Page 4 - LA Games Conference Materials

Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality
Virtual reality and augmented reality are two of the hottest areas of technology in terms of innovation, investment, and M&A. As hardware and software have reached a level of sophistication making concepts previously confined to science fiction a reality, Sheppard Mullin has assembled a team of attorneys focused on the unique legal issues of these futuristic technologies.
Developer/Platform Issues: In both virtual reality and augmented reality, there are a handful of meaningful “first party” platforms. These platforms rely on content developed for them by developers. While the first developers for virtual reality tended to be hobbyists, more and more startup companies are focusing on developing both gaming and story-based content (and in some cases both) for one or more of the existing platforms. Due to its extensive history with similar issues surrounding traditional gaming platforms, Sheppard Mullin has meaningful expertise in navigating these developer/first party relationships.
Content Licensing: As one of the leaders in entertainment law, Sheppard Mullin’s legal team has deep experience licensing existing IPs to various platforms, including virtual reality. New technologies tend to create new issues around the rights that must be granted to a licensee in order to effectively leverage an IP. We can help to ensure IPs licensed into virtual reality and augmented reality come with the appropriate rights to create the most profit for both licensee and licensor.
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