HHR New Media, Entertainment and Technology Group

The next interactive gaming revolution will soon be ushered in by a wave of gesture detection control systems, where the player’s body controls the action.  Beginning this year, game developers and publishers will have the technology to develop a viable motion capture-based game, one with more potential applications than any gaming console or system released to date.  Using a TV-mounted motion detection camera and a handheld controller, the PlayStation Motion Controller (rumored to be named the “Arc”) will be capable of recognizing and tracking a user’s face and voice as well as body motion.  Similarly, Microsoft’s Project Natal system for the Xbox 360 will use a TV-mounted motion detection camera that will track the movement of every part of the body, and capture, for the first time, a three-dimensional representation of the player on the screen completely sans gaming controllers. Now, as consumers await the release of a slew of motion capture games scheduled for retail this holiday season, publishers and developers alike need to brace themselves for the myriad of potential legal issues concerning the ownership and licensing of the movements replicated and featured in those games. Continue Reading »

Tags: Arc, copyright, Microsoft, Motion Capture, Project Natal, Sony, video games

A highly classified house ethics committee report outlining inquiries involving dozens of members of Congress was recently leaked over the Internet after a junior committee staff member saved it on the hard drive of his home computer, on which he happened to have peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing software installed.  There is no evidence the staffer intended the report, which detailed investigations that included financial dealings, travel and campaign donations, to be shared with other P2P software users around the world.  But in an official attempt to combat such leaks, US Rep. Edolphus Towns (D-N.Y.), an avid critic of self-regulation of P2P software use, recently introduced a new bill titled The Secure Federal File Sharing Act.  Continue Reading »

Tags: legislation, LimeWire, P2P, privacy

On December 17, we will be presenting “TV Everywhere – Is It Everywhere You Want to Be?”, the latest in our continuing series of free, CLE accredited webinars.  During the program, we will be taking a closer look at “TV Everywhere” (TVE), the fledgling initiative under which cable operators and other pay TV providers propose to make their programming–which was, up until now, available only on TV and by subscription–available online to subscribers via any internet-connected device.  Continue Reading »

Tags: "over the top", "TV Everywhere"

The latest in our on-going series of CLE-accredited Webinars will focus on the critical legal and business issues and questions raised by the emerging phenomenon of “TV Everywhere,” a digital platform agnostic solution that promises to enable pay TV subscribers online access to their programming wherever they may consume it via an Internet enabled device. Our team will address topics including:

• Methodologies to authenticate subscribers and the technological burdens of implementing such authentication methodologies;
• Protection of personally identifiable information (PII) of subscribers and controlling access to such subscriber PII;
• Impact of the FCC’s proposed “net neutrality” rules on TV Everywhere initiatives; and
• Potential business models and revenue opportunities for stakeholders, including revenue streams from enhanced subscription fees, premium advertising fees, etc.

The one-hour Webinar will also feature “live chat” functionality to enable viewers to ask questions and comment on the presentation in real-time. Presentation materials will be available for download.

The Webinar will be held on Thursday, December 17th, 2009 from 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. EST. To register, click here.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) recently opened an inquiry into Google Voice, the popular messaging and call service offered by Google, and Google’s practice of blocking certain calls.   The inquiry was prompted by complaints from AT&T to the FCC accusing Google of unfairly blocking calls to certain numbers in rural areas where local phone companies charge high connections fees.  A bipartisan group of 20 Congressional members also submitted a letter asking the FCC to open an investigation into Google’s voice application.  Continue Reading »

Tags: ATT, blogs, Congress, Connect, CTO, FCC, Google, Google Voice, in, Internet, IP, net neutrality, policy, Skype, Technology