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More Than Just a Game at Stanford University

The 18th edition in the of the More Than Just a Game (MTJG) series, MTJG Stanford, was the first time we brought MTJG to the US, in partnership with Stanford University. The event attracted a wide range of experts and introduced the concept to a predominantly US-based audience.

Published:
Ioannis Kokkoris, Michaela MacDonald and Gaetano Dimita standing with academics from Stanford University.

More Than Just a Game (MTJG) is the most renowned series of international academic conferences in on video games and interactive entertainment law in Europe, running since 2015. A flagship event takes place in London every year, hosting 100+ delegates from around the world and across the industry, including academics, researchers, industry experts, in-house counsels, and practitioners.

The one-day event covered pressing issues such as trust and safety (Brittan Heller, Evelyn Douek, Anthony Justman, Dr. Andreas Lober, Kerry Hopkins and Clint Smith), consumer protection (Samantha Ettari, Daren Orzechowski, Stacy Feuer, Felix Hilgert and Dorian Slater Thomas), antitrust law (Mark Lemley, BJ Ard, Verity Egerton-Doyle and Ioannis Kokkoris), fan participation (Christopher Cotropia, Nari Ely, Jordan Gimbel, Ben Golant, Dr Michaela MacDonald, and Joseph Schenck), and collective and non-human creativity (Angela Dunning, Daniella Van Lier, Sonali Maitra, and Robert H. Rotstein). The event featured a keynote speech by Shawn Leyden, a former president and CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment America. 

The core mission of MTJG conferences is to bring people together; people representing different views in the industry, academics, practitioners, and enthusiasts. We also strive to keep MTJG conferences inclusive and accessible – this is only possible due to the continuous and generous support of our sponsors. MTJG Stanford was brought to you by Tencent, ADVANT Beiten, Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp LLP, Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz, Osborne Clarke, Perkins Coie LLP, Fenwick & West, and Allen & Overy.

The day provided many opportunities for open, industry-focused, and proactive discussions, sharing insights and experiences, and encouraging new collaborations among the industry, legal profession, and academics at a time when games and interactive entertainment are facing unprecedented new challenges relating to social issues, industry autonomy, and the regulation of technology.

The key takeaway points from the discussion included:

  • Video games are about connections, building communities, and exploring diverse views, opinions, and perspectives. MTJG embodies this as one of its core missions.
  • The considerations around trust and safety, dark patterns, and consumer protection determine the design, rules and IP guardrails governing users’ and players’ behaviour.
  • The industry needs to focus on identifying how a sustainable growth may look like and can be implemented through new value chains and business models.
  • Fan participation and user-generated content are intrinsic for games and interactive entertainment and set it apart from other creative industries and types of media.

The organising team at Queen Mary included Dr Gaetano Dimita, Senior Lecturer in International Intellectual Property Law, Dr Michaela MacDonald, Lecturer in Management, and Professor Ioannis Kokkoris, Director of Queen Mary's Centre for Commercial Law Studies.

 

 

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