ESSENTIALFACTS
Total amount state and local taxpayers have repaid the entertainment software industry for its legal fees
ABOUT VIDEO GAMES AND COURT RULINGS
$2,158,916
THERE HAVE BEEN MANY EFFORTS ON THE PART OF STATE AND LOCAL LEGISLATIVE BODIES TO REGULATE ACCESS TO GAMES.
However, the Courts have ruled 12 times in eight years that computer and video games are protected speech, and efforts by these legislative bodies to ban or limit access to or the sale of games they find objectionable will inevitably run afoul of the First Amendment of the United States Constitution. To provide a clear and easy to understand summary of various court rulings, the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) is providing this document with key sections highlighted. For the complete text of a decision, please contact Dan Hewitt at 202.223.2400.
...the presence of increased viewer control and interactivity does not remove these games from the release of First Amendment protection."
HONORABLE ROBIN J. CAUTHRON of the United States District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma
Northern District of Illinois, United States District Court ESA, et al., v. CTA, et al. July 2009
On May 17, 2010, the Honorable Rebecca R. Pallmeyer of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois granted a permanent injunction to prohibit the ban of violent video game advertisements by the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA). Judge Pallmeyer previously granted a preliminary injunction against the CTA on January 7, 2010, ruling that the ESA was likely to succeed on the merits of its claims at trial. In her decision, Judge Pallmeyer stated, "…the advertisements the CTA wishes to ban promote expression that has constitutional value and implicates core First Amendment concerns." ESA filed the case in 2009, challenging CTA's prohibition of certain computer and video game advertisements as a violation of the guarantees of free speech under the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. The Court ruled against the CTA and dictated that prompt notice of the judgment be given to CTA officers and any agents, servants, employees and attorneys. The CTA agreed not to "appeal or otherwise attack the validity or enforceability of the Consent Judgment and Permanent Injunction," and will recoup attorneys' fees and costs to the ESA. To view the lawsuit in its entirety please go to: http://tinyurl.com/ycojl6e

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