GAMES INDUSTRY LAW UNPACKED WARSAW

The Games Industry Law Summit is the preeminent gathering of legal experts in the video games industry and I had the privilege of attending and participating this month.

Despite a gruelling travel itinerary this year I was determined to make it to Warsaw to attend the Games Industry Law Summit ‘on tour’ after hearing consistent high praise for the conference for years. I couldn’t have been more pleased to be in the same room as so many distinguished legal experts, all brining their unique insight to the growing, developing and evolving video games doctrine.

My personal favourite sessions:

1. Consumer Protection, led by Konstantin (Konni) Ewald (Osborne Clarke) and Leonie Schneider (Osborne Clarke)

2. Protection of minors, Sebastian Schwiddessen (Baker McKenzie).

3. Legal dashboard, led by Paul Gardner (Wiggin) and a whole army of international lawyers!

My key take aways:

1. The energy from being with, and learning from, so many people all sharing relevant expertise was inspiring. Note to self: find more of these opportunities.

2. The video games sector is becoming increasingly complex and sophisticated as they are multi-media, social media, content creation, entertainment platforms. As they become more complex they are running head long into regulations that are trying to limit and simplify for consumers. That’s where my work comes into play – to find a way to protect consumers and still allow for innovation.

3. There is a lot of work going on trying to interpret how to apply existing laws but there is much more to be done to prepare companies for the laws being developed now and give them the chance to influence.

I’ve already signed up for the next Games Industry Law conference and I can’t wait to be there with our industry peers.