay $4.50 per hour or $40 for $10 hours.  The general public will pay $6 an hour.

The move shows the growing interest in video gaming (i.e., esports).  More than just a hobby, like the bowling alley that used to be in the basement of the HUB, esports is now offering more.  The arena will offer top of the line gaming equipment as well as virtual reality.  It should be a real interesting place to go if this is your interest.

Red Dead Redemption 2 takes Pinkerton to task in TM lawsuit

The makers of the popular video game Red Dead Redemption are suing the security company Pinkerton, for use of the security company’s name in its video game.  Take-Two Interactive, the makers of the game are suing claiming they have a right to use the name based on the First Amendment.

Pnkerton Consulting & Investigations delivered its cease-and-desist letter in December after the video games release.  Although cordial, it argued that Take-Two was using Pinkerton’s “goodwill” associated with the company’s trademarks.

In these situations, the argument is that the video game is falsely associating itself with the security firm.

Red Dead Redemption 2 is a sequel to the popular video game set in the Wild West in the late 1800s.  There are references to the Pinkerton National Detective Agency and Pinkerton agents which played a role in law enforcement during this time.  In the video game, agents of the Pinkerton National Detective Agency are in pursuit of the outlaws.

The lawsuit argues that the use of the Pinkerton name is “neither excessive nor exceptional.”  They argue that there are 60 hours of storyline in the game and of the 106 “missions,” Pinkerton characters are only in 10.  They also note that Pinkerton has been utilized in other western shows.

Take-Two argues that the Pinkerton National Detective Agency are a part of the popular media and culture and are protected by the First Amendment.  They cite to various media which have used the Pinkerton name without legal repercussion.  It also argues that the Pinkerton company’s IP of today differs from the historical agents identified in the video game.

Take-Two argues that the Court should issue a declaratory judgment of non-infringement under the First Amendment, Nominative Fair Use and or no Likelihood of Confusion.

The lawsuit will be an interesting one to follow for those wanting to use historical trademarked names in their own copyrighted work.  There is a viable argument under Fair Use and Likelihood of Confusion.  But, the issue to look for is whether a Court would determine that the use of the mark is valid under First Amendment purposes as this could stretch the use of other trademarks in other works of authorship.

(The two images are embedded in the lawsuit found here.)