ABSTRACT
This chapter provides an inside perspective on the origins, motivations, and legal arguments behind Candy Lab Inc. v. County of Milwaukee, the first lawsuit involving the constitutional guarantee of free speech and the XR medium. Written by the lead attorney on the team that filed the lawsuit, the chapter explains the technological developments and market-driven serendipity that led to the unprecedented explosion of popularity in location-based augmented reality gaming, and the reactions of citizens and civic leaders who were unprepared for, and largely unwelcoming of, such a rapid and large-scale change of public behavior. Although many local governments reacted with varying degrees of opposition to the behavior of game players, one municipality in particular went too far in regulating the content of what game creators published. The resulting lawsuit challenged this as an abridgement of free speech rights, leading to a fascinating debate in federal court over how far governments may permissibly go in limiting the time, place, and manner of speech in the XR medium. The chapter also begins and ends with insight on how and why the author chose to take up this fight, and how other legal professionals can use their unique skillsets likewise to guide the positive development of XR-related legal principles.
