The legal aspects of the development, marketing and licensing of apps and video games, audio/voice assistants, AR, VR, & other applications.

 Why would a developer working on audio and voice assistants, augmented reality, virtual reality or video games need a lawyer? To head off problems and address disputes that have not yet arisen and will generally not come up—that is, until the product is successful. The idea is to be prepared for the legal downside of success: the worldwide potential for infringement; the royalty contracts that often are nothing more than an elaborate bait-and-switch; the so-called once-in-a-lifetime offers that emerge when people perceive someone is experiencing financial success. Often, a law firm is all that stands between an innovator with a really impressive idea that hits and the rest of the public who wishes to grab a piece of it.

If you are concerned about protecting your app, software or other digital product please contact us via the form on the bottom of this page.

Emerging Audio and Voice Assistant, AR and VR and Video Game Technologies

Our firm’s commercial practice has a significant focus in the legal aspects of video game and software development and marketing. In addition to the more traditional iOS™/Android™ apps, we are actively moving into the realm of representing developer clients working with the newest app-based implementations. With the advent of Amazon Alexa™ and Google Home™ coupled with other artificial intelligence devices on the one hand and augmented reality and virtual reality on the other, the options for developers have expanded beyond simply the iPhone™ and Android™. To say the least, the developer community has a pressing need for attorneys who have a sophisticated understanding of legal issues relating to emerging technologies.

Our firm is constantly striving to anticipate the unique legal issues facing developers of audio and voice assistant, AR and VR and video game technologies, including:

• Revenue Models While the public generally groups apps and Amazon Skills into the overarching category of “emerging digital technologies”, there really are differences in the revenue models for each. For example, there are legal terms or disclaimers that a developer may need to include in a free-to-play (F2P) app that are not applicable for an app which is sold, rather than given away. Legal counsel needs to take into account whether the revenue will be generated over time through in-app purchases, or will be accrued through a premium model, where the revenue is fixed at the outset of the customer transaction. There are also legal issues that arise with respect to other business models, such as an initial purchase fee with subscription-based payments thereafter.
• Audio/Video Since apps can contain both visuals and audio, while Skills and Google Home™ apps are strictly audio, the nature of the intellectual property protections usually need to be far more robust.
• Developer/Host There can be a divergence between the developer’s rights to create the product or service and the corresponding rights of the hosting company (Apple™, Amazon™, Google™, etc.) to impose its own restrictions
• International IP Rights The expanded reach of these emerging platforms necessitates international and national protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights.
• Proprietary Rights Since apps can be developed on third-party platforms, questions often arise regarding intellectual property ownership. It is critical to ensure that everyone who contributed to the work (such as other developers, actors, voice actors, etc.) has provided the primary app developer with proper work-for-hire agreements or assignment agreements (as applicable) to secure clear title in the intellectual property and other proprietary rights.
• Infringing/Copycat Apps Development of Audio and Voice Assistant Applications App/Skills presents fewer market entry barriers. While it provides a wonderful opportunity for entrepreneurs and independent developers to have access to wide distribution that is rapid and requires little technical background, that same ease of entry is available to those who act in bad faith, as well. The end result is that this business paradigm can often become a magnet for infringing /copycat apps/Skills.
• Film/Television/Literary Rights When a successful app crosses over from the digital world to the larger realm of entertainment offerings such as film, television and even literature, corresponding contractual and intellectual property rights must be secured

The list goes on. The bottom line is that the legal challenges in the audio and voice assistant, AR and VR and video game arenas are not just complex, they are unique. Our firm welcomes those challenges.