While eSports is classified as sports in Finnish taxation, it involves several interpretative factors within the field of tax law. One issue that gamers face, is the versatile stream of income which cause uncertainty under the current tax regime. For many, the most important source of income are tournament prizes,...
Category: Blog
Technical difficulties and naked bananas – the Epic Apple showdown is epic
The Epic Games v. Apple trial aka (possibly) the most epic legal showdown in the video game industry history started on May 3rd in the US District Court of Northern California. Disputes arose between the two companies when Epic Games made updates to its best-selling online video game, Fortnite, attempting...
The Epic Battle Continues
In September 2020, we discussed the Epic Games vs. Apple (and Google) case in our blog post. To cut a long story short, Epic Games introduced a new payment system for its best-selling mobile game, Fortnite, offering an alternative in-app purchase method. The new payment system bypasses the 30 %...
Labor law questions in startup companies
There are many specific questions in the field of labor law that startup companies should take into account gladly already when planning the actions of the company. In the beginning, the financial resources of the company can be limited, and the need for permanent employees can vary from time to...
Loot Boxes – the next level
We have already covered some basics relating to loot boxes in our article. After writing the article there have been some major developments in the gaming world - so let’s take a look at the recent issues regarding the infamous in-game reward mechanism. What exactly is going on? During the fall of 2020,...
New tax efficient way to incentivize your employees – the employee share issue tax reform has entered into force
The reform of the taxation of employee share issues was finally confirmed at the end of 2020 and it entered into force on the 1st of January 2021. The new amendments to the Income Tax Act do not only clarify current valuation issues, but also provide opportunities to engage personnel...
Enforcing your intellectual property rights
How to protect your intellectual property There are several forms of intellectual property that your company may own, for example trademarks, patents, designs, utility models or copyrighted works. Although confidentiality laws may protect some of these assets, it is crucial that your company remembers to take active measures and look...
What will happen to EU trademarks after Brexit?
EU law will stop applying in the UK on 31st December 2020 due to Brexit. This will of course have its implications on the EU trademark system as we know it. The UK officials have given guidelines regarding the applicability of trademarks registered within the EU. If you already have a...
Is Epic Games reshaping the future of in-app purchases?
Well that escalated quickly. Apple didn’t like Epic Games’ new payment system and removed Fortnite from the App Store. This might have a big impact on the future of in-app purchases. Epic Games, the developer of Fortnite, one of the most popular online video games at the moment, recently announced...
How to build an independent eSports league on solid legal ground
As we spend more and more time at home playing games, the thought may come to mind “Should I test my metal in an online tournament? Or maybe our friendly group tournament could be something bigger...” Due to gaming in general becoming more mainstream and becoming more than just a hobby, as shown by the explosive growth of the eSports industry during...