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Court Rules That Cooking Mama: Cookstar Infringed On Office Create’s IP

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Cooking Mama: Cookstar

The International Court of Arbitration has officially ruled that Planet Entertainment’s selling and distribution of Cooking Mama: Cookstar infringed upon Office Create’s IP, according to an official statement.

Furthermore, the court determined that the game release was unauthorized and unfair competition. The game was released back in 2020 for platforms such as the Nintendo Switch and the Playstation 4.

Office Create is now in the process of removing both digital and physical Cookstar units from the market and it cannot be found in either the Nintendo eShop or the Playstation Store.

Per the statement:

“Office Create commenced arbitration before the International Chamber of Commerce International Court of Arbitration (“ICC”) against Planet and its CEO, Mr. Steve Grossman, to enforce its rights and enjoin further infringement from, inter alia, the manufacture, distribution and sale of the unauthorized “Cooking Mama: Cookstar” video games. By way of a Final Award dated October 3, 2022, the ICC Arbitral Tribunal has found, among other things, that Planet and Mr. Grossman were not authorized to release the Cooking Mama: Cookstar Switch and PS4 games in 2020 and 2021 respectively, that the license agreement had been validly terminated, that the unlicensed “Cooking Mama: Cookstar” products infringe Office Create’s trademarks under 15 U.S.C. § 1114 and common law and registered copyrights under 17 U.S.C. § 501, that they had engaged in unfair competition, that the packaging, labeling and games themselves falsely identify the origin of goods as “Office Create” in violation of 15 U.S.C. § 1125(a), and that they are financially liable for their conduct.”

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Microsoft Unveils Xbox Developer Sustainability Toolkit

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Xbox has officially unveiled the Xbox Developer Sustainability Toolkit which is aimed to help creators reduce energy consumption and measure carbon emissions during game development processes.

The Xbox Developer Sustainability ToolKit includes resources that include:

  • Power Monitor tools
  • Certification reports
  • Power consumption dashboards
  • Best practices

Ubisoft and 343 Industries were named as early users of the Xbox Developer Sustainability ToolKit with 343 Industries able to reduce energy use by 15% without impacting the player experience at all.

Ubisoft and Xbox are co-developing an energy-efficient eco-mode for users.

You can check out the full report right here.

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Epic Games Store Hits $820 Million in Player Spending During 2022

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Epic Games has officially released financial data related to it’s growing marketplace on PC, showing that $820 million was spent on the Epic Games Store during the 2022 year, and promised support for third-party subscription services and new ‘content hubs’ to help companies promote their titles.

According to the data:

The numbers

  • Total users of Epic Games Store PC: 230 million (up 19% year-on-year)
  • Epic cross-platform accounts: 732 million
  • Daily active users peak: 34.3 million
  • Monthly active users: 68 million (up 10%)
  • Total spending, incl. Epic’s games: $820 million (down 2%)
  • Spending on third-party games: $355 million (up 18%)
  • Free games claimed: 700 million
  • Number of new PC releases: 626
  • Total library of PC games: 1,548 (up 68%)

Epic Games stated on it’s blog that more PC games launched during the 2022 year than in any year prior.

Fortnite, Grand Theft Auto 5, Rocket League, Genshin Impact, and Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands were among the most popular titles related to player engagement and player spending, and Epic Games looks to deepen their focus in 2023 as they aim to improve the store launcher’s performance.

Epic Games also aims to add support for subscription services from third-party publishers and live service products by the end of the 2023 year, adding that they are also working on ‘content hubs’ which will be separate from product pages and will enable publishers to “share information with users in a robust editorial format.”

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California Judge Dismisses Gamers Lawsuit Filed Against Microsoft

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A federal judge in San Francisco has ruled that the group of 10 plaintiffs “[lacked] allegations” in their lawsuit filed last year that claimed Microsoft’s ownerships of Activision Blizzard would harm consumers and competition in the video games market, according to a filing shared by Reuters.

While US District Judge Jacqueline Corley dismissed the case, she also gave the plaintiffs 20 days to refine their lawsuit and resubmit it, and the group’s lawyer, Joseph Saveri, said that there are plans to officially submit an amended lawsuit with “additional factual detail” that will address the judge’s concerns.

It marks a victory for Microsoft, but their battles are far from over as they still face a hearing over the Federal Trade Commission’s legal complaint, which is currently slated to take place in August of this year.

Microsoft and Activision Blizzard originally expected the transaction to be complete by June 30, 2023.

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