Is Streaming Among Us...Illegal? (VL332)

One of 2020's absolute surprise break-out hits was actually released in 2018: Innersloth's "Among Us"; a video game take on "The Thing" that sees players try to suss out (and eliminate) "imposters" *among* their spaceship crew.

But why did Among Us get so popular all of a sudden? The answer appears to lie in streamers and streaming platforms (like Twitch). But given the game licenses offered for Among Us by places like Steam and itch.io, that may in and of itself be a bit of a problem.

Is this whole set up copyright infringement?

There are *lawyers* among us...in Virtual Legality.

#AmongUs #Twitch #Streaming

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Discussed in this episode:

Among Us Website
http://www.innersloth.com/gameAmongUs.php

"Among Us' Improbable Rise To The Top Of Twitch"
Kotaku - September 8, 2020 - Nathan Grayson
https://kotaku.com/among-us-improbable-rise-to-the-top-of-twitch-1844986025

Among Us Twitch Stats
Sully Gnome Website
https://sullygnome.com/game/among_Us/365/summary

"Streaming, Copyright Infringement, and Fair Use (Virtual Legality #177)"
YouTube Video - February 19, 2020 - Hoeg Law
https://youtu.be/vTjsKrC3tOE

"Exclusive rights in copyrighted works"
17 USC 106
https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/17/106

Among Us itch.io Page
https://innersloth.itch.io/among-us

Among Us Steam Page
https://store.steampowered.com/app/945360/Among_Us/

itch.io Terms of Service
Updated June 8, 2018
https://itch.io/docs/legal/terms#4-publisher-content

Steam Subscriber Agreement
Updated August 28, 2020
https://store.steampowered.com/subscriber_agreement/

Final Fantasy VII Steam Page
https://store.steampowered.com/app/39140/FINAL_FANTASY_VII/

Final Fantasy VII Eula
https://store.steampowered.com/eula/39140_eula

Riot Games Terms of Service
Updated January 15, 2020
https://www.riotgames.com/en/terms-of-service

Riot Games "Legal Jibber Jabber"
Updated August 2018
https://www.riotgames.com/en/legal

Twitch Terms of Service
Updated September 30, 2020
https://www.twitch.tv/p/legal/terms-of-service/

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"Virtual Legality" is a continuing series discussing the law, video games, software, and everything digital, hosted by Richard Hoeg, of the Hoeg Law Business Law Firm (Hoeg Law).

CHECK OUT THE REST OF VIRTUAL LEGALITY HERE:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL1zDCgJzZUy9YAU61GoW-00K0TJOGnPCo

DISCUSSION IS PROVIDED FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY AND IS NOT TO BE CONSTRUED AS LEGAL ADVICE. INDIVIDUALS INTERESTED IN THE LEGAL TOPICS DISCUSSED IN THIS VIDEO SHOULD CONSULT WITH THEIR OWN COUNSEL.

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Twitter: @hoeglaw
Web: hoeglaw.com
Blog: hoeglaw.wordpress.com
STORE: https://teespring.com/stores/hoeg-law-store

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DESIGN WORK
Joe Ellis (Logo Design)
Chris Leroux (Motion Graphics)
For more information: contact Chris at @Chrisleroux on Twitter.

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