A bill presented to the U.S. House of Representatives yesterday would force retailers to check the ID of anyone buying an M or AO-rated game or face a $5,000 fine.

Proposed by Lee Terry (R-Neb) and Jim Matheson (D-Utah), the effort relies heavily upon the Entertainment Software Rating Board's established ratings, and would ask that retailers have in-store materials explaining the system.

The use of the ESRB's rating system sets the bill apart from the typically unconstitutional game legislation proposals, which often use vague standards to label violent games instead of a set guideline.

"Many young children are walking into stores and are able to buy or rent these games without their parents even knowing about it," Terry told Variety.

In a statement released today, the ESRB said that retailers denied sales of M-rated games to 80% of individuals under 17 in a recent Federal Trade... Read more

Following the Chicago Transit Authority's decision to stop carrying advertisements for Grand Theft Auto IV, publisher Take-Two Interactive has sued the CTA.

In the suit, Take-Two claims the CTA's unexplained removal of the ads violates its free speech and contractual rights. Reuters reports the company is seeking a settlement of at least $300,000 along with the reinstatement of the materials.

"The CTA has refused to discuss with us its outrageous decision to pull advertising," Take-Two told GameSpot, "while running ads for other forms of popular entertainment with similar content, including mature-themed TV shows and R-rated movies,"

The $300,000 advertising campaign, which included banners on city buses and bus stops, was scheduled to run for six weeks. Within the first week, local news affiliate Fox News questioned the CTA's decision to advertise the controversial game, with the ads removed shortly thereafter. At the time, the CTA said that Take-Two would not be charged for the campaign.

The ads include no overtly violent, sexual or otherwise graphic materials that would traditionally prohibit advertisements from running in public. The situation resembles that of past non-explicit GTA ads that still managed to spark months of controversy.

In a report commissioned by British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, study author and clinical psychologist Tanya Byron has suggested a number of changes to increase the effectiveness of video game violence classifications in Britain, including a more film-like rating system.

"We need to improve on the systems already in place to help parents restrict children's access to games which are not suitable for their age," she wrote.

Chief among Byron's recommendations is that the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) introduce a new 12+ rating for games. Currently, games in the UK are only required to be rated if they contain gross violence. According to Byron, "the threshold for statutory classification [of video games] is quite high and is inconsistent with that for film and DVDs."

While the BBFC would only be required to rate games 12+ or higher, Byron suggested that the Pan European Game Information (PEGI), which voluntarily rates games, focus on titles that would earn a 3+ or 7+ rating, which she claimed is "where the evidence of potential harm is weakest."

To prevent consumer confusion between BBFC and PEGI ratings, Byron recommended that BBFC logos appear on the front of game packages, while PEGI logos... Read more

In a move that will no doubt bring light to understandably joyless PC BattleTech fans, Microsoft, owner of the MechWarrior license, has granted the MechWarrior: Living Legends mod team the legal clearance to use assets and properties drawn from the BattleTech universe (thanks Landrosradick).

In other words, Microsoft has okayed a fan-created MechWarrior game. Seeing as Cease & Desist orders from property holders are a very common and real threat for mod teams, the Living Legends team has, essentially, dodged a major bullet.

All the more exciting, and at the same time disheartening, is the fact that Living Legends is a mod currently in development for Crytek's upcoming PC shooter Crysis. On the upside, it will most likely look really, really pretty. On the downside, that means that the team has yet to get their hands on the actual code, and with such mods being voluntary free-time projects, it could be a few years out.

Still, lots of excitement to be had, especially with the recent closure of MechWarrior 4 developer FASA Studios, the only internal Microsoft studio to utilize the property. Now to wait.

"Robot boners across America," exclaimed the currently medicated Shacknews founder Steve Gibson as he shook his three different bottles of pain medication. "No wait, the world! Robot boners across the world!"

"Squishy foot hurts," he added.

Silicon Knights has responded to Epic Games' rebuttal and motion to dismiss the Canadian developer's lawsuit regarding its grievances with the Unreal Engine 3 during the development of Too Human (X360).

Filed by Silicon Knights on September 7, the 29-page document specifically addresses Epic's attempt to get the case thrown out and its claims that the company has nothing to gain if it delivers lacking technology to licensees.

"For Epic to attempt to dispute the merit of those allegations [of the original suit] under the auspices of a motion to dismiss is improper," it reads, according to Next-Gen.biz. "Therefore, Epic’s Motion to dismiss should be denied in its entirety, Epic should be ordered to answer the Complaint, and this case should proceed to discovery and trial.

"The profits Epic assured for itself by having Gears of War as the marquee title for the Xbox 360 dwarf any gain Epic would receive from Silicon Knights purchasing a subsequent licenses for the Engine," it continues. Silicon Knights has accused Epic of holding back Unreal Engine 3 optimizations ... Read more

The United States District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana has ordered the state to reimburse the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) its $91,000 spent protesting a Louisiana law that prohibited the sale of violent video games to minors. Following the ESA's legal challenge, the law, House Bill No. 1381, was deemed unconstitutional.

House Bill No. 1381 was written by Louisiana Rep. Roy Burrell (D) (pictured left) and signed into law by Louisiana governor Governor Kathleen Babineaux Blanco (D) on June 15, 2006. It prohibited the sale of any video game to a minor that "the average person, applying contemporary community standards, would find...appeals to the minor's morbid interest in violence," "depicts violence in a manner patently offensive to prevailing standards in the adult community with respect to what is suitable for minors," or "lacks serious literacy, artistic, political or scientific value for minors." Any retailer caught violating the bill's broad criteria would have been punished by a fine of $100-$2000, a year in jail, or a combination of both.

"This Court is dumbfounded that the Attorney General and the State are in the position of having to pay taxpayer money as attorney's fees and costs in this lawsuit," wrote Judge James J. Brady in his ruling of the reimbursement. "The Court wonders why nobody objected to the enactment of this statute. In this court's view, the taxpayers deserve more from their elected officials."

The bill, which appears to be modeled on similar bills proposed in Utah and Oklahoma, makes no mention whatsoever of the Entertainment Software Ratings Board's game rating scale. This contrasts with Michigan Rep. Fred Upton's (R) Video Game Decency Act, which focuses entirely on enforcing established ratings systems such as the ESRB.

"It's unfortunate the [sic] some officials continue to believe that unconstitutional laws are the answer, when time and time again courts have thrown out these bills and proven them to be a waste of taxpayers' dollars," said ESA senior VP and general counsel Gail Markels. "It couldn't be clearer that the real answer is not regulation, but education of parents to empower them to use the video game rating system, parental controls in game consoles, and other available tools. We look forward to working with any elected official to help educate parents about making appropriate video games choices for their unique families."

Last week, the Federal Trade Commission declared the ESRB's ratings more effective than ever, with 87% of parents aware of the system and 70% using it regularly.

According to a recent Reuters article, neither the FBI nor creator Linden Labs are quite sure how to approach the legality of gambling within the virtual world of Second Life. Focusing entirely on user-supplied content, Second Life allows its members to create and build a variety objects via in-application 3D modeling tools. A scripting language provides advanced users the ability to "control object and avatar behavior, up to and including mini-games and other complex programs," the official site states.

Though participating in Second Life does not require a fee, US dollars can be exchanged for the community's virtual currency, known as Linden dollars, used to purchase land, items and services from other members. This exchange has led to some legally grey situations when combined with the ability to put money into the user-scripted programs, such as those emulating slot machines, which some believe may violate US anti-gambling policy. As of this writing, the official site boasts that the virtual community has over 5.2 million registered accounts, with $1.5 million US dollars spent in the last day.

"It's not always clear to us [Linden Labs] whether a 3-D simulation of a casino is the same thing as a casino, legally speaking, and it's not clear to the law enforcement authorities we have asked," explained Linden's vice president for business affairs Ginsu Yoon. "We have invited the FBI several times to take a look around in Second Life and raise any concerns they would like, and we know of at least one instance that federal agents did look around in a virtual casino." Yoon also let it slip that Linden has no way to monitor or prevent gambling in the virtual world.

Lawyer Sean Kane described the legal issues Linden could theoretically face. "What they [US lawmakers] did was go after the processors, and made it a crime to process payments that relate to online gambling sites. Linden could potentially be held as the same sort of processor." he claimed. "If you're buying money...and utilizing it for gambling purposes, Linden could have a much higher level of responsibility."

Gamasutra recently chatted with Ralph Baer, most commonly known as the father of video games. They spoke on a wide variety of subjects, from Baer's immigration to the United States in August 1938 to Japan's role in the industry, which he states is deserved "because they put the time, the energy, the effort, the ingenuity, the creativity into it."

Of particular note is Baer's recollection of the legal battles of the 1980s that defined the turbulent era in gaming, one of which challenged his role in the creation of video games.

Meanwhile, they [Nintendo] built games that infringed, so we [Sanders Associates] went after them. Eventually, they started to settle, then didn't; decided to sue us. [They] got that sharp law firm in New York to sue us for misinforming the patent office, which is a Federal offence.
...
That's when they used Higinbotham as a witness [to try and invalidate our patents]. What did Higinbotham do? He put a creative little game on an oscilloscope. Any number of engineers did that before him and after him, including me. And it was just something that's natural, ya know.
...
So he had all the tools, he had the scope, and what he did was very interesting and was ingeniously designed, and it was a lot of fun. So, did he think of making a product out of it? Did he think of it as something he could play on a television set? None of the above. And the judge, of course, recognized all that: he said, "Ah, this is bullshit." Meanwhile, he got on the map, right? Nobody had ever heard of him before.

Using a legal battle to establish oneself as a public figure? Sounds kinda familiar.

RIAA Wants to Hack Your PC is a Wired.com article about a hacking-authorization amendment that the Recording Industry Association of America tried to tag on an anti-terrorism bill that Congress approved last week. Basically this would've allowed movie and music copyright holders to break into your PC and not be responsible for the loss of data. Even though the RIAA changed its stance on this point somewhat knowing it would not be approved, it's still looking for something similar to be approved.

"We might try and block somebody," Glazier said. "If we know someone is operating a server, a pirated music facility, we could try to take measures to try and prevent them from uploading or transmitting pirated documents."

The RIAA believes that this kind of technological "self-help" against online pirates, if done carefully, is legal under current federal law. But the RIAA is worried about the USA Act banning that practice -- and neither the Senate nor the House versions of that bill include the RIAA's suggested changes.

CNet is reporting about the earnings of memory-maker Rambus which is still in several lawsuits. The company is making a profit but not much as these lawsuits are eating up the profit. They spent no less than $7.3 million legal fees in the 2nd quarter, up from $4.3 million in the 1st quarter. The legal fee was only about a million less than their earnings, which were $8.2 million.

A human interest story here or um.. something. You guys may get a kick out of this one. A few people sent in word that an update on the Xeno Clan website states that well.. ok you gotta see this:

Effraim, aka [xeno]Nirox has decided that if he gets 2500 YES votes in two weeks, he will legally change his name to his online handle of Nirox. Should Effraim LEGALLY change his name to Nirox?

Those crazy Canadians up in Canadia again! Thanks rage

According to CNET several US congressmen have introduced a bill that would make the My.MP3.Com service (listening to your CDs online after you prove you own the CD) legal. Their "Music Owners' Listening Rights Act of 2000" bill would allow companies the right to copy CDs, store them online, and stream the songs to listeners who own the CD which is pretty much what the MP3.com service does. That wouldn't help its Universal lawsuit though

If passed, the bill could have far-reaching effects in creating online locker systems outside the control of the record companies. But it wouldn't do much to help MP3.com's situation--the lawsuit brought against it is for legal violations made under existing law, and changing a law in the future wouldn't help it escape liability.

Tech-Report is reporting that there has been an upset in the memory industry, as Toshiba has acknowledged they've been using Rambus patented technologies for its high-speed memory for a couple of years now. They have now entered into a license agreement, which is bad news for all of us who hoped for lower RAM prices.

Under the licensing agreement, the royalty rates for DDR SDRAM and the controllers, which directly interface with DDR SDRAM, are greater than the RDRAM compatible rates. The agreement also includes royalties for SDRAM and for controllers that directly interface with SDRAM, as well as a license fee for the entire agreement.

SDRAM so far has been the cheapest RAM, but it looks like it's gonna change, at least from Toshiba but it's pretty likely others will (have to) follow. Here's the full announcement by Rambus.