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German Lawmakers Seek Ban on All Games Depicting Lethal Violence

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on November 18, 2005 - 3:26am.
Berlin - German lawmakers have proposed extending the country's restrictions on video game content to ban any games that depict lethal violence, Der Spiegel reported. Andreas Scheuer of Germany's Christian Social Union told Der Spiegel the group is calling for a complete ban on "killing games," saying they "have no place in Germany's bedrooms." The country removed the multiplayer shooter game "Counter-Strike" from store shelves following a school shooting in which a student shot 16 people. The game industry plans to lobby against the proposed legislation. "As far as we are concerned, there are no such things as killer games, but adult games," Olaf Wolters, manager of the German interactive entertainment software association, told Der Spiegel.
tags: Games | Ban | Lawmakers | German | Lethal Violence |

California State Assembly Passes Ban on Violent Game Sales to Minors

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on September 12, 2005 - 4:20am.
Sacramento, Calif. -- The California state Assembly voted 65-7 last week in favor of a ban on the sale of violent video games to minors, although Reuters reported that on Friday that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger had not yet decided whether or not to sign the bill into law. The proposed legislation would ban the sale of games that depict the "killing, maiming, dismembering, or sexually assaulting an image of a human being," or violence "in a manner which is especially heinous, cruel, or depraved in that it involves torture or serious physical abuse to the victim." It also requires retailers in California to create a new labeling system for such titles, and penalizes those caught selling them to California residents under 18 with a $1,000 fine. "Governor Schwarzenegger is no longer an action star but an elected representative of all Californians; I am hopeful that he will consider our children’s best interests by signing this commonsense legislation into law and giving parents a necessary tool to raise healthy kids," said Assemblyman Leland Yee, who sponsored the bill. "The IEMA (Interactive Entertainment Merchants Association) remains opposed to AB 1179 for many reasons, not the least of which is that it is impractical -- in essence creating a California-only class of products requiring retailers to buy, warehouse and distribute California video games separately from other inventory," the IEMA said in a statement. Similar bans on the sale of violent video games to minors have been routinely struck down by the courts as unconstitutional restrictions on free speech.
tags: Law | Minors | Ban | Violent Game Sales | California State Assembly |

Illinois Enacts Ban on Violent Game Sales; Game Industry Sues to Overturn

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on July 25, 2005 - 8:29am.
Aurora, Ill. -- Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich on Monday signed the Safe Game Illinois Act into law, which prohibits the sale of violent and sexually explicit video games to minors in the state. "For the same reason we don't allow kids to buy pornography, for the same reason we don't allow kids to buy cigarettes, for the same reason we don't allow kids to buy alcohol, we shouldn’t allow them to go to stores and buy violent and sexually explicit video games -- games that teach them to do the very things we put people in jail for," said Blagojevich. In addition to fining retailers who break the ban $1,000, it requires them to create their own parental warning labels to place on game packaging, and post signs explaining the industry's game ratings system in their stores. The Entertainment Software Association (ESA), the large video game industry trade group, announced on Monday that it will file suit in Illinois to have the law thrown out. "In similar cases in St. Louis, Indianapolis, and Washington State, virtually identical bills were struck down, costing taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees," the ESA said in a statement. The ESA was joined in its complaint by the Video Software Dealers Association, a rental industry trade group, and the Illinois Retail Merchants Association. ESA president Doug Lowenstein added, "This law will have a chilling effect on free speech. It will limit First Amendment rights not only for Illinois' residents, but for game developers and publishers, and for retailers who won't know what games can and cannot be sold or rented under this vague new statute."
tags: Law | Ban | Game Industry | Overturn | Violent Game Sales | Illinois |

Illinois State Senate Approves Ban on Violent Game Sales to Minors

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on May 20, 2005 - 7:14am.
Springfield, Ill. -- The Illinois state Senate this week approved a bill that would restrict the sale of violent video games in the state to minors. The Safe Games Illinois Act, proposed by Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, would put the onus on retailers to determine which games are too violent or sexually explicit for minors, and then fine them should they sell such titles to anyone under 18. As the Senate's version of the bill deleted a section in the Illinois state House's version that called for jail time for offenders, the bill must now return to the House for debate. "Video games are not art or media," Illinois state Sen. Deanna Demuzio told AP. "They are simulations, not all that different from the simulations used by the U.S. military in preparation for war." Similar laws banning the sale of violent games to minors have been consistently struck down by a number of courts as being unconstitutional on First Amendment grounds.
tags: Games | Minors | Senate | Ban | Violent Game | Illinois |

Illinois Lawmakers Seek Ban on Sale of Violent Video Games to Minors

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on March 1, 2005 - 8:10am.
Springfield, Ill. -- Two Illinois state lawmakers have introduced legislation that would ban the sale of violent and sexually explicit video games to minors, punishing retailers who violate the ban with fines of between $1,000 and $5,000. State Rep. Linda Chapa LaVia and State Sen. Deanna Demuzio, both Democrats, will sponsor bills in the Illinois state House and Senate, respectively. Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich has also pushed for the legislation. "As a society, we've agreed that children do not have a right to certain things that pose a risk to their health or development: things like cigarettes, alcohol, and pornography," said Blagojevich. "We know violent and sexually explicit video games pose a direct risk to kids, so we should make every effort to keep them out of kids' hands." Although similar bills have been struck down on First Amendment grounds by courts in Washington state, St. Louis County, Mo. and the city of Indianapolis, efforts to ban the sale of violent games to minors are also progressing in California, D.C., Georgia, Michigan, Missouri and Pennsylvania. The proposed Illinois legislation would define violent games as "those that include realistic depictions of human-on-human violence in which the player kills, injures, or otherwise causes serious physical harm to another human, including but not limited to depictions of death, dismemberment, amputation, decapitation, maiming, disfigurement, mutilation of body parts, or rape."
tags: Minors | Ban | Violent Video Games | Illinois |

Canadian Appeals Court Upholds Ban on iPod Levy

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on February 9, 2005 - 2:58am.
Ottawa, Canada -- The Canadian Federal Court of Appeal has upheld a lower court's ruling that outlawed a levy on the sale of hard drive-based digital audio recorders, like Apple's iPod, that would have compensated artists and copyright holders for implied lost sales from piracy enabled by the devices. The court did, however, rule that Canada's existing levies on the sale of blank recordable media -- like cassettes and CD-Rs -- were constitutionally valid. The country's copyright regulators tried to extend this idea by imposing a levy of $15 on MP3 players with up to 10GB of memory, and $25 on players with greater than 10GB capacities, which the courts have tossed out. Canada's courts have also previously ruled that downloading music from peer-to-peer file-sharing services like Kazaa and BitTorrent is legal in the country, while uploading music to such networks is not.
tags: Law | Ban | Canadian | iPod Levy |

D.C. Mayor Backs Ban on Sale of Violent Video Games to Minors

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on February 3, 2005 - 3:32am.
Washington -- The mayor of Washington, D.C. and a majority of D.C. Council members want to ban the sale of violent and sexually explicit video games to minors in the District, The Washington Post reported on Thursday. A group of 12 council members, led by Adrian M. Fenty, intend to introduce legislation that would impose fines of up to $10,000 and threaten the loss of business licenses to retailers who violate the ban. "They are unbelievably misogynistic and geared toward making whoever is playing perpetuate the worst parts of our society," Fenty told The Post. Similar bans on the sale of mature games to minors in St. Louis, Indianapolis and Washington state have been defeated in the courts, while additional bans have been proposed in both Illinois and Michigan. "We oppose any government enacted restrictions on content as unconstitutional restraints on creative and artistic expression. Further, Federal Court rulings already struck down limitations like what Councilman Fenty introduced and the same fate awaits his proposal," said Douglas Lowenstein, president of the Entertainment Software Association, a video game industry trade group.
tags: Minors | Violent | Ban | Video Games | D.C | Mayor |

Illinois Gov. Proposes Ban on Sale of Violent, Sexually Explicit Games to Minors

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on December 16, 2004 - 11:07am.
Naperville, Ill. -- Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich on Thursday proposed legislation that would ban the distribution, sale, rental and availability of violent and sexually explicit video games to children under 18 in the state. While similar efforts to ban video game sales to minors by the State of Washington, City of Indianapolis and St. Louis County have been thwarted in the courts, Blagojevich said his legislation will narrowly define what constitutes a violent or sexually explicit game in order to pass federal court scrutiny. "There's a reason why we don't let kids smoke or drink alcohol or drive a car until they reach a certain age and level of maturity. That's just common sense," said Blagojevich. "And that same common sense should be applied to excessively violent and sexually explicit video games." Under the proposed laws, retailers would have to label such games themselves, and post signs explaining the ratings system. Failure to post such warnings would be punishable by a $1,000 fine, while violating the ban on sales to minors would be a Class A misdemeanor, carrying a penalty of up to one year in prison and a $5,000 fine.
tags: Minors | Violent | Ban | Illinois Gov | Sexually Explicit Games |

EU Takes Greece to Court over Ban on Computer Games

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 14, 2004 - 10:30am.
Brussels -- The European Commission (EC) announced on Thursday that it plans to take Greece to the European Court of Justice to reverse the country's ban on PC games. The EC said that it had decided to refer Greece to the court over its ban on the "installation and operation of electrical, electromechanical and electronic games, including computer games, in all public and private places," including premises providing Internet services, such as cyber cafes. The Commission also said that Greece's decision to outlaw video games to stop online gambling essentially violates the EU treaty on the free movement of goods and services. Furthermore, the EC said that it plans to take Greece to task for not having notified the EU of the law when it was in its draft stage, which is an infringement of Directive 98/34/EC.
tags: Law | EU | Court | Ban | Greece | Computer Games |

Following Court's Ban on Game Copying Software, 321 Studios Shuts Down

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on August 3, 2004 - 3:50am.
St. Louis -- Following a federal court's ruling last week banning sales of its software that let users make copies of video game discs, St. Louis-based 321 Studios has ceased operations, according to a note on the company's website. 321 was sued by game developers including Electronic Arts, Atari and Vivendi Universal Games for its GamesXCopy software; a judge issued an injunction against the sale of the application on Thursday. The company also lost two publicized lawsuits filed by the major movie studios over its DVDXCopy software, which allowed consumers to defeat copyright controls to make copies of DVD movies. "Despite 321 Studios' best efforts to remain in business, injunctions entered against 321 Studios by three US Federal courts earlier this year has resulted in 321 Studios no longer being able to continue operating the business," reads a note on the company's website. The company is holding an online close-out sale for its remaining inventory, save for those products whose sale is banned by court order.
tags: Games | Law | Ban | Studios | Shuts Down | Copying Software |

Movie Studios, NFL Petition FCC to Ban TiVo Content-Sharing Feature

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on July 23, 2004 - 4:45am.
San Jose, Calif. -- A number of Hollywood movie studios and the NFL have filed papers with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), seeking to block approval of a service from digital video recorder firm TiVo that would allow users to send recorded programs to laptops and PCs, the Associated Press reported. The TiVo To Go feature would also enable users to share shows with a limited number of friends -- but the copyright holders do not believe TiVo has installed sufficient safeguards against piracy. "We don't have a problem if you want to move the content to your summer home, or your boat, but the TiVo application does not require any kind of relationship with the sender," Motion Picture Association of America executive vice president Fritz Attaway told AP. "It could be to a nightclub in Singapore."
tags: TiVo | NFL | FCC | Movie Studios | Ban | Content-Sharing |

Senate Bill With Bipartisan Support Would Ban P2P Networks in U.S.

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on June 23, 2004 - 8:01am.
Washington -- A Senate bill that has gained key bipartisan support would, if approved, effectively ban peer-to-peer file-sharing networks in the U.S., CNET News.com reported on Wednesday. Introduced by Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), the Inducing Infringement of Copyrights Act of 2004 would effectively overturn the landmark ruling in MGM v. Grokster, currently under appeal, that found that peer-to-peer file-sharing software is legal and any copyright infringement liability rested with end-users. "This bill remedies a threat to the security of copyrights as well as to our citizens and children," said Hatch. "Because about half of the users of this software are children, this for-profit piracy scheme mostly endangers children who are ill-equipped to appreciate the illegality or risks of their acts." Hatch noted that supporters of the bill include Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.), Minority Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.), Lindsey Graham, (R-S.C.) and Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.).
tags: U.S. | Ban | Senate Bill | Bipartisan Support | P2P Networks |

IFP, Indie Filmmakers Sue MPAA Over Ban on Awards Screeners

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on November 25, 2003 - 7:04am.
New York -- A group of independent filmmakers, including the Los Angeles and New York chapters of the Independent Feature Project (IFP), on Monday sued the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), asking a federal judge to place an injunction against the MPAA's ban on the distribution of "screener" copies of films to members of various groups that vote on awards. The MPAA enacted a full ban on screeners as a means of stemming potential piracy, but later said it would allows VHS movies to be distributed -- only to those who vote on the Academy Awards -- which prompted complaints from the Golden Globes and others. In its lawsuit, the independent filmmakers say that the MPAA has "conspired" with the major studios to eliminate competitive rivalry among themselves and independent film producers; the group also allegedly "conspired" with the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to unlawfully disadvantage other competing critics' evaluation and awards events. A hearing on the injunction is set for Wednesday morning before the U.S. District Court in Manhattan.
tags: Awards | MPAA | Ban | Screeners | Indie Filmmakers | IFP |

Despite Meeting With Indie Filmmakers, MPAA Holds Fast On "Screener" Ban

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on November 17, 2003 - 7:31am.
Los Angeles -- Following a meeting last week with members of the independent film community and various film critics' societies, the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) said it will not grant any further exceptions to its ban on the distribution of "screener" copies of movies for awards voting purposes. The ban was originally intended to stem potential piracy by totally eliminating the copies of movies -- not yet released on home video -- that were traditionally sent to voting members of various film societies like the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (Oscars), Hollywood Foreign Press Association (Golden Globes) and Screen Actors Guild (SAG Awards). The MPAA soon after eased the ban to allow watermarked VHS screeners to be sent only those who vote on the Academy Awards, but denied copies to any of the myriad other film awards. The exemption for Academy voters is being called a "one-year experiment" by the MPAA. "To extend screeners beyond the Academy would just demand so many thousands more screeners, which would greatly increase the risk of piracy," MPAA CEO Jack Valenti told the Los Angeles Daily News. "That's a risk that the studios aren't willing to take."
tags: Indie | MPAA | Ban | Screener | Filmmakers |

House Votes to Permanently Ban Taxes on Internet Access

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on September 17, 2003 - 6:40am.
Washington -- The House of Representatives on Wednesday voted overwhelmingly to permanently extend a moratorium that prohibits state and local governments from taxing Internet access. The five-year-old moratorium was set to expire in November. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Christopher Cox (R-CA), also will plug loop holes that have allowed 13 states to tax some forms of Internet access and 10 others to continue taxing access through an exemption. Lawmakers have supported the bill as a way to keep Internet access affordable. The bill now goes to the Senate. In July, a Senate committee approved a very similar bill.
tags: Internet | Ban | Taxes | House Votes |