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Video Game Trade Group to Get $182,000 in Legal Fees from Michigan

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on December 1, 2006 - 1:03pm.
Washington - The Entertainment Software Association said on Friday that it will receive more than $182,000 in legal fees from the State of Michigan following its successful suit to block a new state law banning the sale of violent video games to minors.
tags: Games | Law | Lawsuits | Censorship | Violent Games | Michigan | ESA | Parental Control | Court Fees |

Court Throws Out Michigan Law Restricting Video Game Sales

Authored by dmw on April 3, 2006 - 6:33pm.
Washington - The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan has thrown out a Michigan state law that restricted the sale or rental of mature or adult-rated video games to minors. Judge George Caram Steeh placed a permanent injunction against implementation of the bill, which was signed into law by Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm in September -- calling it unconstitutional. The Michigan law would have fined retailers who sold such games to minors $5,000. "Judge Steeh's ruling represents a sweeping rejection of the state's claims regarding the harmful effects of violent video games and we will move immediately for reimbursement of the substantial legal fees incurred in this court fight which the state could have, and should have, never triggered," said Douglas Lowenstein, president of the Entertainment Software Association (ESA), a video game industry trade group. Courts have consistently ruled thus far that laws banning the sale of video games to minors are unconstitutional restrictions on First Amendment free speech rights, having overturned similar laws in Illinois, California and Washington.
tags: Games | Law | Youth | Censorship | Violent Games | Ratings | Michigan | ESA | Injunctions | Minors |

Ruckus Signs Michigan State to Campus Media Download Service

Authored by dmw on January 11, 2006 - 3:58am.
Herndon, Va. - Ruckus, a provider of legal campus music and media download services, said on Wednesday that it has signed Michigan State University as a new client. Under the deal, Ruckus will provide a campus-wide multimedia network for the school's 45,000 students, faculty and staff. William Raduchel, the chairman and CEO of Ruckus, is an alumnus of Michigan State.
tags: Deals | Ruckus | Michigan | Download | Campus | Media |

Judge Halts Michigan Video Game Law, Pans Violence-Link Research

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on November 10, 2005 - 8:29am.
Detroit - A federal judge has temporarily halted enactment of a recently passed law in Michigan that prohibits the sale or rental of violent video games to minors, while a lawsuit filed by the video game industry to overturn the law is heard in court. In his ruling, U.S. District Judge George Steeh said Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm and the state are unlikely to win the lawsuit, filed by the Entertainment Software Association, adding that the "loss of First Amendment freedoms, for even minimal periods of time, unquestionably constitutes irreparable injury." The judge also stated that the research presented by the state, which purports to link violent games and aggressive behavior -- the same research relied upon in crafting similar laws in California and Illinois -- was unpersuasive and insufficient. Courts have routinely overturned similar video game sales restrictions on First Amendment grounds in Washington state, St. Louis County and the city of Indianapolis. "We are gratified that Judge Steeh has issued this preliminary injunction and in so doing has suggested that the arguments and research relied on by Governor Granholm and the Legislature are weak and unpersuasive," said ESA president Doug Lowenstein. The ESA has also filed suit to overturn the video game sales restrictions recently enacted in California and Illinois.
tags: Law | Michigan | Video Game | Judge | Research | Violence-Link |

Michigan Passes Violent Game Sales Ban; Game Industry to Sue Governor

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on September 14, 2005 - 3:53am.
Washington -- The Entertainment Software Association (ESA), a video game industry trade group, announced on Wednesday that it will sue Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm, asking a court to overturn a ban on the sale of violent video games to minors in the state she signed into law today. "Protecting our children must be everyone's top priority," Granholm said. "This is a common-sense law that provides parents with the tools they need to protect their children from the effects of violence and graphic adult content." Calling the language of the bill -- which will become Michigan state law on Dec. 1 -- "hopelessly vague," the ESA pointed out that similar bans have been struck down by the courts in St. Louis, Indianapolis, and Washington State. "If this law is implemented, it will not only limit First Amendment rights for Michigan's residents, but, by virtue of its vagueness, it will also create a huge amount of confusion for Michigan's retailers, parents, and video game developers," said ESA president Douglas Lowenstein.
tags: Law | Michigan | Sue | Violent Game | Governor | Game Industry | Sales Ban |