Belgian AIPPI Young Event – Virtual reality, Gaming & IP: theory and practice

On last October 18^th, 30 of our young practitioners took part in our annual so called “Young Event” evening.  This event is organized each year, in order to give the opportunity to young IP practitioners to envisage IP from a different point of view and invite them to join AIPPI. While last year, we gathered in a Bike shop to discuss “Mobility and IP”, this year was about “Virtual reality, Gaming & IP”.

Luc Peeters, Lector Game Entrepreneurship Digital Arts & Entertainment at Howest University of Applied Sciences, and Michael De Vroey, Attorney-at-law & Partner at Simont Braun shared insights on Virtual reality, gaming and IPR.

The presentation covered two key aspects: video game design and intellectual property rights (IPRs). Luc Peeters detailed the creation of a game, from conception to distribution, highlighting the complex relationships between developers, publishers, and distributors. He highlighted the challenges of self-publishing versus publishing through a publisher, influencing control and revenues for studios.

Michael De Vroey addressed IPRs, examining notable cases such as Edgar Davids v Riot Games and Alfonso Ribeiro v Epic Games, concerning image rights and IPRs. The successful example of Larian Studios, which has a license with Wizards of the Coast to create the Baldur’s Gate series based on the Dungeons & Dragons universe, underlined the importance of licenses for using existing universes.

Finally, the discussion turned to virtual reality (VR), revolutionising the gaming experience, and raising IPR challenges.

But theory is not all, and our participants also had the chance to dive into the game!

Anissa El Hayani, participant, Patent Engineer (Kirkpatrick – La Hulpe – Belgium), and Emilie Blanche, Belgian Group Reporter.