Games have a complicated relationship with the law and with the globalization of the gaming market in the digital era, legality is something that must be considered in the development, publication, playing and moderation of games. Games have been and continue to be regulated around the globe, and issues arise at different times in a games life cycle: intellectual property (IP), including patent and copyright protection, must be considered from the initial development of the game; International legality, age ratings, and infringement must be considered in the publication of the game; and players must consider the legality of their manner of obtaining the game and whether or not that game is even legal in the country they are playing in. In addition to this, there are legal issues surrounding abuse and harassment in games, leading several developers to implement moderation and other safety regulations internally in order to pass risk assessments from international regulations. In this way, the laws and regulations around games and gaming in the digital era need to be scrutinized.
The theme of the conference is to explore the dynamic of gaming and the legal/regulatory framework at both national and international levels, from an interdisciplinary perspective.
Online registration: This conference will take place in person at Durham University, registration for in person attendance is now closed. There will be an option for live streaming talks in the morning (UK time) as well as uploading other talks to be distributed after the live event. To register for online streaming please find more information here.
For any questions regarding the event, please contact Dr Hailey Austin ([email protected]) and Dr Angelia Wang ([email protected])
About Durham Law School, Durham University
Durham Law School is a world leader in legal education and research. Its award-winning academic staff produce ground-breaking research with impact. Durham Law School is in the QS World Rankings top 50 law schools and its research was ranked 3rd best in the Research Excellence Framework in 2014. Durham University is one of the world’s leading universities, with excellence in teaching, and world-leading research.
The conference organisers wish to express their thanks to Durham Law School which provided financial support.
About InGAME International
InGAME International is an international consortium of games industry stakeholders brought together from industry, agencies and universities to investigate the challenges to, and deliver solutions that support, international collaboration between the videogames sectors in the UK and China.
InGAME International will develop a transnational community of industrial and academic partners to provide a platform for UK-China partnership growth. We will foster this community through four interconnected mechanisms: Partnership Events – to stimulate new interactions between UK and China organisations; Partnership Support – to reduce barriers of regulatory, cultural and technical risk; Investor Forums – R&D led products and services can be showcased to potential investors in a supportive environment; and Development Activities – that will deepen links in the longer term by providing in-depth training to industry and academia in person and online. InGAME International is funded by the Arts and Humanities Research council (Grant reference: AH/T011491/1)
